IEEE Magnetics Society
Santa Clara Valley Chapter
Meeting Presentation Summary

Tuesday, June 14^th, 2011

Western Digital, 1710 Automation Parkway, San Jose, CA
Directions and Map
Cookies, Conversation & Pizza too at 7:00 P.M.
Presentation at 7:30 P.M.

Growth-control and microstructure characterization of magnetic thin films, application to high density perpendicular magnetic recording media

Prof. Masaaki Futamoto
Chuo University

Abstract

Various magnetic thin films are used for recording media and heads of hard disk drives. The magnetic properties have been greatly improved to cope with a continuous areal density increase of more than 10⁴ times over the past quarter century. The improvement has been realized by tailoring the composition and the microstructure of magnetic thin films.

This lecture covers the technology and the physics for controlling the microstructure of magnetic thin films, focusing mainly on perpendicular recording media and related magnetic materials. Initially, technological developments will be briefly reviewed and then the following topics will be discussed: (1) nucleation and growth of magnetic thin films through heteroepitaxy on nonmagnetic underlayers, (2) nanostructure and nano- composition characterization, (3) application to perpendicular magnetic recording media, (4) magnetization structure analysis, (5) epitaxial growth of single-crystal magnetic thin films with metastable and ordered crystal structures, and (6) patterned-type perpendicular recording media for higher densities. The relationships between film microstructure and magnetic properties will also be discussed.

Copy Of Presentation

Biography

Prof. Masaaki Futamoto received the B.E., M.E., and Dr degrees in material science from Osaka University in 1971, 1973, and 1982, respectively. He joined Central Research Laboratory, Hitachi Ltd., in 1973 and worked on electron emissive materials. From 1982 to 1983, he was a visiting scientist at the University of Sussex, U.K. From 1983 to 2003, he has engaged in the research and development of high density magnetic recording, in particular the development of perpendicular magnetic recording media. From 1996 to 2001, he served as the leader of a research group in a Japanese National Project that was established to develop future-oriented magnetic recording technologies. In 2004, he was appointed as a professor of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University.

His research interests include high-density magnetic recording, magnetic recording media, thin film heads, epitaxial growth of thin films, structure and composition characterization of magnetic thin films, and magnetic imaging. He has authored more than 250 scientific papers in the fields of surface science, crystal growth, magnetic recording, and thin film technologies. He is also an inventor of 350 issued patents and patent applications. Professor Futamoto has given invited talks at major international conferences: Intermag, MMM, TMRC, PMRC, MRS, etc.

Prof. Futamoto is a Fellow of the IEEE since 2002. He has served as the chairman of the Technical Committee of Magnetic Recording of IEICE (2000-2002), a member of Committee 144 (Magnetic Recording) of the Japan Society of Promotion of Science (1989-present), and the editorial director for the Magnetics Society of Japan (2003-2007).

Contact:

• Prof. Masaaki Futamoto
• Chuo University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551, Japan
• futamoto [at] elect.chuo-u.ac.jp