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A bit patterned magnetic array based on Co/Pd magnetic multilayers with a binary perpendicular magnetic anisotropy distribution was fabricated. The binary anisotropy distribution was attained through angled helium ion irradiation of a bit edge using hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) resist as an ion stopping layer to protect the rest of the bit. The viability of this technique was explored numerically and evaluated through magnetic measurements of the prepared bit patterned magnetic array. The resulting graded bit patterned magnetic array showed a 35% reduction in coercivity and a 9% narrowing of the standard deviation of the switching field.

Switching field variations due to low anisotropy inclusions in disk-shaped magnetic nanostructures with vertical magnetic anisotropy for applications in perpendicular recording bit-patterned medium are analyzed micromagnetically. The influence of various material parameters and geometry on switching field is analyzed. It is found that the size of the low anisotropy inclusion strongly affects the switching field. However, the dependence significantly weakens when inclusions’ size becomes comparable to the exchange lengths, also known as domain wall thickness. The location of the inclusion within a bit has only a weak influence on the switching field. Scaling of the bit and the inclusion dimensions result in a system with very similar switching properties. The observed deviations from scalability are attributed to the presence of a non-scalable parameter of micromagnetic models, namely, the domain wall thickness, also known as exchange length. The switching field strongly depends on the bit diameter when th...

In this letter, a direct measurement of “easy” magnetization switching indicating zero-magnetization remanence in a magnetic probe with a cross section as narrow as 60×60 nm2, and as tall as 750 nm, is presented. Magnetic force microscopy was utilized to test focused-ion-beam-fabricated nanomagnetic probes. The data directly indicate that unlike a regular solid probe, a probe with a tubelike ending (nanotube) provides substantially “easier” switching.

A micromagnetic study employing OOMMF1 simulator of magnetic switching wave propagation along magnetic data channels is presented. The optimization of the wave propagation as a function of geometry and physical parameters is investigated, which resulted in an order of magnitude increase in the depth of magnetic signal propagation. Unlike unoptimized rapidly decaying waves, the resulting wave stays practically the same throughout the channel, improving wave detection characteristics. When the in-plan dimensions of the channel are scaled proportionally, the optimized propagation length remains relatively constant. This indicates a possibility of the scalability in the data channel, which has significant technological applications.

Magneto-optical materials have widespread applications in communication and optical devices. Besides existing applications such as optical diodes, untapped potential applications could be accessed should magneto-optical properties be improved such that smaller magnetic fields can be employed. Here we present an efficient method for fabricating oxide materials that possess excellent optical and magnetic properties—they are transparent to visible light yet have high magnetic susceptibility. Combined, these properties produce large Faraday rotations; the measured Verdet constant is >−300 rad T−1 m−1 at 632.8 nm, a high value for a thick, optically transparent material. Because this Verdet constant is more than twice that of the state of the art material, these nanocrystalline oxides produce polarized light rotations with less than half the applied magnetic field necessary. They are made by densifying rare earth nanocrystalline powder into dense, large-sized bodies using an electric current activated technique (sometimes known as spark plasma sintering). The processing temperature is optimized in order to achieve sufficient density without causing excessive phase changes that would destroy light transparency. This process produces materials quickly (

The magnetic properties, structural properties, and thermal conductivity of FePt films deposited on Ag and Cu heat sink layers designed for use in heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) were investigated. It has been found that FePt films grown on Cu have a well-defined L10-FePt (001) texture while the FePt films grown on Ag appear to be more isotropic. As the thickness of the heat sink layer increases from 15 to 120 nm the coercivity of the FePt films decreases from 1.7 to 1.5 T for Cu and from 1.3 to 1.0 T for Ag. The thermal conductivity measurements, carried out with the “laser-flash” technique, revealed that the overall thermal resistance of the examined structures is dominated by the thermal boundary resistance and the interface effects. The increase in the thickness of Ag and Cu heat sink layers does not lead to the higher effective thermal conductivity of the layered structure in the cross-plane direction. The obtained results are important for optimization of the FePt-based structures for HAMR.

