Provided is a ferromagnetic material sputtering target containing a matrix phase made of cobalt, or cobalt and chromium, or cobalt and platinum, or cobalt, chromium and platinum, and an oxide phase including at least chromium oxide, wherein the ferromagnetic material sputtering target contains one or more types among Y, Mg, and Al in a total amount of 10 wtppm or more and 3000 wtppm or less, and has a relative density of 97% or higher. The provided ferromagnetic material sputtering target containing chromium oxide can maintain high density, has uniformly pulverized oxide phase grains therein, and enables low generation of particles.

Provided is a ferromagnetic material sputtering target containing a matrix phase made of cobalt, or cobalt and chromium, or cobalt and platinum, or cobalt, chromium and platinum, and an oxide phase including at least chromium oxide, wherein the ferromagnetic material sputtering target contains one or more types among Y, Mg, and Al in a total amount of 10 wtppm or more and 3000 wtppm or less, and has a relative density of 97% or higher. The provided ferromagnetic material sputtering target containing chromium oxide can maintain high density, has uniformly pulverized oxide phase grains therein, and enables low generation of particles.

Provided is a Fe—Co-based alloy sputtering target material having a composition represented as an atomic ratio by the compositional formula: (Fe.sub.a—Co.sub.100-a).sub.100-b-c-d—Ta.sub.b—Nb.sub.c-M.sub.d, wherein 0<a≦80, 0≦b≦10, 0≦c≦15, 5≦b+c≦15, 2≦d≦20, 15≦b+c+d≦25, and M represents one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Mo, Cr and W, with the balance consisting of unavoidable impurities, wherein the sputtering target material has a bending fracture strain ε.sub.fB at 300° C. of 0.4% or more.

Provided is a Fe—Co-based alloy sputtering target material having a composition represented as an atomic ratio by the compositional formula: (Fe.sub.a—Co.sub.100-a).sub.100-b-c-d—Ta.sub.b—Nb.sub.c-M.sub.d, wherein 0<a≦80, 0≦b≦10, 0≦c≦15, 5≦b+c≦15, 2≦d≦20, 15≦b+c+d≦25, and M represents one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Mo, Cr and W, with the balance consisting of unavoidable impurities, wherein the sputtering target material has a bending fracture strain ε.sub.fB at 300° C. of 0.4% or more.

A method for making an ordered magnetic alloy includes (a) providing a thermally conductive base having opposite first and second surfaces; (b) forming a thermal barrier layer on the first surface of the thermally conductive base; (c) forming a disordered magnetic alloy layer on the thermal barrier layer, the disordered magnetic alloy layer being made from a disordered alloy which contains a first metal selected from Fe, Co, and Ni, and a second metal selected from Pt and Pd; and (d) after step (c), applying a transient heat to the thermally conductive base to cause rapid thermal expansion of the thermally conductive base, which, in turn, causes generation of an in-plane tensile stress in the disordered magnetic alloy layer.

According to the present invention, there is provided a recording medium comprising a substrate, a platinum layer formed on the substrate and having a (111) plane preferentially oriented, and a fullerene single crystal thin film formed on the platinum layer, and configured to be a recording layer, wherein an average value of average surface roughness Ra's with respect to four or more visual fields measured by using an atomic force microscope in a surface of the fullerene thin film is 0.5 nm or less.

According to the present invention, there is provided a recording medium comprising a substrate, a platinum layer formed on the substrate and having a (111) plane preferentially oriented, and a fullerene single crystal thin film formed on the platinum layer, and configured to be a recording layer, wherein an average value of average surface roughness Ra's with respect to four or more visual fields measured by using an atomic force microscope in a surface of the fullerene thin film is 0.5 nm or less.

A magnetic material sputtering target characterized in that, in a plane for observing the oxide in the target, oxide grains in the target have an average diameter of 1.5 μm or less, and that 60% or more of the oxide grains in the observing plane of the target have a difference between a maximum diameter and a minimum diameter of 0.4 μm or less, where the maximum diameter is a maximum distance between arbitrary two points on the periphery of an oxide grain, and the minimum diameter is a minimum distance between two parallel lines across the oxide grain. A non-magnetic grain dispersion-type magnetic material sputtering target that can inhibit abnormal discharge due to an oxide causing occurrence of particles during sputtering is obtained.

A magnetic material sputtering target characterized in that, in a plane for observing the oxide in the target, oxide grains in the target have an average diameter of 1.5 μm or less, and that 60% or more of the oxide grains in the observing plane of the target have a difference between a maximum diameter and a minimum diameter of 0.4 μm or less, where the maximum diameter is a maximum distance between arbitrary two points on the periphery of an oxide grain, and the minimum diameter is a minimum distance between two parallel lines across the oxide grain. A non-magnetic grain dispersion-type magnetic material sputtering target that can inhibit abnormal discharge due to an oxide causing occurrence of particles during sputtering is obtained.

Magnetic recording media including an interlayer configured to reduce lattice mismatch with adjacent layers of the media, such as an adjacent seed layer or an adjacent underlayer. In one example, an interlayer alloy is provided that includes tungsten (W) along with Cobalt (Co), Chromium (Cr), and Ruthenium (Ru). The atomic percentages of W and Ru within the interlayer are selected so that the amount lattice mismatch between the interlayer and its adjacent layers is below a preselected amount, such as below 3% as quantified by d-spacing. In some examples, the atomic percentage of Ru is greater than 25% and the atomic percentage of W is 2-10%. Methods of fabricating the magnetic recording media are also provided.