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.

Provided is a sputtering target, comprising: from 0.001 mol % to 0.5 mol % of Bi; from 45 mol % or less of Cr; 45 mol % or less of Pt; 60 mol % or less of Ru; and a total of 1 mol % to 35 mol % of at least one metal oxide, the balance being Co and inevitable impurities.

An FeAl alloy magnetic thin film according to the present invention contains, in terms of atomic ratio, 0% to 35% (inclusive of 0%) of Co and 1.5% to 2% of Al. A direction of a crystal contained in a material is perpendicular to a substrate surface and a crystallite size is 150 ? or less. Methods of making and using said thin film are also disclosed.

A magnetic recording medium includes a substrate, an underlayer provided on the substrate, and a magnetic layer provided on the underlayer and having a L1.sub.0 structure and a (001) orientation. The magnetic layer has a granular structure in which an organic compound having a methylene skeleton or a methine skeleton is arranged at grain boundaries of magnetic grains.

Disclosed is a perpendicularly magnetized film structure using a highly heat resistant underlayer film on which a cubic or tetragonal perpendicularly magnetized film can grow, comprising a substrate of a cubic single crystal substrate having a (001) plane or a substrate having a cubic oriented film that grows to have the (001) plane; an underlayer formed on the substrate from a thin film of a metal having an hcp structure in which the [0001] direction of the thin metal film forms an angle in the range of 42? to 54? with respect to the <001> direction or the (001) orientation of the substrate; and a perpendicularly magnetized layer located on the metal underlayer and formed from a cubic material selected from a Co-based Heusler alloy and a cobalt-iron (CoFe) alloy having a bcc structure a constituent material, and grown to have the (001) plane.

Perpendicular magnetic recording media including a carbon grain isolation initiation layer for reducing intergranular exchange coupling in the recording layer are provided. In one such case, the media includes a substrate, a plurality of underlayers on the substrate, a grain isolation initiation layer (GIIL) on the plurality of underlayers, the GIIL including C, a metal, and an oxide, and a magnetic recording layer directly on the GIIL and including a non-ordered structure. In another case, a method of fabricating such magnetic media is provided.

Disclosed is a perpendicularly magnetized film structure that uses a highly heat resistant underlayer film on which a cubic or tetragonal perpendicularly magnetized film can grow with high quality, the structure comprising any one substrate (5) of a cubic single crystal substrate having a (001) plane, or a substrate having a cubic oriented film that grows to have the (001) plane; an underlayer (6) formed on the substrate (5) from a thin film of a metal having an hcp structure, such as Ru or Re, in which the [0001] direction of the thin metal film forms an angle in the range of 42? to 54? with respect to the <001> direction or the (001) orientation of the substrate (5); and a perpendicularly magnetized layer (7) located on the metal underlayer (6) and formed from a cubic material selected from the group consisting of a Co-based Heusler alloy, a cobalt-iron (CoFe) alloy having a bcc structure, and the like, as a constituent material, and grown to have the (001) plane.

A film-forming apparatus and a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium are provided. The film-forming apparatus includes a rotating body which moves a base material with a strip shape which has flexibility, a plurality of cathodes which are provided to oppose a rotating surface of the rotating body; and a plurality of accommodating sections which accommodate each of the plurality of cathodes. The method includes sequentially film-forming a plurality of thin films on a base material using a plurality of cathodes which are provided on a moving path of the base material while moving the base material with a strip shape which has flexibility. Each of the plurality of cathodes is accommodated in a plurality of accommodating sections.

According to one embodiment, a magnetic recording medium includes a first magnetic region, a second magnetic region, a third magnetic region, a fourth magnetic region, and a fifth magnetic region. The second magnetic region is provided between the fifth magnetic region and the first magnetic region in a first direction from the fifth magnetic region to the first magnetic region. The third magnetic region is provided between the fifth magnetic region and the second magnetic region in the first direction. The fourth magnetic region is provided between the fifth magnetic region and the third magnetic region in the first direction. A first composition ratio of a first Pt atomic concentration to a first Co atomic concentration in the first magnetic region is higher than a second composition ratio of a second Pt atomic concentration to a second Co atomic concentration in the second magnetic region.

Various apparatuses, systems, methods, and media are disclosed to provide a magnetic recording medium that capping layer doped with an effective amount of metal to control grain-to-grain exchange coupling in a capping layer. A magnetic recording medium includes a substrate, a magnetic recording layer (MRL) on the substrate, and a capping layer on the MRL. The capping layer include Co and is doped with a metal (e.g., Ru or Ta) in a range from 1 atomic percent to 5 atomic percent, inclusive.