Perpendicular recording CoPtCrO composite media with performance enhancement capping layer

A systematic investigation of the structural and recording characteristics of CoPtCrO composite media with various Co alloys as well as continuous TbFeCo capping layers has been performed. For the media with a Co-alloy capping layer (M_s∼900 emu/cm³), the transition jitter remains unaffected and dc noise is greatly reduced. However, for the media with low M_s capping layer or continuously exchange coupled TbFeCo capping layer, transition jitter is increased. Magnetically continuous but structurally discontinuous Co-alloy capping layers grown onto well-isolated Co grains can reduce dc noise, while maintaining low transition noise.