Abstract: A magnetic recording medium having a recording layer formed in a concavo-convex pattern, which can allow a head to have stable flying characteristics. The recording layer is formed in a concavo-convex pattern, and concave portions of the concavo-convex pattern of the recording layer are filled with a non-magnetic material. The relationship of S?3.6×R holds, when R represents a concavo-convex ratio obtained by dividing an area of convex portions in a surface by an area of the concave portions in the surface, and S represents a difference in height between a concavity and a convexity of the surface. In the magnetic recording medium, an arithmetical mean deviation of the assessed profile of the surface is limited to 0.3 nm or more.

Abstract: A polyester film for recording medium, having one major surface thereof provided with a coating layer containing fine particles of 5 to 60 nm diameter and an organic compound, wherein the number of fine surface projections existing on the surface of the coating layer is in the range of 3 million to 100 million/mm2, and the number of surface defects of 120 nm or greater height attributed to foreign matter contained in the film is 30/100 cm2 or less, and wherein the polyester contains a titanium compound substantially not having any particle diameter. Thus, there are provided a magnetic recording tape for digital data recording that can reduce dropouts and excels in durability, and further provided a polyester film that is suitable as a base film thereof.

Abstract: A substrate for use as a disk substrate in a hard disk drive or the like, an information recording medium such as a magnetic disk, and a starting material glass plate which is a starting material of the substrate for information recording media. The forming conditions of the starting material glass plate are controlled such that the starting material glass plate has a long-wavelength waviness of not more than 6 nm. This starting material glass plate is polished so as to have a long-wavelength waviness of not more than 6 nm using CeO2 abrasive grains having a mean grain diameter of not less than 0.01 ?m and a 90% diameter of the volume grain size distribution of not less than 0.02 ?m. The resulting substrate for an information recording medium has an excellent planarity, can be obtained in a short time and with a low polishing amount, and the resulting information recording medium is able to cope with increased data zone recording density.

Abstract: A substrate for an information recording medium, which has high heat resistance and high acid resistance and is formed of a glass having a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 600° C. or higher and having an etching rate of 0.1 ?m/minute or less with regard to a hydrosilicofluoric acid aqueous solution that is maintained at a temperature of 45° C. and has a hydrosilicofluoric acid concentration of 1.72% by weight, and an information recording medium having an information recording layer formed on the above substrate.

Abstract: A member of supporting magnetic disc substrates is provided, comprising a ceramic sinter containing a ceramic component and at least one conductive component selected from a group consisting of iron, niobium, tin zinc, copper, nickel, cobalt, and chromium, wherein the ceramic sinter has conductive aggregates on its peripheral surface. In the member, the ceramic component may be forsterite and the conductive component is iron oxide, wherein the ceramic sinter comprises a main phase of 2MgO.SiO2 and a secondary phase of at least one of MgFe2O4, Fe3O4, and Fe2O3.

Abstract: A master for magnetic transfer is provided that obtains favorable close contact with a slave medium, is capable of good positioning therewith, and prevents positional misalignment, damage, and separation failures. The master carrier is formed to have surface properties such that a frictional characteristic value F/P·A is within a range from 173 to 24/cm2, and preferably within a range from 112 to 45/cm2, when the master carrier and the slave medium are placed in uniform close contact with a contact area A, a vertical load P is applied, the master carrier and the slave medium are pulled in their planar directions, and the maximum static friction at this time is designated as F. It is also preferable that a hard protective layer of DLC film is formed on the surface of the master carrier, and that a lubricant is provided on the hard protective layer, as necessary.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium is obtained by easily patterning a magnetic recording layer without deteriorating its electromagnetic conversion characteristics, by forming a silicon-based protective film between the magnetic recording layer and a photoresist, and performing dry etching and oxygen plasma processing.

