Abstract: A perpendicular magnetic recording medium 10 adapted to be mounted in a perpendicular magnetic recording type hard disk drive and including a disk-shaped disk base 12, a soft magnetic layer 14 formed on the disk base 12, and a perpendicular magnetic recording layer 16 formed on the soft magnetic layer 14, wherein, at respective portions of the soft magnetic layer 14, directional distribution of easy magnetization axes of magnetic particles included In each of the respective portions is isotropic with respect to respective directions in the main surface of the soft magnetic layer 14.

Abstract: A reflective mask and a reflective mask blank that can form a fine mask pattern with high accuracy in shape, achieve a sufficient contrast in a pattern inspection, and enable a pattern transfer with high accuracy. On a substrate (11), a multilayer reflective film (12) for reflecting an exposure light, a buffer layer (13), and an absorber layer for absorbing the exposure light are successively deposited in this order. This absorber layer has a layered structure composed of an uppermost layer (15) and a lower layer (14) other than it. The uppermost layer (15) exhibits a reflectance of 20% or less with respect to a light having an inspection wavelength for use in an inspection of a pattern formed in the absorber layer and further is formed of an inorganic material having a resistance against an etching condition in forming a pattern in the lower layer.

Abstract: A reflective mask blank has a substrate (11) on which a reflective layer (12) for reflecting exposure light in a short-wavelength region including an extreme ultraviolet region and an absorber layer (16) for absorbing the exposure light are successively formed. The absorber layer (16) has an at least two-layer structure including as a lower layer an exposure light absorbing layer (14) formed by an absorber for the exposure light in the short-wavelength region including the extreme ultraviolet region and as an upper layer a low-reflectivity layer (15) formed by an absorber for inspection light used in inspection of a mask pattern. The upper layer is made of a material containing tantalum (Ta), boron (B), and nitrogen (N). The content of B is 5 at % to 30 at %. The ratio of Ta and N (Ta:N) falls within a range of 8:1 to 2:7. Alternatively, the reflective mask blank has a substrate on which a multilayer reflective film and an absorber layer are successively formed.