We report a combinatorial synthesis study on the magnetic properties of sputter-deposited Co/Pd multilayers with high perpendicular anisotropy and high remnant squareness for magnetic media applications such as magnetic logic systems, bit patterned media, magneto-optical recording, and multilevel three-dimensional (3D) magnetic media. The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in the multilayers originates from the interfacial anisotropy of the alloylike structure. The deposition conditions and subsequent microstructures of the multilayers are critical factors to determine the magnetic properties of the media. We investigated the dependence of the magnetic properties on the thickness of Co and Pd layers the number of Co/Pd bilayers. For instance, we found that a 0.26-nm-thick layer of Co would produce the highest coercivity value if paired with a 0.55-nm-thick Pd layer. Our results revealed that an Ar+ milling could significantly increase the coercivity of the multilayer media. Further, we discovered that we c...

This letter addresses the fabrication and exploitation of ultrahigh coercivity magnetic force microscopy (MFM) probes to characterize high-magnetic moment nanostructures and devices. The L10 phase of FePt alloys together with CrRu and MgO seed layers are investigated as a method of increasing the coercivity of MFM probes to prevent their behavior as soft magnetic probes when used to image energized magnetic devices. The newly developed MFM probes, with coercivity higher than 11 kOe, are utilized to successfully analyze a modern perpendicular magnetic recording write head under various excitation conditions in order to perform writer saturation and remanence tests. The results include MFM micrographs of a fully energized magnetic writer, obtained with a probe-sample separation of only 10 nm.

A cylindrical probe with almost perfectly flat plateaulike surface was focused ion beam (FIB) milled from an atomic force microscopy probe in order to create the required surface conditions for thin film deposition with finely controlled deposition/growth parameters. A composition of Pd(5 nm)/MgO(8 nm)/FePt(10 nm)/MgO(8 nm) was sputter deposited on the plateau probe, followed by deposition of a Pd (5 nm) protective layer. The plateau probe was then FIB-milled to produce a tip with a curvature radius of ∼25 nm. After annealing the probe at 650 °C for ∼15 min to generate an ultrahigh anisotropy L10 phase, magnetic force microscopy (MFM) imaging was performed with the probe on magnetic tracks with linear densities ranging from 200 to 1200 KFCI. The results show sub-20-nm lateral resolution in ambient conditions and magnetic tracks, which are otherwise invisible to standard MFM probes, are clearly evident with the FIB-fabricated FePt probe. With relatively high spatial resolution and coercivity values higher than 1 T, among other applications, this type of probe may be ideal for high-quality MFM study of next-generation recording media.

The physics of magnetic signal propagation in one-dimensional antiferromagnetically coupled nanomagnetic arrays is studied using micromagnetic modeling. The results are used to develop the design guidelines such as the criteria for the interelement spacing for efficient operation and the error suppression due to the magnetization misalignment in individual elements in the array. The propagation speed is found to decay significantly as the damping is increased. The external “clocking” field is applied to improve the data channel characteristics. However, premature relaxation of the end elements inhibits the proper operation of longer channels. A proposed solution is a zone-by-zone propagation scheme, which is compatible with the pipelining approach. Simulation results demonstrate a possibility of successful signal propagation at 2 GHz clocking field frequency with no limitation on the length of the channel.

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A magnetic force microscopy based study on the formation of stripe domains in Permalloy (Ni80Fe20) thin films is presented. Our results show that the critical thickness for stripe domain initiation depended on the sputtering rate, the substrate temperature, and the film thickness. Beyond the stripe domain formation, an increase of the period of a highly ordered array of stripe domains was evident with increasing film thickness. Thin films sputtered at room temperature with thickness variation between ∼80 and ∼350nm exhibited square-root growth dependency on stripe domains periodicity from ∼150to∼380nm, respectively. Above a certain thickness, the domain period decreased and the periodicity deteriorated with the array becoming more random, which is a strong indicator of relatively high structural perpendicular anisotropy. To illustrate, Permalloy sputtered at 100°C initially showed linear dependence in stripe domain periodicity growth up until ∼650nm thick films. The magnetic stripe domain structure began ...

