Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy mechanism on commercial CD substrate

Fe thin films were deposited on commercial CD substrates using the magnetron sputtering technique, to examine the effect of the patterned underlayer on their structural and magnetic properties. We report that the coercive field and magnetic anisotropy of these iron grained thin films are strongly depended on the patterned substrate, in accordance with Monte Carlo simulations performed using the Metropolis algorithm. The model developed well explains the role of the exchange and dipole-dipole interparticle magnetic interactions between the Fe grains, and predicts the optimum conditions for advanced magnetic sensor applications.