Adhesion of CNx overcoat to CoPt-SiO2 granular magnetic film

The tribological properties of the carbon nitride (CN,) coated CoPt-SiO2 gr anular films, especially the adhesion at the overcoat/magnetic layer interf ace, have been studied, Nanoscratch experiments and complementary scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations indicate that CNx, adheres more stro ngly to the SiO2 matrix than to the CoPt granules resulting in enhanced adh esion at the interface as a function of the SiO2 content in the CoPt-SiO2 l ayer.