The correlation between the magnetic properties and the microstructural and chemical composition modifications of Co∕Pd magnetic multilayers upon annealing in ultrahigh vacuum at 250°C is presented. Magnetic characterization using magnetic sample magnetometer shows the vertical magnetic anisotropy increase and the switching field distribution decrease in the annealed samples. The larger values of magnetic anisotropy in the annealed samples are further shown using the magnetic force microscopy of the ac demagnetized states in the Co∕Pd multilayer films. X-ray diffraction rocking curves show an improvement in the texture and the initial magnetization curve slopes indicate the decreases in defect densities. Overall, vacuum annealing under optimal conditions improves the magnetic properties of Co∕Pd multilayers for applications in ultrahigh density magnetic recording.

In this work, the physics of magnetization reversal in patterned high anisotropy (Co∕Pd)n magnetic multilayer arrays is investigated where the magnetic island size, pitch, recording layer thickness, and the underlying multilayer magnetic properties are varied. Magnetization reversal was studied using magneto-optical Kerr effect magnetometry and magnetic force microscopy and supported by micromagnetic modeling. It is found that magnetic island dimension and/or pitch cannot alone explain the variations in the switching behavior of the patterned arrays and the observed values of switching field distribution (SFD). It is found that the ratio of switched magnetic islands to the total number of islands for a giving reversing field depends strongly on the magnetic island geometry. Stray fields from neighboring magnetic islands result in relatively minor influence on the switching characteristics. Micromagnetic modeling was used to further understand the magnetization reversal in patterned arrays. It is found tha...

A focused ion beam (FIB) fabricated nanolaser is demonstrated to be able to focus light with power of over 250nW into a 30nm spot. To fabricate a nanolaser, a 100nm thick aluminum film was deposited on the emitting edge of a diode laser. FIB was used to etch various apertures into the film. The power was measured by a scanning near-field optical microscope in the near-field regime with a 10nm separation between the probe and the air bearing surface of the nanolaser. Out of four different shapes under study, “C”-shape aperture was found to have the highest throughput.

This paper presents a systematic method to design and calculate tunnelling magneto-resistance (TMR) sensors with high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The sensing module consists of four TMR devices arranged in a Wheatstone-bridge configuration. Closed-form equations were obtained to calculate TMR sensor current, array output voltage, magneto-resistance ratio, overall noise (thermal and shot) and SNR for a given bandwidth. Using this technique we were able to maximize the SNR by tuning the many parameters of the TMR devices. Typical SNR values are in excess of 45 dB.

We present evidence that low temperature atmosphere annealing of Co∕Pd magnetic multilayers reduces both the dipolar and exchange interactions, but the dipolar interaction decreases very rapidly at the lowest temperatures. We also infer cobalt oxide formation at grain boundaries. This results in a reduction of the exchange between grains, reduces the length scale of ordering in the ac demagnetized state of the films. We demonstrate that this is the result of the decoupling the grains.

Ion irradiation of continuous and patterned (Co∕Pd)n magnetic multilayer films has been studied as a mean to control magnetic anisotropy as well as to evaluate possible ion irradiation damage involved in ion-beam proximity lithography patterning. The coercivity of patterned medium was found to decrease from 11kOe for as patterned samples to 0.3kOe for samples with 800μC∕cm2 ion irradiation. Remnant squareness of the patterned samples remained essentially unchanged. As the number of bilayers increases in the sample, the effects vary, suggesting that several mechanisms of damage occur. Significantly, for typical irradiation doses used in ion-beam proximity lithography, no measurable alteration of magnetic properties was observed.

The purpose of this paper is to explore three-dimensional magnetic recording as a next generation recording technology. To defer the superparamagnetic limit in magnetic recording substantially beyond the 1Tbit∕in.2 mark, it is proposed to stack magnetic bits in a third (vertical) dimension. The vertical stacking underlies the concept of three-dimensional (3D) magnetic memory and recording—the primary subject of this paper. A clear distinction between absolute 3D memory and its trivial multilevel implementation is drawn. The paper focuses on the study of the media design and write and read processes. To minimize the intersymbol interference and improve stability, it is proposed to pattern the recording media in all three dimensions. Basic Co∕Pd-based 3D recording media necessary for this study are fabricated using cosputter deposition. Focused-ion-beam-based fabrication is used to pattern the recording media into nanoscale bit cells. The physics of 3D magnetic recording is also investigated theoretically w...

