http://files.janapv.webnode.cz/200000097-8a03f8afdf/ex_bias_nano.pdf

Exchange bias in nanostructures

In current longitudinal magnetic recording media, high areal density and low noise are achieved by statistical averaging over several hundred weakly coupled ferromagnetic grains per bit cell. Continued scaling to smaller bit and grain sizes, however, may prompt spontaneous magnetization reversal processes when the stored energy per particle starts competing with thermal energy, thereby limiting the achievable areal density. Charap et al. have predicted this to occur at about 40 Gbits/in/sup 2/. This paper discusses thermal effects in the framework of basic Arrhenius-Neel statistical switching models. It is emphasized that magnetization decay is intimately related to high-speed-switching phenomena. Thickness-, temperature- and bit-density dependent recording experiments reveal the onset of thermal decay at "stability ratios" (K/sub u/V/K/sub B/T)/sub 0//spl sime/35 /spl plusmn/ 2. The stability requirement is grain size dispersion dependent and shifts to about 60 for projected 40 Gbits/in/sup 2/ conditions and ten-year storage times. Higher anisotropy and coercivity media with reduced grain sizes are logical extensions of the current technology until write field limitations are reached. Future advancements will rely on deviations from traditional scaling. Squarer bits may reduce destabilizing stray fields inside the bit transitions. Perpendicular recording may shift the onset of thermal effects to higher bit densities. Enhanced signal processing may allow signal retrieval with fewer grains per bit. Finally, single grain per bit recording may be envisioned in patterned media, with lithographically defined bits.

Thermal effect limits in ultrahigh-density magnetic recording

bases were introduced in [Smy77] where they are called “R-structures”. Examples of abstract bases are concrete bases of continuous domains, of course, where the relation≺ is the restriction of the order of approximation. Axiom (INT) is satisfied because of Lemma 2.2.15 and because we have required bases in domains to have directed sets of approximants for each element. Other examples are partially ordered sets, where (INT) is satisfied because of reflexivity. We will shortly identify posets as being exactly the bases of compact elements of algebraic domains. In what follows we will use the terminology developed at the beginning of this chapter, even though the relation ≺ on an abstract basis need neither be reflexive nor antisymmetric. This is convenient but in some instances looks more innocent than it is. An idealA in a basis, for example, has the property (following from directedness) that for everyx ∈ A there is another element y ∈ A with x ≺ y. In posets this doesn’t mean anything but here it becomes an important feature. Sometimes this is stressed by using the expression ‘ A is a round ideal’. Note that a set of the form↓x is always an ideal because of (INT) but that it need not contain x itself. We will refrain from calling ↓x ‘principal’ in these circumstances. Definition 2.2.21. For a basis〈B,≺〉 let Idl(B) be the set of all ideals ordered by inclusion. It is called theideal completionof B. Furthermore, leti : B → Idl(B) denote the function which maps x ∈ B to ↓x. If we want to stress the relation with whichB is equipped then we write Idl(B,≺) for the ideal completion. Proposition 2.2.22.Let 〈B,≺〉 be an abstract basis.

Domain theory

▪ Abstract Continuing increases in the areal density of hard disk drives will be limited by thermal instability of the thin film medium. Patterned media, in which data are stored in an array of single-domain magnetic particles, have been suggested as a means to overcome this limitation and to enable recording densities of up to 150 Gbit cm−2 (1 Tbit inch−2) to be achieved. However, the implementation of patterned media requires fabrication of sub-50-nm features over large areas and the design of recording systems that differ substantially from those used in conventional hard drives. This review describes patterned media, including the fabrication of arrays of small magnetic particles and their magnetic properties, such as domain structure, reversal mechanisms, thermal stability, and interactions. The practical implementation of patterned media recording schemes is assessed.

Patterned Magnetic Recording Media

Cubic monodisperse MFe2O4 ferrite nanoparticles (M = Fe, Co, and Mn) with tunable sizes between 7 and 20 nm and a narrow size distribution have been achieved in a one step synthesis by thermal decomposition of Fe(III), Co (II), and Mn(II) oleates. These nanoparticles have been functionalized with dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA), and bis(carboxymethyl)(2-maleimidylethyl)ammonium 4-toluenesulfonate (MATS) to grant them aqueous stability and the possibility for further functionalization with different biomolecules. Their structural, magnetic, and colloidal properties have also been studied to determine their chemical and physical properties and the degree of stability under physiological conditions that will determine their future use in biomedical applications.

Manfred E. Schabes

Papers

Micromagnetic theory of non-uniform magnetization processes in magnetic recording particles