New Ni/sub 5/Al/sub 3/ underlayer for longitudinal magnetic recording media

We describe a new Ni/sub 5/Al/sub 3/ underlayer for high-density longitudinal magnetic recording. The Ni/sub 5/Al/sub 3/ underlayer has the FCC derivative Ga/sub 3/Pt/sub 5/ structure. The Ni/sub 5/Al/sub 3/ [221] plane has good lattice match with the CoCrPt (101~0) plane. In addition, unlike the NiAl [112] plane, the Ni/sub 5/Al/sub 3/ [221] plane has the lowest surface energy. Hence, the Ni/sub 5/Al/sub 3/ thin film has a strong [221] texture and can induce CoCrPt (101~0) texture. The microstructure and magnetic properties of the CoCrPt-Ni/sub 5/Al/sub 3/ thin films are reported and discussed.