Fabrication of bit patterned media using templated two-phase growth

Abstract

In fabricating high areal density magnetic nanostructures for bit patterned magnetic recording media, conventional lithography methods are limited in scaling and often present other challenges, for instance, as etch-damage in case of subtractive schemes. In this paper, we present a novel two-phase growth scheme that enables the fabrication of nanostructures of one material embedded in a matrix of a different material by choosing a separation material that is immiscible with the material of the nanostructure and by designing a template whose material and morphology guides the separation of the two phases and their subsequent growth.