Abstract: In a perpendicular magnetic recording medium in which at least a soft magnetic underlayer, an orientation control layer, a magnetic recording layer and a protective layer are formed on a non-magnetic substrate in order from the bottom, the orientation control layer has a laminated structure of two or more layers including an intermediate layer and a seed layer which is disposed closer to the non-magnetic substrate than the intermediate layer. The seed layer includes two or more kinds of elements having a face-centered cubic structure, has face-centered cubic (111) plane crystals oriented in a direction perpendicular to a substrate surface, and has a pseudo-hexagonal structure.

Abstract: The present invention provides a magnetic recording medium which is capable of improving the perpendicular orientation of a perpendicular magnetic recording layer while maintaining a writing performance during recording and obtaining both an improvement in the perpendicular orientation and fine magnetic crystal particles with a uniform diameter, and which enables information to be recorded or reproduced at high density, a method of manufacturing the same, and a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus. A magnetic recording medium 10 according to the present invention includes at least a soft magnetic underlayer 2, an orientation control layer 3, a magnetic recording layer 4, and a protective layer 5 formed on a non-magnetic substrate 1. The orientation control layer 3 has a seed layer 6 and an intermediate layer 7. The seed layer 6 is made of a Cu—Ti alloy that has a face-centered cubic structure and includes Cu as a main component.

Abstract: A perpendicular magnetic recording medium including at least a soft under layer, an orientation control layer, a magnetic recording layer and a protective layer on a non-magnetic substrate, wherein the orientation control layer is composed of three or more layers including a seed layer, a first intermediate layer and a second intermediate layer sequentially, formed in that order from the substrate side, the crystal grains that constitute the first intermediate layer are epitaxially grown on the crystal grains of the seed layer, the crystal grains that constitute the second intermediate layer are epitaxially grown on the crystal grains of the first intermediate layer, and the crystal grains that constitute the second intermediate layer are finer than the crystal grains that constitute the first intermediate layer.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium is provided which can record and reproduce high-density information by maintaining perpendicular orientation of a magnetic recording layer even with a decrease in thickness of nonmagnetic layers from an intermediate layer to a seed layer while decreasing the grain size of magnetic crystal grains to be consistent with an increase in recording density. A manufacturing method thereof and a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus are also provided. The magnetic recording medium is a perpendicular magnetic recording medium including at least an underlying layer, an orientation control layer, a magnetic recording layer, and a protective layer formed on a nonmagnetic substrate. Here, the orientation control layer includes two or more layers of a seed layer and an intermediate layer from the substrate side.

Abstract: A step of subjecting a carbon film deposited and adhering onto a surface of the carrier to an ashing removal in oxygen-including gas is executed after a step of detaching a magnetic recording medium after film formation from the carrier and before a step of attaching a next film-formation substrate to the carrier, and a pulsed voltage bias is applied to the carrier when executing the step of subjecting the carbon film to the ashing removal. Further, at an initial stage of the step of subjecting the carbon film to the ashing removal, a concentration of inactive gas in the plasma is increased as compared with an oxygen gas concentration and the oxygen gas concentration is then increased as compared with the concentration of the inactive gas.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium by mounting a substrate for film formation on a carrier, sequentially transporting said substrate into a plurality of connected chambers, and forming at least a magnetic film and a carbon protective film on said substrate for film formation within said chambers, wherein said method comprises a step of conducting ashing to remove an accumulated carbon protective film adhered to a carrier surface, which is performed following a step of removing a magnetic recording medium from said carrier following film formation, but prior to a step of mounting a substrate for film formation on said carrier.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic recording medium including a nonmagnetic substrate, and at least a soft magnetic under layer, an orientation control layer, a magnetic recording layer constituted of two or more layers and a protective layer formed on the nonmagnetic substrate, the method including a step of forming a first magnetic recording layer having a granular structure constituted of ferromagnetic crystal grains and crystal grain boundaries made of a nonmagnetic oxide or nitride on the nonmagnetic substrate side, a step of forming a second magnetic recording layer constituted only of ferromagnetic crystal grains, a step of forming a surface unevenness control layer for decreasing surface unevenness of the first magnetic recording layer located between the first magnetic recording layer and the second magnetic recording layer, and a step of heating the nonmagnetic substrate so as to decrease a surface roughness Ra of the second magnetic recording layer

Abstract: A perpendicular magnetic recording medium is provided, which has a soft magnetic layer, a seed layer, a first intermediate layer, a second intermediate layer and a perpendicular magnetic recording layer, formed in this order on a non-magnetic substrate, and is characterized in that the seed layer is comprised of a (002) crystal plane-orientated hcp structure, the first intermediate layer is comprised of a (110) crystal plane-orientated bcc structure and the second intermediate layer is comprised of a (002) crystal plane-orientated hcp structure. The (110) crystal plane-orientated bcc structure comprises at least 60 atomic % of Cr. The magnetic recording medium has fine and well discrete magnetic crystal grains with extremely small size and exhibits good perpendicular orientation in the perpendicular magnetic recording layer, and thus, the medium is capable of recording and reproducing information with high density.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium by mounting a substrate for film formation on a carrier, sequentially transporting said substrate into a plurality of connected chambers, and forming at least a magnetic film and a carbon protective film on said substrate for film formation within said chambers, wherein said method comprises a step of forming a metal film on a carrier surface, which is performed following a step of removing a magnetic recording medium from said carrier following film formation, but prior to a step of mounting a substrate for film formation on said carrier.

