Abstract

Amorphous rare earth-transition metal alloy (RE-TM) films are the most promising candidates for an erasable optical memory media. For plactical use, long-term preservation for recording, large figure of merit value for readout and high sensitivity for writing and erasing must be thoroughly accomplished. However, RE-TM films containing Fe as a chief element are mostly weakly resistant against atmospheric conditions, so it is considered very difficult to achieve practical reliability by an easy protection method.

© 1985 Optical Society of America