Microstructure and Magnetic Properties of Nano-Island CoPt Thin Films

The separated CoPt nano-size islands were fabricated on amorphous glass substrates in this work. The microstructures and magnetic properties of CoPt thin films with thicknesses between 1 and 20 nm after annealing at 700 °C for 30 minutes were investigated. The morphology of CoPt thin film would change from a well-distributed and discontinuous nano-size CoPt islands into a continuous one as increasing the film thickness from 1 to 20 nm. The formation mechanism of the CoPt islands may be due to the surface energy difference between the glass substrate and CoPt alloy. This nano-size CoPt thin film may be a good candidate for ultra-high density magnetic recording media.