CoCrPt antidot arrays with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy made on anodic alumina templates

Ti(5nm)/CoCrPt(5-20 nm) bilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy were deposited by rf sputtering onto porous alumina films to form antidot arrays with period 105 nm and pore diameters ranging from 18 to 56 nm. The coercivities of the antidot arrays are greater than those of unpatterned films and show only a weak dependence on antidot diameter. Magnetic force microscopy of ac-demagnetized samples shows that the antidot arrays have domain sizes larger than the 105 nm period. The magnetic behavior is discussed in terms of domain wall pinning by the antidots. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3137195]