Flash chromium interlayer for high performance disks with superior noise and coercivity squareness

A special cathode was designed to sputter flash chrome interlayer (0.5-1.5 nm) between CoCrPt magnetic layers. Disks with such a laminated structure have been manufactured in a high volume in-line sputtering system. They have consistently exhibited excellent PW50, overwrite, and signal to noise ratio (SNR). In addition, the chrome interlayer improved the disk anisotropy with less coercivity variation around the disk. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) cross section micrograph and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to examine film microstructure and crystallographic orientation. A special film growth mechanism is proposed to interpret the magnetic and parametric performance of disks with flash Cr interlayer.<
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