A study of the effects of thin oxide seed layers on the magnetic anisotropy of RF-sputtered CoCr thin films

The effects of thin oxide seed layers on the magnetic and structural properties of RF-sputtered Coer films have been investigated. A 200 A thick Co oxide seed layer reactively-sputtered on amorphous cover glass and silicon dioxide substrates increased the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy constant (K1) by as much as 40% and decreased the HCP (002) rocking curve· half-height width (ΔΘ 50) by as much as 75%. The experimental results suggest that this phenomenon is due to the formation of Co oxide seeds or nucleation sites which have [111] orientation perpendicular to the substrate. Such Co oxide seeds enhance the growth of the HCP phase of Coer with its c-axis perpendicular to the film and minimize the thickness of the transition layer between the film and substrate.