Provided is a sputtering target for a magnetic recording film. The sputtering target has a peak intensity ratio (I.sub.G/I.sub.D) of a G-band to a D-band of 5.0 or more in Raman scattering spectrometry. It is an object of the present invention to produce a magnetic thin film having a granular structure without using a high cost co-sputtering apparatus and to provide a sputtering target, in particular, an FePt-based sputtering target for a magnetic recording film, where carbon particles are dispersed in the target. Since carbon is a material which is not susceptible to being sintered and is susceptible to form aggregates, a conventional carbon-containing sputtering target has the problem that detachment of carbon lumps occurs during sputtering to result in generation of a large number of particles on the film. The present invention also addresses the problem of providing a high density sputtering target that can overcome the disadvantages.

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.

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.

A method of fabricating high magnetic anisotropy materials using a metallic high entropy alloy is described in this disclosure. Targets of metals or targets of alloys comprising at least one elemental ferromagnetic material are used in a sputtering tool to deposit on a substrate thin films of high entropy alloys. The sputtering targets may be elemental targets or they may comprise multiple metals. In addition, targets of materials such as boron, platinum, or aluminum may be included in the sputtering process to enhance magnetic properties of the resultant thin films. The sputtering may take place by co-sputtering multiple targets simultaneously or by alternatively sputtering layers from the targets. After sputtering the materials are heated through a rapid thermal annealing process to a high temperature, which facilitates the formation of the desired crystalline phases which exhibit high magnetocrystalline anisotropy.

The present embodiments relate to a tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) element. The TMR element can include a free layer comprising a metallic alloy that is doped using a dopant element. In some instances, the metallic alloy comprises a cobalt-iron (CoFe) alloy. The present embodiments relate to doping a small amount of an element (e.g., hafnium (Hf), tantalum (Ta), Yttrium (Y)) in a high flux CoFe layer of a tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) element. The small amount of dopant can suppress a long-range order in the CoFe film. The amorphous state of a CoFe alloy can be induced by the dopant and result in a magnetically soft layer. A resistance of the TMR element can be modified based on an application of an external magnetic field to the free layer and the pin layer.

A magnetic thin film laminated structure includes a first layer structure and a second layer structure stacked on the first layer structure. The first layer structure includes an adhesive layer on a substance, the adhesive layer being made of a material having compressive stress, at least one pair of layers on the adhesive layer, each pair of the at least one pair of layers including a magnetic film layer and an isolation layer, and an additional magnetic film layer on the at least one pair of layers. The second layer structure includes another adhesive layer on the first layer structure, another at least one pair of layers on the another adhesive layer, each pair of the another at least one pair of layers including a magnetic film layer and an isolation layer, and another additional magnetic film layer on the another at least one pair of layers.

A magnetic thin film laminated structure includes a first layer structure and a second layer structure stacked on the first layer structure. The first layer structure includes an adhesive layer on a substance, the adhesive layer being made of a material having compressive stress, at least one pair of layers on the adhesive layer, each pair of the at least one pair of layers including a magnetic film layer and an isolation layer, and an additional magnetic film layer on the at least one pair of layers. The second layer structure includes another adhesive layer on the first layer structure, another at least one pair of layers on the another adhesive layer, each pair of the another at least one pair of layers including a magnetic film layer and an isolation layer, and another additional magnetic film layer on the another at least one pair of layers.

A sputtering target capable of maintaining high coercive force in the magnetic layer of a magnetic recording medium and improving magnetic separation between magnetic particles is provided. A sputtering target includes Co and Pt as metal components and NbO.sub.2 as a metal oxide component. Or alternatively, a sputtering target includes Co and Pt as metal components, and includes a phase containing Co, Nb, and O.