MICROSTRUCTURE AND MAGNETIC-PROPERTIES OF VERY THIN COCR FILMS DEPOSITED ON DIFFERENT UNDERLAYERS BY RF-SPUTTERING

Very thin CoCr films deposited on different underlayers on glass disk substrates were studied by the magneto-optic Kerr effect, VSM, torque magnetometry and TEM selected area diffraction. Square or near square perpendicular loops were obtained from Co/Ti, CoCr/Au, CoCr/Al, CoCr/C and CoCr/Si films. TEM SAD study revealed that the crystalline structure is a key factor determining the magnetic anisotropy of the very thin CoCr films. In particular, the c-axis of the hcp CoCr films which exhibit square perpendicular loops is perpendicular to the film plane whilst that of the CoCr films which exhibit a thin and flat perpendicular loop lies in the film plane. The texture of the very thin CoCr films deposited on different underlayers is mainly dependent on the structure and texture of underlayers. The relation between the structure of CoCr and its underlayers is discussed.