Tdk Corporation

Mitsuru Takai

Kazuhiro Hattori

Shuichi Okawa

Takahiro Suwa

Koji Kobayashi

Kazuya Shimakawa

Yoshikazu Soeno

Kunihiro Ueda

Minoru Fujita

Katsumichi Tagami

Katsuyuki Nakada

Masatoshi Nakayama

Shigeo Kurose

Shinji Miyazaki

Mikiharu Hibi

Jiro Yoshinari

Hiromichi Kanazawa

Masashi Higo

Kasuyuki Nakada

A dry etching method and the like that can process a layer to be processed in a fine pattern to have a peripheral portion of an angular shape, are described. This dry etching method forms a step portionalong a peripheral portion of a first mask layerthat corresponds to an outline of an etching pattern in such a manner that the step portionprojects toward an opposite side to a magnetic thin layer(layer to be processed).

Dry etching method

A rotary-type magnetic recording medium has servo patterns formed in servo pattern regions on a substrate by patterns including recording regions and non-recording regions. Burst signal units composed of the recording regions or the non-recording regions are formed in burst pattern regions in the servo pattern regions. The burst signal units are formed so that for at least one edge out of both edges along a direction of rotation of the magnetic recording medium, a center in the direction of rotation is positioned closer to the other edge than both ends in the direction of rotation, and a ratio of a length along a radial direction of the magnetic recording medium between both ends and the center of the one edge to a length along the radial direction between both ends of the one edge and both ends of the other edge is in a range of 0.2 or below.

Magnetic recording medium, recording/reproducing apparatus, and stamper

On a magnetic recording medium, data track patterns and servo patterns are formed on one surface and another surface of a disk-shaped substrate by patterns including recording regions and non-recording regions. In the data track patterns on the one surface, the non-recording regions are formed at formation positions on the one surface corresponding to formation positions of recording regions in the data track patterns on the other surface and the recording regions are formed at formation positions on the one surface corresponding to formation positions of non-recording regions in the data track patterns on the other surface, and in the servo patterns on the one surface, the non-recording regions are formed at formation positions on the one surface corresponding to formation positions of recording regions in the servo patterns on the other surface and the recording regions are formed at formation positions on the one surface corresponding to formation positions of non-recording regions in the servo patterns on the other surface.

Magnetic recording medium, recording/reproducing apparatus, and method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium

In an information recording medium where respective concave parts of a magnetic layer, which is formed on at least one side e of a substrate and in which a predetermined convex/concave pattern has been formed, are filled with non-magnetic material and non-magnetic layers are formed by the non-magnetic material in at least partial regions of respective upper surfaces of respective convex parts of the magnetic layer, the non-magnetic layers are formed so that parts thereof protrude further in a direction in which the convex parts protrude than other parts of the non-magnetic layers.

Information recording medium

A magnetic recording medium is provided which has good recording/reproducing characteristics with a recording layer divided in a number of recording elements by a predetermined concavo-convex pattern, and a manufacturing method that enables efficient manufacture of such a magnetic recording medium. The magnetic recording medium includes a substrate, a soft magnetic layer formed over the substrate, a recording layer formed over the soft magnetic layer such as to have magnetic anisotropy in a direction perpendicular to surface, and being divided in a number of recording elements by a predetermined concavo-convex pattern, and a non-magnetic intermediate layer formed between the recording layer and the soft magnetic layer. The recording elements are formed to have a predetermined track shape in a data region.

Magnetic recording medium including a patterned intermediate layer and a non-patterned soft magnetic layer and manufacturing method thereof

A magnetic recording medium is provided that includes a recording layer having recording elements formed as convex portions and a filling material filled within the concave portions between the recording elements. The medium is highly reliable and has a surface less liable to damages when a magnetic head contacts the surface, so that good recording/reproducing characteristics are ensured. The magnetic recording medium includes a recording layer formed in a predetermined concavo-convex pattern over a substrate and having recording elements formed as convex portions in the concavo-convex pattern and a filling material filled within the concave portions between the recording elements. The filling material is substantially composed of Si and O, and the ratio of the number of O atoms to the number of Si atoms is equal to or more than 1.5 and less than 2.

