Abstract:
A Co--Pt based magnetic alloy which has been sputtered with an oxide or nitride of a primary constituent of the magnetic layer, e. g. , CoO below about 10 at. %, provides improved coercivity, squareness, and reduced noise as compared to magnetic alloys with oxygen introduced by other methods. The alloy is vacuum deposited, for example, by sputtering, and the oxide or nitride may be introduced from the sputtering target from which the magnetic layer materials come or from a separate sputtering target. Examples of such oxides and nitrides include CoO, Co. sub. 2 O. sub. 3, Co. sub. 3 O. sub. 4, CrO. sub. 2, Cr. sub. 2 O. sub. 3, TiO. sub. 2, Ta. sub. 2 O. sub. 5, Al. sub. 2 O. sub. 3, WO, CoN, Co. sub. 2 N, TiN, TaN, CrN, NiN, etc.