Vacuum deposited Co-Cr films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Magnetic and structural properties of vacuum deposited cobalt-chromium (Co-Cr) films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy have been studied. The films were deposited on tape-shaped heat-resistant polymer substrates which were continuously transported around a cylindrical can in evaporation vacuum chamber. During deposition the can was heated at elevated substrate temperatures. The deposition rate was in the range of several thousand angstroms per second, and the substrate transport speed was about 10 m/min. The perpendicular coercive force and the perpendicular anisotropy magnetic field of the films increased as the substrate temperatures were elevated. A perpendicular coercive force greater than 1000 Oe was obtained for the substrate temperatures higher than 300°C. All the Co-Cr films deposited at substrate temperatures 30-350°C had hexagonal close-packed (hcp) crystal structures and nearly constant values of c-axis orientation Δθ50.