Magnetic and structural properties of high coercivity nanocrystalline CoSm films with in-plane anisotropy

Abstract

This paper presents results and an overview of magnetic and nanostructural properties of CoSm alloys which have high potential for future ultra high-density longitudinal magnetic recording. These sputtered films consist of about 5 nm crystallites embedded in an amorphous matrix, with the easy axes of the nanocrystallites in the film plane. The films have high coercivities, 3–4 kOe, and other highly favorable properties. Fundamental aspects of the relationship between nanostructure and magnetic properties are discussed.