A heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) device is configured to write regions of neutral polarity on a magnetic media during a same pass of the recording head in which other regions are written of positive polarity and negative polarity. The various disclosed write techniques may facilitate creation of “zero state” (substantially net zero polarity) transition zones between each pair of data bits of opposite polarity and/or may facilitate the encoding of three different logical states (e.g., 1, 0, and −1) on the media.

A magnetic recording medium includes a flexible and elongated substrate, a soft magnetic layer having an average thickness of 10 nm or more to 50 nm or less, and a recording layer. The soft magnetic layer is disposed between the substrate and the recording layer, and a difference in Young's modulus between the magnetic recording medium and the substrate in a longitudinal direction of the substrate is 2.4 GPa or more.

A disk-shaped substrate for a magnetic disk has a diameter D of 85 mm or more and a thickness T of 0.6 mm or less, and a material of the substrate has a Young's modulus E of 90 GPa or more.

A method for producing an intermediate glass plate includes a defect formation step, a separation step, and a polishing step. In the defect formation step, a defect is formed on main surfaces of glass blanks by irradiating a laminate of the glass blanks with a laser beam from one side in a lamination direction in which the glass blanks are laminated, along the lamination direction, and moving the laser beam relative to the laminate such that a circle is drawn in a view from the main surfaces of the glass blanks. In the separation step, a cylindrical laminate is formed by separating a removal target portion along the defect while maintaining the laminate. In the polishing step, a side wall surface of the laminate is polished while maintaining the cylindrical laminate so as to obtain a disk-shaped intermediate glass plate that has been subjected to edge surface polishing.

Provided is a magnetic recording medium having a large magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant K.sub.u and a high coercivity H.sub.c as well as a sputtering target used for producing such a magnetic recording medium.

A Pt-oxide-based sputtering target consists of 60 vol % or more and less than 100 vol % of a Pt-base alloy phase and more than 0 vol % and 40 vol % or less of an oxide, where the Pt-base alloy phase contains 50 at % or more and 100 at % or less of Pt.

The magnetic tape includes a non-magnetic layer including non-magnetic powder and a binder on a non-magnetic support; and a magnetic layer including ferromagnetic powder and a binder on the non-magnetic layer, the total thickness of the non-magnetic layer and the magnetic layer is equal to or smaller than 0.60 μm, the magnetic layer includes a timing-based servo pattern, one or more components selected from the group consisting of fatty acid and fatty acid amide are at least included in the magnetic layer, and a C—H derived C concentration calculated from a C—H peak area ratio of C1s spectra obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis performed on the surface of the magnetic layer at a photoelectron take-off angle of 10 degrees is equal to or greater than 45 atom %.

Provided is a magnetic tape in which the total thickness of a non-magnetic layer and a magnetic layer is equal to or smaller than 0.60 μm, the magnetic layer includes a timing-based servo pattern, the magnetic layer includes fatty acid ester, a full width at half maximum of spacing distribution measured by optical interferometry regarding the surface of the magnetic layer before performing vacuum heating with respect to the magnetic tape is greater than 0 nm and equal to or smaller than 7.0 nm, a full width at half maximum of spacing distribution measured after performing the vacuum heating is greater than 0 nm and equal to or smaller than 7.0 nm, and a difference between a spacing measured after performing the vacuum heating and a spacing measured before performing the vacuum heating is greater than 0 nm and equal to or smaller than 8.0 nm.

Provided is a magnetic tape in which the total thickness of a non-magnetic layer and a magnetic layer is equal to or smaller than 0.60 μm, the magnetic layer includes a timing-based servo pattern, the magnetic layer includes fatty acid ester, a full width at half maximum of spacing distribution measured by optical interferometry regarding the surface of the magnetic layer before performing vacuum heating with respect to the magnetic tape is greater than 0 nm and equal to or smaller than 7.0 nm, a full width at half maximum of spacing distribution measured after performing the vacuum heating is greater than 0 nm and equal to or smaller than 7.0 nm, and a difference between a spacing measured after performing the vacuum heating and a spacing measured before performing the vacuum heating is greater than 0 nm and equal to or smaller than 8.0 nm.

The magnetic tape includes a non-magnetic support; a non-magnetic layer including non-magnetic powder and a binder on the non-magnetic support; and a magnetic layer including ferromagnetic powder and a binder on the non-magnetic layer, in which the total thickness of the non-magnetic layer and the magnetic layer is equal to or smaller than 0.60 μm, the magnetic layer includes a timing-based servo pattern, the ferromagnetic powder is ferromagnetic hexagonal ferrite powder, the magnetic layer includes an abrasive, and a tilt cos η of the ferromagnetic hexagonal ferrite powder with respect to a surface of the magnetic layer acquired by cross section observation performed by using a scanning transmission electron microscope is 0.85 to 1.00.

The magnetic tape includes a non-magnetic support; a non-magnetic layer including non-magnetic powder and a binder on the non-magnetic support; and a magnetic layer including ferromagnetic powder and a binder on the non-magnetic layer, in which the total thickness of the non-magnetic layer and the magnetic layer is equal to or smaller than 0.60 μm, the magnetic layer includes a timing-based servo pattern, the ferromagnetic powder is ferromagnetic hexagonal ferrite powder, the magnetic layer includes an abrasive, and a tilt cos η of the ferromagnetic hexagonal ferrite powder with respect to a surface of the magnetic layer acquired by cross section observation performed by using a scanning transmission electron microscope is 0.85 to 1.00.