A soft underlayer (SUL) and methods for making an SUL are provided, the SUL having characteristics that make it compatible with the high temperature requirements associated with heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) media growth and writing, e.g., temperatures greater than 500° C. The SUL may have a high crystallization temperature of greater than 450° C. and a high Curie temperature greater than 300° C., for example. Additionally, the SUL can maintain a saturation magnetization value greater than, e.g., 9 kGauss, at such high temperatures, thereby having the ability to remain amorphous at temperatures up to, e.g., 650° C., and exhibiting a relatively flat integrated noise profile from approximately 300° C. to 650° C. Further still, a spacer layer material is chosen such that inter-diffusion does not occur at these high temperatures.

Provided are a thin hard disk substrate that is scratch-resistant on the disk surface and wobbles less during rotation and a hard disk device including such a hard disk substrate. The hard disk substrate 1 includes an aluminum alloy substrate 2 having NiP plating films 3 on the surfaces. The aluminum alloy substrate 2 has the Vickers hardness of 60 Hv or more, the ratio between the thickness of the NiP plating films 3 and the thickness of the Al alloy substrate 2 is 3.8% or more, the Young's modulus of the hard disk substrate 1 is 74.6 GPa or more, and the Vickers hardness of the hard disk substrate 1 is 293 Hv or more.

Large magnetic moment compositions are formed by stabilizing ternary or other alloys with a epitaxial control layer. Compositions that are unstable in bulk specimen are thus stabilized and exhibit magnetic moments that are greater that a Slater-Pauling limit. In one example, Fe.sub.xCo.sub.yMn.sub.z layers are produced on an MgO(001) substrate with an MgO surface serving to control the structure of the Fe.sub.xCo.sub.yMn.sub.z layers. Magnetizations greater than 3 Bohr magnetons are produced.

The invention provides a magnetic recording medium including a magnetic layer or a magnetic recording layer having a granular structure in which magnetic crystal grains are well separated from each other. The magnetic recording medium includes a substrate, a seed layer, and a magnetic recording layer, wherein the magnetic recording layer includes a first magnetic layer which is a continuous film consisting of an ordered alloy, and a second magnetic layer having a granular structure consisting of magnetic crystal grains consisting of an ordered alloy and a non-magnetic crystal grain boundary, and the seed layer consists of a material selected from the group consisting of an NaCl-type compound, a spinel-type compound, and a perovskite-type compound.

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.

Large magnetic moment compositions are formed by stabilizing ternary or other alloys with a epitaxial control layer. Compositions that are unstable in bulk specimen are thus stabilized and exhibit magnetic moments that are greater that a Slater-Pauling limit. In one example, Fe.sub.xCo.sub.yMn.sub.z layers are produced on an MgO(001) substrate with an MgO surface serving to control the structure of the Fe.sub.xCo.sub.yMn.sub.z layers. Magnetizations greater than 3 Bohr magnetons are produced.

Provided are a thin hard disk substrate that is scratch-resistant on the disk surface and wobbles less during rotation and a hard disk device including such a hard disk substrate. The hard disk substrate 1 includes an aluminum alloy substrate 2 having NiP plating films 3 on the surfaces. The aluminum alloy substrate 2 has the Vickers hardness of 60 Hv or more, the ratio between the thickness of the NiP plating films 3 and the thickness of the Al alloy substrate 2 is 3.8% or more, the Young's modulus of the hard disk substrate 1 is 74.6 GPa or more, and the Vickers hardness of the hard disk substrate 1 is 293 Hv or more.

A stack includes a substrate and a magnetic recording layer. Disposed between the substrate and magnetic recording layer is an MgOTi(ON) layer.

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.

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.