Low-temperature ordered CoPtCu/Ag nanocomposite film with (001) texture

Abstract

CoPtCu/Ag nanocomposite films have been prepared using CoPt/Cu/Ag multilayer precursor by magnetron sputtering and subsequent vacuum thermal annealing. Low-temperature ordered CoPtCu/Ag nanocomposite films with (001) texture have been prepared successfully with the optimized content of Ag and Cu in the films. The CoPtCu/Ag films start ordering at a low annealing temperature of 450℃, which is roughly lower by 150℃ than that needed for most CoPt-based films. Our present study shows that the Ag plays a dominant role in inducing the (001) texture of the film and the Cu additive is very effective to reduce the ordering temperature in CoPtAg system. The Co40Pt36Cu8Ag16 film after annealing at 500℃ exhibits a large perpendicular coercivity of 5.0×105 A/m with a small average grains size of 4—5 nm, implying the potential of the films as future ultrahigh density magnetic recording media.