Thickness Dependent Coercivity in Sputtered Co/Pt Multilayers

Abstract

Sputtered Co/Pt multilayers grown on etched SiNx buffers exhibit large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and show a striking thickness dependence of the perpendicular coercivity. HC ⊥of a series of Nx(0.3nmCo/l.lnmPt) multi-layers varies from 0 to 3.3kOe, with a linear rise in the range’ 2≤N≤13 and saturates in the range 13≤N≤30. This behavior does not correlate with the column diameters and vertical grain sizes determined from XTEM and XRD measurements and is interpreted in terms of nm rather than µm scale defects, which are responsible for domain wall pinning and nucleation in the present films. © 1992 IEEE