Grain size reduction in CoCrPt:SiO2 perpendicular recording media with oxide-based intermediate layers

Co Cr Pt – Si O 2 perpendicular recording media containing an oxide-based intermediate layer have been studied in order to minimize the grain size in the recording layer. A RuCr alloy thin film deposited in an argon and oxygen reactive atmosphere was found to produce finer grains in the intermediate layer. When the recording layer was deposited on such an intermediate layer, the grain size of the recording layer was also observed to be smaller (about 6.4nm center-to-center distances). The results indicate that the introduction of RuCr-oxide-based intermediate layers is a possible approach to reduce the grain size in perpendicular recording media.