A thin film magnetic media structure with a pre-seed layer of CrTi is
disclosed. The CrTi pre-seed layer presents an amorphous or
nanocrystalline structure. The preferred seed layer is RuAl for use with
the CrTi pre-seed layer. The use of the CrTi/RuAl bilayer structure
provides superior adhesion to the substrate and resistance to scratching,
as well as, excellent coercivity and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and
reduced cost over the prior art. One embodiment of the invention
sputter-deposits a CrTi pre-seed layer and a RuAl seed layer followed by
at least one underlayer and at least one magnetic layer on a
circumferentially polished substrate structure to achieve an Mrt
orientation ratio greater than one. Two methods according to the invention
allow the Mrt orientation ratio of the disk to be adjusted or maximized by
varying the thickness of the RuAl seed layer and/or altering the atomic
percentage of titanium in the pre-seed layer.