Abstract: The present invention provides a magnetic recording medium comprising a magnetic layer with excellent surface smoothness, which comprises a thin film magnetic layer of thickness in a range from 0.03 to 0.30 ?m that is ideal for short wavelength recording, and displays superior electromagnetic conversion characteristics. The magnetic recording medium comprises a magnetic layer containing at least a ferromagnetic powder and a binder resin on one surface of a non-magnetic support, wherein the thickness of the magnetic layer is within a range from 0.03 to 0.30 ?m, and the number of concavities with a depth of 30 nm or greater in the surface of the magnetic layer is 5 per 1 cm2 of surface area or less. Preferably, the value of the average depth Rv6 of the surface of the magnetic layer, as measured by a contact type surface roughness meter, is 12 nm or less.

Abstract: Disclosed are a magnetic tape capable of being wound regularly, and an apparatus and a method by which the tape is wound regularly. The tape-shaped recording medium, which includes a tape-shaped support body and a recording layer being formed on a surface of the support body, is curved laterally over its whole length and said tape-shaped recording medium being curved laterally over its whole length and having a surface arching across a whole width of the medium. Furthermore, it is preferable that a curved amount of the medium ranges from 0.5 mm/m to 4.0 mm/m and an arched amount of the medium ranges from 0.3 mm to 2.0 mm.

Abstract: A protection layer containing carbon as a major component is deposited by plasma CVD. The protection layer has film quality such that, when a spectrum is obtained by excluding photoluminescence from a Raman spectrum in a wavenumber band from 900 cm?1 to 1800 cm?1 obtained by exciting the protection layer with an argon ion laser beam having a wavelength of 514.5 nm and the spectrum is subjected to waveform separation by the Gaussian function to split a D peak appearing around 1350 cm?1 and a G peak appearing around 1520 cm?1, the ratio Dw/Gw between a half width Dw of the D peak and a half width Gw of the G peak exceeds 0 and is not greater than 2.7.

Abstract: A leader tape has, on at least one face of a support, a coating layer that contains a powder and a binder, which is characterized in that the center line average roughness (Ra) of at least one face of the leader tape is from 10 to 60 nm, the leader tape is used in a magnetic recording and reproduction device where the line recording density is at least 100 kfci, and the difference between the recording track width and the reproduction track width is from 0 to 16 ?m.

Abstract: The invention can provide a production method for a magnetic disk substrate capable of reducing the number of surface defects of a glass substrate. When a magnetic disk is produced by using the resulting magnetic disk substrate, the yield and, furthermore, the reliability can be improved. When a surface of a magnetic disk substrate is washed after it is polished, the glass substrate is dipped into a washing solution while the surface of the glass substrate polished is held under a wet condition. The wet condition of the surface of the glass substrate includes a condition in which the glass substrate is dipped into water that may contain a surfactant, and a condition in which a liquid film is formed substantially on the entire surface.

Abstract: A film and a magnetic-recording medium using the film, where the heat shrinkage ratio in the transverse direction of the film subjected to heat treatment under no tension for 30 min. at 180° C. is from 1.0 to 2.5%, and where the film satisfies the following equations (1)-(4) simultaneously, with ?MD (×10?6/° C.) and ?TD (×10?6/° C.) being coefficient of thermal expansion in the longitudinal and the transverse direction, respectively, and ?MD (×10?6/% RH) and?TD (×10?6/% RH) being coefficient of hygroscopic expansion in the longitudinal and the transverse direction, respectively. In the film, by controlling the dimensional changes by temperature and humidity within specific ranges, it becomes possible to control the dimensional change and the difference in dimensional changes between the longitudinal and the transverse direction of the film used as a magnetic-recording medium to be extremely small. ?10??MD?10 (1), ?MD?10??TD??MD?3 (2), ?10??MD?10 (3), ?MD?10??TD??MD?3 (4).

