Partially crystallized BaM thin films for high density magnetic recording

Partially crystallized Ba-ferrite thin films were prepared by strictly controlling the rapid thermal annealing time during the post-deposition annealing process for as-deposited amorphous thin films. It is believed that by atom force microscopy (AFM) that these kinds of thin films have a smooth surface compared with fully crystallized BaM thin films. Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) measurement shows that the films have very small ΔM peak values which correspond to low magnetostatic coupling between the magnetic particles separated by the non-magnetic amorphous phase.