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A combinatorial approach to the synthesis of high anisotropy Co∕Pd magnetic multilayer thin films is explored. Combinatorial libraries of Co∕Pd multilayer thin films were prepared using magnetron sputtering where the thicknesses of Co and Pd layers in the bilayer stack are varied. Application of multivariate regression and neural network models to the analysis of Co∕Pd multilayer combinatorial libraries is studied and the predictive capabilities of the two models are compared. The influences of the thicknesses of Co and Pd layers on magnetic properties are investigated. The models are used to design Co∕Pd multilayers with the desired magnetic properties. It is found that the neural network model enables higher accuracy than the multivariate analysis model and that the inverse design problem produces results within a good degree of precisions.

A study of a perpendicular magnetic recording transducer with the potential to be utilized at areal densities above 1Tbit∕in.2 is presented. Focused ion beam etching is used to fabricate the transducer via trimming of a regular nanoslider ring head from an air bearing surface. The transducer is compared with a regular ring-type head. With spinstand experiments, it is demonstrated that the overlapping width determines the effective trackwidth in the case of the transducer. With other conditions equal, the transducer indicates substantially higher efficiency. The saturation current values for the transducer and the ring head are measured to be above 350 and 800mAturn, respectively. The performance of the transducer is tested with two types of perpendicular recording media, with and without a soft underlayer, respectively. The experiments indicate that, contrary to the common belief, the medium without a soft underlayer demonstrates the potential for achieving substantially higher areal densities.

Selected aspects of the recording physics of magnetic data storage systems based on patterned medium are discussed. Considerations for the choice of a recording layer material are outlined. A micromagnetic study of magnetization reversal in patterned magnetic recording medium is presented. The effects of bit geometry, medium thickness, head/medium magnetic spacing, air-bearing surface geometry, write pole material, and write misregistration on magnetization reversal are explored. The influence of a recording layer design on playback resolution is evaluated. The results offer the guidelines for the design and optimization of patterned magnetic recording medium.

For the past several years, perpendicular magnetic recording has been under intense scrutiny as the primary alternative to magnetic data storage technologies in place today. Major system components, write heads and media in particular, have been the subject of extensive studies. Less attention, however, has been devoted to the playback processes in perpendicular recording systems. The playback heads used in technology demonstrations remain largely unchanged from their longitudinal recording counterparts. It is an open question whether the longitudinal playback-head design is optimal for perpendicular recording. For example, application of longitudinal playback heads in perpendicular recording leads to undesirable phenomena associated with modified playback response, increased flying height sensitivity, adjacent track interference, and calls for major modifications of the existing read channels. The subject of this work is a detailed discussion of the playback physics, in perpendicular recording systems; the focus being to establish the design guidelines for optimized perpendicular playback heads, which are equivalent or superior in their performance characteristics to conventional shielded readers used in longitudinal recording. Conformal mapping is applied to demonstrate the playback wave form equivalency between a shielded and dual-pole readers when applied in longitudinal and perpendicular recording, respectively. Utilizing extensive three-dimensional modeling and reciprocity principle to evaluate the performance of various playback-head configurations, it is demonstrated that differential reader configurations possess advantageous playback characteristics, such as higher playback amplitude, improved spatial resolution, and reduced dependence on flight-height variations as compared to conventional shielded readers. Modified design of differential readers with a single magnetoresistive sensor is proposed to overcome the manufacturability issues associated with a conventional dual-sensor differential reader.

In this letter, authors demonstrate magnetoresistance of the order of 18% at room temperature for a focused-ion-beam-fabricated nanoconstriction with critical dimensions of the order of 35nm. The main purpose of this work is to show that focused ion beam (FIB)-fabricated nanoconstrictions are relatively reproducible and thus could be further developed to obtain substantially larger magnetoresistance. Magnetoresistance is expected to increase if critical dimensions of nanoconstrictions are further reduced. The proposed focused-ion-beam-fabricated nanoconstrictions could be also used as devices to study the electron “ballistic” regime in the emerging fields of Spintronics and magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM).

