Fabrication and Characterization of Magnetic Media Deposited on Top or Side Edges of Silicon Dots

Abstract

Arrays of lines and dots were patterned on silicon substrates by electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching. Co/Pt multilayers were sputter-deposited on these patterned substrates to realize perpendicular patterned media for ultra high-density magnetic recording. Magnetic material thus covers the top of the lines and dots, the bottom of the grooves between nanostructures, and to a lesser extent, the sidewalls. Magnetic properties were characterized by both macroscopic and magnetic force microscopy experiments. From the results obtained from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments, we propose a new approach for realizing patterned magnetic media using the side edges instead of the top of the dots.