Relationship between surface energy and preferred orientation of CoCr alloy magnetic thin films deposited on C and TiCr underlayers

The relationship between crystallographic grain orientation and the three kinds of surface energy components; dispersion, polar, and hydrogen bonding components, in Co₇₃Cr₁₈Pt₆Ta₃ perpendicular magnetic recording media with an amorphous C or a Ti₉₀Cr₁₀ underlayer was discussed. Each surface energy component of the thin film was calculated from an extended Fowkes theory by measuring the contact angle of a test liquid on the thin film. The experimental results revealed that the polar component of surface energy of the Co₇₃Cr₁₈Pt₆Ta₃ magnetization film with the C underlayer affected greatly the Co [0 0 1] preferred orientation of the Co₇₃Cr₁₈Pt₆Ta₃ magnetization film, while the surface energy of the Co₇₃Cr₁₈Pt₆Ta₃ magnetic layer with the Ti₉₀Cr₁₀ underlayer had little influence on the distribution of it.