Time-resolved Kerr imaging was used to examine the magnetization dynamics of soft underlayers (SULs) within perpendicular magnetic recording media. Two media configurations were examined with permalloy SULs of 20 and 200 nm thickness. The media in both of these samples were 14 nm thick Co/Pt multilayer films separated from the soft underlayer by a thin exchange decoupling layer of Ta. For comparison, two equivalent SUL samples were examined with no media layer. The media were examined while driven at 80 MHz by one of two types of magnetic recording heads: a 2.5 μm track width longitudinal head, and a 1 μm track width perpendicular recording head. The rise time (10%–90%) of the fields from the heads was ∼1.4 ns. It was observed in the SUL films without media, that the film switching speeds were similar to that of the driving head, for both longitudinal and perpendicular heads. The switching speed of the SUL films with a recording layer was slower due to influence of the recording layer on the magnetic prop...

Magnetization studies on organic single‐crystal superconductors of κ‐(BEDT‐TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br with the field H parallel to the b axis (perpendicular to the conducting plane) show anomalous field and temperature dependence of vortex pinning in the mixed state. At high temperatures, the magnetization M decays with increasing field with a power‐law dependence. The normalized relaxation rate S=d(ln M)/d(ln t) decreases monotonically with H. At low temperatures (T

The micromagnetic properties of a soft underlayer in perpendicular media are studied. It is shown that stray fields from a recording layer can substantially modify magnetic properties of soft underlayer material. The degree of modification is determined by the characteristic bit size in the recording layer and by the soft underlayer material magnetic characteristics. It is found that there exists a thin layer within a soft underlayer with reduced permeability. The effects of the presence of such a reduced permeability region within a soft underlayer on both reading and writing processes are discussed.

In this paper, an experimental and theoretical study of a continuous magnetic junction of the nanoscale size is presented. Such nanosize junction was created in a thin film Permalloy (Ni/Fe 80/20) layer via focused ion beam etching (FIB) etching. The specially developed FIB process allows for creating continuous magnetic bridges with dimensions in the nanoscale range. The geometry of the structure is chosen with the purpose to create a condition for triggering a magnetic wall, as the external magnetic field is applied.

In this paper, we analyzed the properties of shielded writers, including both theoretical and experiment analysis. It is shown for example, that thinner pole tips can be used, thus reducing non-zero skew-angle sensitivity as compared to the regular SPH structure.

Adhesive bonding for composite structures offers multiple advantages over traditional fasteners such as reducing the weight, creating a more uniformly distributed stress state in the joint, and elimination of stress concentration factors due to joining. However, the strength of adhesive bonds can be reduced due to environmental exposure, contamination, mechanical damage and fatigue and assurances of long-term durability and bond strength are not available. Before adhesive bonding of composites can be used on primary structures, a method for guaranteeing the bonds strength must be developed. Due to magneto-electric principles, magneto-electric nanoparticles (MENs) can be used to detect minute changes of electric fields at the molecular level through detectable changes of the nanoparticles’ magnetization. As a result, when integrated into epoxy based adhesives, MENs are capable of detecting chemical or mechanical induced material imperfections at the molecular level. Current efforts are focused on developing a field tool that can be used to obtain magnetic signatures from doped adhesives similar to those obtained via laboratory scale equipment (vibrating sample magnetometer). To achieve similar sensitivities, FIU is investigating the use of a B-H looper system. In this approach, the MENs material is probed with a specifically designed setup that includes small electric coils wrapped around the sample. The coils are arranged into a noisecancellation configuration to measure the magnetic susceptibility of the sample under various conditions with a lock-in amplifier. With the goal to identify signature response characteristics of specific environmental and mechanical effects, various epoxy based adhesive samples were doped with 30 nm diameter MENs. Differences in magnetic signatures were observed between environmentally aged samples and baseline samples, demonstrating the viability of the B-H looper system as a bond inspection tool.

In this article, the direct FIB etching of magnetic thin films to form nanostructures is explored. The effect of Ga+ ion implantation on magnetic properties as well as possibility of using thin capping layers to reduce Ga+ implantation are studied. The shape and size dependence of magnetic domain patterns in FIB- fabricated nanostructures are investigated.