Advancements in PMR thin-film media

The purpose of this paper is to review advancements in the design, characterization, and optimization of PMR thin film media for magnetic recording output, resolution, signal-to-noise, and thermal stability at ultra-high densities from 100 to 1000 Gbpsi. In particular, the single and double-layer PMR thin-film media to be discussed include HCP CoCr-alloys, HCP CGC CoPt/CoCrPt, FCC Co/Pd multilayers, HCP CoCrPt-SiO2 granular oxides, FCT FePt, and tilted media. This paper reviews the materials processing techniques used to optimize physical microstructures with seed layers and intermediate layers to decrease grain size, narrow size distribution, dope with elements to inhibit grain growth, segregate elements to grain boundaries to enhance magnetic isolation, and increase coercivity, magnetization squareness, negative nucleation field, narrow easy-axis orientation, switching field distribution, and reduce hysteresis loop slope at coercivity, magnetic cluster domain size, DC reversed domain noise, and recording transition jitter noise.