MAGNETIC FORCE MICROSCOPY OF HIGH-DENSITY PERPENDICULAR MAGNETIC RECORDING MEDIA

Multilayer Pt/Co and Pt/CoCrTa thin film structures have been fabricat ed that display different levels of intergranular exchange coupling. P erpendicular magnetic recordings of continuous wave patterns have been made using single pole contact heads and examined using a magnetic fo rce microscope (MFM). Analysis of the MFM images show that the recordi ng capabilities of the media are correlated inversely with both the de gree of intergranular coupling and the equilibrium domain size. With e xchange isolation of the grains, transitions may be written at linear densities greater than or similar to 300 kfci with good fidelity. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.