CONTROLLING THE MAGNETIZATION REVERSAL MECHANISM IN CO PD MULTILAYERSBY UNDERLAYER PROCESSING/

The effect of various process parameters on the magnetic properties of sputter deposited Co/Pd multilayered films is presented. The coercivi ty of the films was found to increase logarithmically with the thickne ss of the Pd underlayer. Various combinations of sputter gas (Ar) pres sure during the deposition of the underlayer (P-ul) and during the dep osition of the multilayer (P-ml) were studied. Coercivity was found to depend on both P-ul and P-ml. When P-ml was kept constant at 3mTorr, a decrease in coercivity with the increase in P-ul was observed. And, for a constant P-ul of 3mTorr, an increase in coercivity was observed when P-ml was increased. The magnetization reversal mechanism of these films was found to change from domain wail motion to rotation when P- ul is increased from 3mTorr to 18mTorr or higher. However, the change in the reversal mechanism was not observed with the variation in the p reparation conditions of the magnetic layer or the other underlayer pr ocess parameters such as the thickness or sputter power.