Continuous formation of CoCr films on PEN tape by facing targets sputtering

In order to establish the technique of continuous formation of Co-Cr film on PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) tape, the sputtering and deposition area in the facing-targets sputtering (FTS) system was divided into two areas. In the first area, an initial underlayer as thin as 200 Å with a well-oriented c-axis was formed. In the second area, a main layer as thick as 1500 Å was formed on the initial underlayer at a rate of 500 Å/min; good c-axis orientation facilitated epitaxial growth. It was found that the FTS method can suppress the c-axis canting of the Co-Cr crystallites without a significant increase of total deposition time. Thermoplastic PEN tape can be used without heat damage, instead of the heat-resistant polyimide, as a substrate for Co-Cr films for the perpendicular magnetic recording tape