Provided is a sputtering target, the sputtering target containing 0.05 at % or more of Bi and having a total content of metal oxides of from 10 vol % to 60 vol %, the balance containing at least Co and Pt.

A magnetic recording medium with a reduced average grain diameter and reduced grain diameter dispersion is provided. A magnetic recording medium having a magnetic property (magnetic anisotropy energy) applicable as a magnetic recording medium is provided. It is a magnetic recording medium containing a substrate, a grain diameter control layer, a first seed layer, a second seed layer, and a magnetic recording layer containing an ordered alloy in this order, in which the second seed layer is composed of crystal grains having TiN as a main component, and a grain boundary material having at least one or more selected from the group consisting of metal oxides and carbon as a main component.

For a further high capacity, provided is a sputtering target for a magnetic recording medium that can form a magnetic thin film having enhanced uniaxial magnetic anisotropy, reduced intergranular exchange coupling, and improved thermal stability and SNR (signal-to-noise ratio).

The sputtering target for a magnetic recording medium, comprises: a metal phase containing Pt and at least one or more selected from Cu and Ni, with the balance being Co and incidental impurities; and an oxide phase containing at least B.sub.2O.sub.3.

HAMR media with a magnetic recording layer having a reduced Curie temperature and methods of fabricating the HAMR media are provided. One such HAMR medium includes a substrate, a heat sink layer on the substrate, an interlayer on the heat sink layer, and a multi-layer magnetic recording layer on the interlayer. In such case, the multi-layer magnetic recording layer includes a first magnetic recording layer including an alloy selected from FePtX and CoPtX, where X is a material selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ni, and combinations thereof, a second magnetic recording layer on the first magnetic recording layer and having at least one material different from the materials of the first magnetic recording layer, and a third magnetic recording layer on the second magnetic recording layer and having at least one material different from the materials of the first magnetic recording layer.

A sputtering target according to the present invention contains Co and Pt as metal components, wherein a molar ratio of a content of Pt to a content of Co is from 5/100 to 45/100, and wherein the sputtering target contains Nb.sub.2O.sub.5 as a metal oxide component.

To provide a magnetic recording tape and the like that have excellent magnetic properties and exhibit a favorable SNR. There are provided a magnetic recording tape and the like including at least: a base layer that includes a long film having flexibility; and a magnetic layer formed on a side of one main surface of the base layer, in which an under layer and a seed layer are provided in the stated order from a side of the magnetic layer toward a side of the base layer between the magnetic layer and the base layer, the underlayer contains at least Co and Cr, and has an average atomic number ratio represented by the following formula (1): Co.sub.(100-y)Cr.sub.y (where y is within a range of 37≤y≤45.), and the seed layer formed directly on the base layer has a film thickness of 5 nm or more and 30 nm or less, and contains Ti and O and has an average atomic number ratio represented by the following formula (2): Ti.sub.(100-x)O.sub.x (where x≤10.) or contains Ti—Cr—O and has an average atomic number ratio represented by the following formula (3): (TiCr).sub.(100-x)O.sub.x (where x≤10.).

The present invention is to provide an assisted magnetic recording medium including a substrate; an underlayer disposed on the substrate; a magnetic layer disposed on the underlayer and including an alloy having an L1.sub.0-type crystal structure; and a pinning layer disposed in contact with the magnetic layer, wherein the pinning layer includes a granular structure, the granular structure containing magnetic particles and grain boundaries, wherein the magnetic particles contain Co, and wherein the grain boundaries contain Y.sub.2O.sub.3 and/or an oxide of lanthanoid.

Methods of forming a layer of magnetic material on a substrate, the method including: configuring a substrate in a chamber; controlling the temperature of the substrate at a substrate temperature, the substrate temperature being at or below about 250 C.; and introducing one or more precursors into the chamber, the one or more precursors including: cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), or combinations thereof, wherein the precursors chemically decompose at the substrate temperature, and wherein a layer of magnetic material is formed on the substrate, the magnetic material including at least a portion of the one or more precursors, and the magnetic material having a magnetic flux density of at least about 1 Tesla (T).

A flexible magnetic component can include a magnetizable powder including a rare earth element. The flexible magnetic component can also include a polymer binder. The flexible magnetic component can define a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface. A first magnetic field adjacent to the first surface can have a field strength at least 3 times greater than a field strength of a second magnetic field adjacent to the second surface, and the flexible magnetic component can elongate greater than 20% before a permanent deformation occurs.

A magnetic recording medium is provided and includes a layer structure including a magnetic layer, a non-magnetic layer, and a base layer in this order, in which an average thickness t.sub.T of the magnetic recording medium is 3.5 mt.sub.T5.3 m, a dimensional variation w in a width direction of the magnetic recording medium to tension change in a longitudinal direction of the magnetic recording medium is 700 ppm/Nw2000 ppm/N, and an average thickness t.sub.n of the non-magnetic layer is t.sub.n1.0 m.