Abstract: A cleaning medium comprising: a backcoat layer; a nonmagnetic support; and a cleaning layer containing ferromagnetic powder and a binder, in this order, wherein the cleaning layer has projections having a height of 10 nm or higher on a surface of the cleaning layer at a density of from 0.10 to 5.0/?m2 and a surface microhardness of from 294 to 784 MPa.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium in which a recording layer is formed in a predetermined concavo-convex pattern and recording and reproducing apparatus comprising the magnetic recording medium are disclosed. The magnetic recording medium has a high areal density and high reliability since the occurrence of a crash of a magnetic head is suppressed. The magnetic recording medium comprises a recording layer formed over a substrate in a predetermined concavo-convex pattern to form recording elements as a convex portion of the concavo-convex pattern and a non-magnetic filler element filled in a concave portion between the recording elements. In this configuration, the top surface of the filler element is formed in a shape partially recessed toward the substrate side to form a groove having a width smaller than the width of the concave portion on the surface of the magnetic recording medium.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium comprising: a magnetic layer; a first radiation curable resin layer; a non-magnetic support having an intrinsic viscosity of from 0.47 to 0.51 dL/g; and a second radiation curable resin layer, in this order, wherein the first radiation curable resin layer contains a filler, and the second radiation curable resin layer contains a filler.

Abstract: Provided is a surface-treated substrate in which the roughness of the surface of the substrate is controlled. The surface-treated substrate can form a magnetic recording medium in which head flying stability is maintained and which has a magnetic film that can achieve high recording densities. Also provided is a method for roughening the surface of the substrate. More specifically, provided is a surface-treated silicon substrate for a magnetic recording medium in which a surface used for forming a recording layer has 40 to 1000 protrusions per 1 ?m2 with a maximum height of 10 nm or less and an average roughness of 0.3 to 2.0 nm, and in which there are no defects or spots on any of the surface. Furthermore, provided is a method for manufacturing the surface-treated silicon substrate for the magnetic recording medium, comprising a step of etching a surface of a silicon substrate, wherein ultrasound is applied to the surface of the silicon substrate with the substrate shaken or rotated.

Abstract: A magnetic tape medium having superior dimensional stability in the width direction and off-track resistance is provided although having a very high track width in the width direction. As a non-magnetic substrate of a magnetic tape medium in which the track density in the width direction is 50 tracks/mm or more, the off-track margin is 5 ?m or less, and the maximum permissible amount of change in dimension in the width direction caused by environment factors is 0.10% or less, a laminate composed of a plastic film and films provided on two surfaces thereof is used, the films being formed of a material selected from the group including a metal, a semi-metal, an alloy, and an oxide or composite formed of the aforementioned material, having a Young's modulus of 7×103 kg/mm2 or more and a coefficient of thermal expansion of 18×10?6/° C. or less.

Abstract: A glass substrate for a magnetic recording medium is formed to have a disc shape and includes ridge shaped textures 13 extending along concentric circles on a main surface. When measuring a 10 ?m square range with an atomic force microscope, the textures have a width W that is between 10 and 200 nm. The textures have a height H that is between 2 and 10 nm. Further, the textures have a ratio (Rp/RMs) of a maximum mountain height with respect to a root mean square roughness that is less than or equal to 15. The textures include high frequency components superimposed on the low frequency components. It is preferable that the textures of the high frequency components have a width W? that is between 0.1 and 20 nm, and the textures of the high frequency components have a height H? that is between 0.1 and 1 nm.

Abstract: A substrate for an information recording medium, which substrate is made of a highly heat-resistant and low-alkali-elution glass and is suitable as a substrate for forming a perpendicular-magnetic-recording-mode layers thereon at a high temperature with a sputtering machine, the substrate being made of an alkali-metal-oxide-containing glass having a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 620° C. or higher and satisfying a requirement that the alkali ion elution amount per a unit area when the glass is immersed in water having a temperature of 80° C. for 24 hours is 0.2 ?mol/cm2 or less, an information recording medium having an information recording layer formed on the substrate, and a process for producing the information recording medium.