UC Davis

Depth grading of magnetic anisotropy in perpendicular magnetic media has been predicted to reduce thefield required to write data without sacrificing thermal stability. To study this prediction, we have producedCo/Pd multilayers with depth-dependent Co layer thickness. Polarized neutron reflectometry shows that thethickness grading results in a corresponding magnetic anisotropy gradient. Magnetometry reveals that theanisotropy gradient promotes domain nucleation upon magnetization reversal - a clear experimental demonstrationof the effectiveness of graded anisotropy for reducing write field.