Ion-implantation studies on perpendicular media

Magnetic and structural properties of ion implanted perpendicular recording media have been investigated. Effects of 12C ion implantation with the doses of 2×10 11, 10 13, 10 14 and 10 16 ions/cm 2 in the magnetic recording layer of conventionl granuler and continuous perpendicular media are reported in this paper. Implantation with the highest fluence of 10 16 ions/cm 2 resulted in change of the magnetization reversal mechanism, thereby reducing coercivity. In continuous media the implanted ions cause increase in pinning defects, leading to an increase in coercivity. In contrast, high dose was found to cause similar change in the crystallographic properties of both the granular and continuous media. © 2011 American Scientific Publishers.