We report for the first time the fabrication of CoPt+AlN “granular nanorods” utilizing glancing angle deposition (GLAD) on a multi-gun, planetary sputtering system. Initially, AlN was deposited by reactive sputtering from an Al target while CoPt multilayers were simulataneously sputtered using cobalt and platinum targets. Various ratios of Co and Pt, ranging from Co80Pt20 to Co50 Pt50, were used to deposit CoPt-AlN nanorods with different AlN volume percentages. X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron dispersive X-rays (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and alternating gradient magnetometry(AGM) were employed to characterize the structural and magnetic properties, respectively. SEM micrographs indicated that the nanorods were approximately 16 nm in diameter, the angle between the substrate plane and the growth direction was about 78 degrees, while the lengths of the nanorods ranged from 30 to 50 nm, depending on deposition time. The angles between the substrate plane and incident flux ranged from 47 degrees to 82 degrees as the substrate presented itself at different angles to the target during the planetary deposition. The composition of CoPt-AlN has been studied by EDX for different ratios of AlN. M-H loops showed that the planetary GLAD sample had twice the coercivity of the flat sample.

 

We have also compared stationary vs. planetary GLAD, and sequential deposition of AlN/CoPt multilayers with true co-deposition, using an annular CoPt target with an Al insert. Simulations of the deposition have been carried out to gain a better understanding of where the AlN segregates with respect to the CoPt grains. These preliminary results indicate a novel and promising approach to nanopatterned graded media that is the subject of intense research in the data storage industry.