CONTROL OF TEXTURE IN POLYCRYSTALLINE THIN FILMS USED AS DATA STORAGE MEDIA

In current data storage systems the information is stored in polycrystalline thin film media which have a preferred crystallographic texture. The preferred texture is such that the easy axis of magnetization (or ferroelectricity) is either in the plane of the film or perpendicular to the plane of the film. The texture of the media is obtained through polycrystalline epitaxy on layers that are deposited beneath the thin film media. In this paper we review the various schemes that have been and are being used in our media group in the Data Storage Systems Center at Carnegie Mellon University to obtain preferred textures in magnetic and ferroelectric media. We will include descriptions of the control the texture of media made of close packed hexagonal Co based alloys, tetragonal FePt L1(0) phases and the tetragonal PZT perovskite phase.