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: A perpendicular magnetic recording medium is provided, which has a soft magnetic layer, an under layer, an intermediate layer and a perpendicular magnetic recording layer, and is characterized in that the perpendicular magnetic recording layer is comprised of at least one magnetic layer, which magnetic layer or at least one of which magnetic layers comprises cobalt-based ferromagnetic crystal grains and grain boundaries comprised of an oxide, wherein the ferromagnetic crystal grains further comprise ruthenium. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium has ferromagnetic crystal grains with extremely small grain size and exhibiting enhanced discretion, as well as good perpendicular orientation in the perpendicular magnetic recording layer, and thus, the medium is capable of recording and reproducing information with high density.

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: A thermal-assist magnetic recording medium is provided which can accomplish a surface recording density of 1 Tbit/inch2. The thermal-assist magnetic recording medium includes: a substrate; a plurality of underlying layers formed on the substrate; a first magnetic layer formed on the underlying layers; a coupling control layer formed on the first magnetic layer and formed of a ferromagnetic alloy; and a second magnetic layer formed on the coupling control layer. Here, Curie temperatures of the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer are higher than the Curie temperature of the coupling control layer, an anisotropy magnetic field of the first magnetic layer is greater than the anisotropy magnetic field of the second magnetic layer, and a saturation magnetic field has a minimum value at a temperature of 350° C. or lower.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium is provided, which has at least one soft magnetic layer, at least one seed layer, at least one underlayer and at least one perpendicular magnetic recording layer, and is characterized in that the or each seed layer is comprised of a covalently bonded material. The covalently bonded material preferably predominantly comprises a nitride having a hexagonal crystal structure, more preferably, predominantly comprises aluminum nitride having a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure. This magnetic recording medium is superior in recording and reproducing an information with high density.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium comprising a substrate, at least one soft magnetic underlayer formed on the substrate, a perpendicular magnetic recording layer formed on the soft magnetic underlayer, and a protective layer formed on the perpendicular magnetic recording layer, is provided wherein the perpendicular magnetic recording layer is comprised of a primary recording layer, a non-magnetic intermediate layer and an auxiliary layer; the primary recording layer comprises magnetic crystal grains and grain boundary portions surrounding the magnetic crystal grains, and has a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy; the auxiliary layer has a negative magneto crystalline anisotropy; and the non-magnetic intermediate layer is formed between the primary recording layer and the auxiliary layer and comprises at least one metal selected from Ru, Rh and Ir, or at least one alloy thereof.

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: A perpendicular magnetic recording medium is provided, which has a backing layer, a primer layer, an intermediate layer and at least one perpendicular magnetic recording layer, and is characterized in that the perpendicular magnetic recording layer contains Co and Cr, and at least one of the perpendicular magnetic recording layer or layers has a granular structure comprising ferromagnetic crystal grains and grain boundaries comprised of non-magnetic tungsten oxide. The perpendicular magnetic recording layer may be a double-layered structure comprising the tungsten oxide grain boundary-containing layer and a Cr oxide, Si oxide, Ta oxide or Ti oxide grain boundary-containing layer formed on the tungsten oxide grain boundary-containing layer. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium exhibits good perpendicular orientation and has ferromagnetic crystal grains with extremely small grain size, and thus, is superior in high recording density characteristic.

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 capable of recording or reproducing high-density information by reducing the grain size of a perpendicular magnetic recording layer and improving vertical orientation, a method of manufacturing the same, and a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium includes: a non-magnetic substrate; and at least an soft magnetic layer, an under layer, an intermediate layer, and a perpendicular magnetic recording film that are formed on the non-magnetic substrate. At least one layer of the intermediate layer is made of an alloy material of an element having an fcc structure and an element having a bcc structure or an hcp structure, and has both a crystal structure having (111) orientation and an irregular layer lattice (stacking fault) caused by a mixture of the fcc structure and the bcc structure.