Three major methods have emerged for the reduction of media noise in thin-film disks and are rooted in the segregation of the grains in the film structure. Physical grain segregation is achieved by altering the adatom mobility of the sputtering process resulting in physically voided grain structures. Compositional segregation is achieved by sputtering high Cr/Co ratio magnetic alloys at elevated temperatures. Finally, a separation into two or more magnetic layers (multilayers) results in a decoupled structure with improved noise characteristics. All three methods have advantages and drawbacks in relationship to other recording properties, general disk properties, and manufacturability concerns. The optimum disk for a recording system is not necessarily the lowest noise medium, but a disk athat compromises improved noise characteristics with improved recording properties, while allowing for an economic and easily manufacturable process.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.