Abstract: There is provided a manufacturing method of a magnetic recording medium that maintains a high level of perpendicular orientation of a perpendicular magnetic layer and enables to further increase high recording density, prepared such that at least on a non-magnetic substrate, there are laminated a soft magnetic base layer, an orientation control layer 11 that controls the orientation of the layer immediately thereabove, and a perpendicular magnetic layer with a magnetization easy axis thereof primarily oriented perpendicular to the non-magnetic substrate.

Abstract: There are provided a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium which is excellent in terms of both the recording and reproduction characteristics and the thermal fluctuation characteristics without reducing the density and hardness of the perpendicular magnetic layer; a magnetic recording medium; and a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus with which an excellent recording density is achieved, wherein, in the method for manufacturing the magnetic recording medium, at least a portion of the perpendicular magnetic layer 4 is formed as a magnetic layer having a granular structure that contains Co as a major component and also contains an oxide of at least one nonmagnetic metal selected from the group consisting of Cr, Si, Ta, Al, Ti, W and Mg; a target for forming the perpendicular magnetic layer 4 by the sputtering process is prepared so as to include an oxide of Co and a compound of Co and at least one nonmagnetic metal selected from the group consisting of Cr, Si, Ta, Al, Ti, W and Mg, and t

Abstract: The present invention provides a magnetic recording medium capable of reducing the diameter of particles of a perpendicular magnetic recording layer and obtaining a high perpendicular orientation to enable information to be recorded or reproduced at a high density, a method of manufacturing the same, and a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus. A perpendicular magnetic recording medium includes a non-magnetic substrate; and at least a soft magnetic layer, an underlayer, an intermediate layer, and a perpendicular magnetic recording layer that are formed on the non-magnetic substrate in this order. The underlayer is a (111) crystal orientation layer having an fcc structure, and the intermediate layer includes a (110) crystal orientation layer having a bcc structure and a (002) crystal orientation layer having an hcp structure in this order. The (110) crystal orientation layer having the bcc structure includes 60 at % or more of Cr.

Abstract: The present invention provides a magnetic recording medium which is capable of improving the perpendicular orientation of a perpendicular magnetic recording layer while maintaining a writing performance during recording and obtaining both an improvement in the perpendicular orientation and fine magnetic crystal particles with a uniform diameter, and which enables information to be recorded or reproduced at high density, a method of manufacturing the same, and a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus. A magnetic recording medium 10 according to the present invention includes at least a soft magnetic underlayer 2, an orientation control layer 3, a magnetic recording layer 4, and a protective layer 5 formed on a non-magnetic substrate 1. The orientation control layer 3 has a seed layer 6 and an intermediate layer 7. The seed layer 6 is made of a Cu—Ti alloy that has a face-centered cubic structure and includes Cu as a main component.

Abstract: In a perpendicular magnetic recording medium in which at least a soft magnetic underlayer, an orientation control layer, a magnetic recording layer and a protective layer are formed on a non-magnetic substrate in order from the bottom, the orientation control layer has a laminated structure of two or more layers including an intermediate layer and a seed layer which is disposed closer to the non-magnetic substrate than the intermediate layer. The seed layer includes two or more kinds of elements having a face-centered cubic structure, has face-centered cubic (111) plane crystals oriented in a direction perpendicular to a substrate surface, and has a pseudo-hexagonal structure.

Abstract: The present invention provides a magnetic recording medium having superior startup operation and durability as well as satisfactory surface lubricity. The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium in which at least a magnetic layer, a protective film layer and a lubricant layer are sequentially laminated on a non-magnetic substrate, wherein the lubricant layer is surface treated using a gas activated by plasma generated at a pressure in the vicinity of atmospheric pressure. The present invention also relates to a magnetic recording medium produced according to the aforementioned manufacturing method.

Abstract: The present invention provides a magnetic recording medium having superior startup operation and durability as well as satisfactory surface lubricity. The present invention relates to a production process of a magnetic recording medium in which at least a magnetic layer, a protective film layer and a lubricant layer are sequentially laminated on a non-magnetic substrate, wherein the protective film layer is surface treated using a gas activated by plasma generated at a pressure in the vicinity of atmospheric pressure. The present invention also relates to a magnetic recording medium produced according to the aforementioned production process.

Abstract: The present invention is a production method for a magnetic recording media in which at least a magnetic layer, a protective layer, and a lubricant layer are sequentially layered onto a non-magnetic substrate 1, and non-magnetic substrate 1 is surface treated using a gas activated by plasma generated at around atmospheric pressure. As a result of the present invention, it is possible to produce magnetic recording media with good yield that have few errors and superior head floating properties, by effectively removing foreign material and projections present on the surface of the magnetic recording media.