High coercivity CoCrPt films achieved by post-deposition rapid thermal annealing

Post-deposition rapid thermal annealing (RTA) was performed on multilayered films consisting of a Mn capping layer on top of CoCrPt/CrTi/NiAl. High coercivities were achieved even at low Mrt values and coercivity values increased more than that would have been predicted by the decrease in magnetization values. This is most likely due to the significant decrease in intergranular exchange coupling, as shown by the δM measurement. Transmission electron microscopy characterization indicates no apparent grain growth and no visible improvement in CoCrPt crystallographic texture after RTA. It is believed that the preferential diffusion of Mn into CoCrPt grain boundaries promotes magnetic grain isolation.