Properties of microstructure on amorphous film of rare earth-transition metal alloy for ultrahigh density recording

Controlling the microstructure of amorphous rare earth-transition metal films via the sputtering process was found to be an effective way of controlling their magnetic properties for applications as magneto-optical storage media. This paper describes how the relationship between a TbFeCo film's magnetic properties and its microcolumnar structure depends on the sputtering conditions. An enhancement of electric resistance value was observed for the devices with a constriction columnar width in the 5-20 nm range. The measured electrical resistance was over 1.0x10(-5) Omega m in this case. It is believed that the change of electrical resistance on the thin film is due to fluctuations in the density on the arranged microstructure or constriction of current induced by scattering because the film structure contains impurities. These same impurities are believed to be associated with the restriction of the trapped domain wall's mobility. Furthermore, we observed a significant resistance change subsequent to the application of lower Xe pressure sputtering. This paper also serves as a feasibility study for high-density magneto-optical recording on these media materials.