Crystalline texture and magnetic anisotropy of Co-P films prepared by chemical deposition

Chemically deposited Co-P films with a P concentration of 2.5% have been studied by X-ray diffraction (Bragg geometry), electron microscopy, and magnetometry. The films have been found to represent a fine-grained medium in which the orientation of crystallites depends on the film thickness. At a thickness less than 70 nm, the films have a certain crystalline texture with a preferred orientation of the hexagonal axis c of the crystallites perpendicular to the film plane. With increasing film thickness, the character of the texture changes; the c axes of crystallites lie now predominantly in the film plane. At thicknesses exceeding 500 nm, the texture becomes stronger; the c axes are now distributed in the film plane equiprobably. These results can be used when producing magnetic media for longitudinal and transverse magnetic recording.