Seagate Technology Incorporated

Chung-hee Chang

Rajiv Yadav Ranjan

Qixu David Chen

Samuel Dacke Harkness, Iv

Charles Frederick Brucker

Thomas P Nolan

Charles Changging Chen

Weilu Hang Xu

Abebe Hailu

Shoutao Wang

Xiaoguang Ma

Kaizhong Gao

Mark B Johnson

Michael Joseph Stirniman

Xiaoding Ma

Li-Lien Lee

Jeffrey Shane Reiter

Tom Nolan

An apparatus and method are provided for improving perpendicular magnetic recording media. The present invention provides media, and a method of fabricating media in a cost-effective manner, with a reduced ruthenium (Ru) content interlayer structure, while meeting media performance requirements. A perpendicular magnetic recording medium is provided comprising a non-magnetic substrate having a surface, and a layer stack situated on the substrate surface. The layer stack comprises, in overlying sequence from the substrate surface a magnetically soft underlayer; an amorphous or crystalline, non-magnetic seed layer; an interlayer structure for crystallographically orienting a layer of a perpendicular magnetic recording material situated on the underlayer; and at least one crystallographically oriented, magnetically hard, perpendicular magnetic recording layer situated on the interlayer structure. The interlayer structure is a stacked structure comprising, in overlying sequence: a chromium alloy situated on the seed layer; and an upper interlayer situated on the chromium alloy.

Interlayer comprising chromium-containing alloy

A recording medium having a substrate, a first soft magnetic underlayer, a second soft magnetic underlayer and a perpendicular magnetic recording layer without a spacer layer between the first and second soft magnetic underlayers is disclosed.

Perpendicular media with dual soft magnetic layers

A media for perpendicular recording and a method of creating the media is provided. The media includes a hard recording layer and a soft underlayer (SUL). The SUL is composed of at least two anti-ferromagnetically coupled (AFC) sub-underlayers. The sub-underlayers respond to a magnetic field established during dynamic reversal with respective magnetic fields. The sub-underlayers are formed and disposed to differ in one or more magnetic moment, anisotropy, and thickness, so that their respective magnetic fields constructively interfere in one or more points in the hard recording layer, thereby reducing a total SUL magnetic field response to the dynamic reversal field approximately to zero at one or more points in the hard recording layer, which reduces side track erasure.

Recording layer and multilayered soft underlayer

A perpendicular magnetic recording medium comprises a layer stack formed over a surface of a non-magnetic substrate, and comprising, in overlying sequence from the surface: a magnetically soft underlayer; an interlayer structure for crystallographically orienting a layer of a perpendicular magnetic recording material formed thereon; and at least one crystallographically oriented, magnetically hard, perpendicular magnetic recording layer on the interlayer structure; wherein the interlayer structure is a triple-layer stacked structure comprising: a first interlayer of a first non-magnetic material proximal the magnetically soft underlayer and containing Ru; a second interlayer of a second non-magnetic material in overlying contact with the first interlayer and not containing Ru; and a third interlayer of a third non-magnetic material in overlying contact with the second interlayer and containing Ru.

Recording media interlayer structure

A method of manufacturing magnetic recording media, comprising sequential steps of:

Oxygen plasma post-deposition treatment of magnetic recording media

A magnetic recording medium, the order of layers in which is the substrate, the soft underlayer, the seedlayer, the 1RuCr-containing interlayer, the 2RuCr-containing interlayer and the magnetic recording layer with preferably a oxides or nitrides-containing magnetic layer comprising grains, is disclosed. High-chromium ruthenium-chromium alloy used as inter layers significantly enhances coercivity and SMNR preferably due to the improved lattice match between RuCr inter layers and CoPt-based magnetic recording layers, and the surface energy of RuCr layers contributes to the performance improvement with the high-chromium addition into Ru inter layers.

Inter layers for perpendicular recording media

A perpendicular magnetic recording medium having a substrate, a seedlayer on the substrate and a magnetic underlayer on the seedlayer, the magnetic underlayer having an easy axis of magnetization substantially directed in a radial or transverse direction, and a process for manufacturing the perpendicular magnetic recording medium are disclosed.

Magnetic anisotropy of soft-underlayer induced by seedlayer

A method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium comprises sequential steps of:

In-situ post-deposition oxidation treatment for improved magnetic recording media

A perpendicular magnetic recording medium having a substrate, an amorphous soft underlayer and a magnetic layer for perpendicular recording has reduced DC noise and surface roughness, which reduces the head-to-media spacing and the head-to-amorphous soft underlayer spacing.

Amorphous soft underlayers for perpendicular recording media

A perpendicular magnetic recording medium having a substrate and a magnetic underlayer on the substrate, the magnetic underlayer having an easy axis of magnetization substantially directed in a radial or transverse direction, and a process for manufacturing the perpendicular magnetic recording medium are disclosed.

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Fremont, CA, United States of America

Chung-hee Chang