Magnetization reversal study of CoCrPt alloy thin films on a nanogranular-length scale using magnetic transmission soft x-ray microscopy

Abstract

We have investigated element-specific magnetization reversal behavior of (Co83Cr17)(87)Pt-13 alloy thin films with a lateral resolution of 35-nm using magnetic transmission soft x-ray microscopy. We report that the magnetization switching is carried out by a random nucleation process that can be attributed to individual grains. We found evidence of a large distribution of the switching fields at the nanogranular-length scale, which has to be considered seriously for applications of CoCrPt systems as high-density magnetic storage materials. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.