Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and magneto-optical Kerr effect of vapor-deposited Co/Pt-layered structures

Abstract

We prepared by vapor deposition at room temperature thin (500 Å) Co/Pt multilayers or layered structures directly onto glass or Si substrates. They show a preferential magnetization perpendicular to the film plane for Co thicknesses below 12 Å and a 100% perpendicular remanence for Co thicknesses below 4.5 Å. The magnetic anisotropy can be explained by an interface contribution to the anisotropy. We also investigated the magneto‐optical (MO) polar Kerr effect of these multilayers. Because of their excellent magnetic properties and their potentially high oxidation and corrosion resistance, these Co/Pt‐layered structures are very promising candidates for MO recording. The Kerr rotation θ_k at λ=820 nm for a 35×(4.0 Å Co+12.7 Å Pt)‐layered structure, which has 100% magnetic remanence, is modest (−0.12°), but the reflectivity R is high (70%), which results in a respectable figure of merit Rθ²_k. Furthermore, the Kerr effect increases towards shorter wavelengths and thus favors future higher‐density recording.