Abstract: A method of protecting a magnetic information storage medium is described. The method includes fabricating a film over a surface of the magnetic information storage medium. The film includes an amorphous, uniform, homogeneous solid solution of carbon, hydrogen, silicon, and oxygen. A magnetic storage medium with such a protective film is described.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium is manufactured by forming a magnetic recording layer on a substrate, forming a protective layer on the magnetic recording layer, executing a sputtering process using a target containing a first ingredient and a second ingredient to form on the protective layer a grain-state mask layer that includes grains formed of the first ingredient and grain boundaries between the grains formed of the second ingredient, etching the grain boundaries so that a projection pattern of the grains is formed, and transferring the projection pattern of the grains to the magnetic recording layer.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic recording medium can suppress the increase in head spacing and decrease in magnetic anisotropy of a magnetic layer. The method includes forming the magnetic recording layer and a protective layer precursor. The magnetic recording layer includes crystal grains of an ordered alloy and a grain boundary layer constituted by carbon and is formed on the non-magnetic substrate by a sputtering method using a target including metals constituting the ordered alloy and carbon. The protective layer precursor is constituted by carbon and is present on the magnetic recording layer. The method further includes irradiating the protective layer precursor with hydrocarbon ions generated by plasma discharge in a hydrocarbon gas and changing the protective layer precursor into the protective layer. The hydrocarbon ions have energy equal to or higher than 300 eV when the hydrocarbon ions reach the protective layer precursor.

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: The present invention is to provide a method of fabricating a magnetic recording medium capable of forming a protective layer with a stable performance even in a case where a thickness thereof is as thin as 100 nm or less, and a magnetic recording medium fabricated by the method. A magnetic recording medium is fabricated in the following manner, that is, a magnetic layer having a ferromagnetic metal thin film having a thickness as thin as 100 nm or less is formed on one main surface of a long non-magnetic support, and on the magnetic layer, a protective layer containing carbon is formed by the chemical vapor deposition process using an ion source equipped with a hollow cathode.