Abstract
Recently, CoZrNb amorphous metal films have been studied for use in perpendicular magnetic recording heads, because of their high saturation magnetization, high permeability and small magnetostriction coefficient. In this paper, the magnetic characteristics of these films are discussed as to the influence of substrates surface smoothness and the annealing effect of the amorphous films. The CoZrNb amorphous metal films are deposited on glass or ceramic substrates by the RF sputtering method. The ceramic substrates have been ground and mirror polished. The direction and amplitude of anisotropy fields (Hk) of the films on ceramic substrates are highly dependent on the grinding direction. The films are annealed within a rotating magnetic field at an appropriate temperature. Amplitudes of the Hk decrease with the annealing time. Hk direction of the films, however, is oriented along that of the applied static magnetic fields within which the films are annealed. Combining those two annealing methods, the first within a static field and the second within a rotating field, the direction and amplitude of Hk can be controlled independently to a desirable value with a small coercive force.