Magnetic recording medium and magnetic recording/reproducing device

A magnetic recording medium is provided in which a magnetic recording layeris provided in a predetermined concavo-convex pattern on a substrateA, a concave portion in a concavo-convex pattern is filled with a non-magnetic material, and a non-magnetic layerformed of the non-magnetic material positioned at the bottom surface of the concave portion in the non-magnetic materials is formed on a convex portion of the concavo-convex pattern while surface of the convex portion and the concave portion is substantially flattened, and a thickness of the non-magnetic layeris 1 nm or less.

Magnetic recording medium, method of manufacturing the same, and intermediate for magnetic recording medium

A mask forming method forms an A mask forming functional layer with an amorphous structure so as to cover an etched body, forms a B mask forming functional layer so as to cover the formed A mask forming functional layer, forms a convex/concave pattern in the formed B mask forming functional layer by carrying out a predetermined process to form a B mask on the A mask forming functional layer, and forms an A mask on the etched body by forming a convex/concave pattern in the A mask forming functional layer by dry etching the A mask forming functional layer using the B mask. By doing so, a convex/concave pattern with extremely small pattern fluctuations can be formed in the A mask forming functional layer.

Mask forming method, mask forming functional layer, dry etching method, and method of manufacturing an information recording medium

The recording layer (to-be-etched layer), a main mask layer, and a sub mask layer are formed in this order over a substrate, and the sub mask layer is processed into a predetermined concavo-convex pattern. Next, parts of the main mask layer under the concave portions are removed by reactive ion etching using oxygen or ozone as the reactive gas. Parts of the recording layer under the concave portions are also removed by dry etching, whereby the recording layer is shaped into the concavo-convex pattern. The main mask layer is chiefly made of carbon. The sub mask layer is made of a material having an etching rate lower than that of carbon with respect to the reactive ion etching in the step of processing the main mask layer.

Method of dry etching, method of manufacturing magnetic recording medium, and magnetic recording medium

A magnetic recording medium having high reliability is provided, in which concave portions between recording elements formed as convex portions of a concavo-convex pattern are approximately completely filled with a non-magnetic material. The magnetic recording medium is a plate-like body including: a substrate; a recording layer that is formed in a predetermined concavo-convex pattern over the substrate and includes recording elements for recording information formed as convex portions of the concavo-convex pattern; and the non-magnetic material filling concave portions between the recording elements. Side faces of the recording elements are inclined to face a surface of the plate-like body on a side toward which the recording elementsproject in the concavo-convex pattern. An inclination angle of the side faces of the recording elements with respect to a direction perpendicular to that surface is smaller than 90&#xb0; and 5&#xb0; or more.

Magnetic recording medium

A magnetic recording and reproducing device includes: a magnetic recording medium in which a magnetic recording layer is formed in a concavo-convex pattern so that tracks are formed by convex portions of a predetermined track width and arranged in parallel in the track width direction; a heating head for heating the magnetic recording medium to partially reduce coercivity of the tracks; a recording head for applying a recording magnetic field to a heated portion of the magnetic recording medium to record magnetic data on the tracks; and a reproducing head for detecting a reproducing magnetic field of the tracks. In this configuration, an effective recording area has an effective recording width that is equal to or more than the track width, and equal to or less than a sum of the track width and a doubled value of width of concave portions between the tracks.

Magnetic recording and reproducing device and magnetic recording medium

A manufacturing method of a magnetic recording medium, and the like are provided, which can suppress misalignment of a processed shape of divided recording elements and magnetic degradation and can efficiently manufacture a magnetic recording medium having good magnetic characteristics. In the manufacturing method, ion beam etching is used as a dry etching technique for a continuous recording layer. Before dry etching of the continuous recording layer, a resist layeris removed. As the material for a first mask layer covering the continuous recording layer, diamond like carbon is used.

Manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of magnetic recording medium

There are provided a next process-determining method capable of determining a next process to be carried out next objectively and at the same time in a short time period, as well as an inspecting method and apparatus which are capable of carrying out a predetermined inspection as to an object to be inspected according to the next process-determining method. A sample object is digitized to sample data formed by digital data. The sample data is compressed into compressed sample data according to a predetermined data format. There is calculated a difference data amount between a data amount of the compressed sample data and a data amount of reference data formed by digitizing and compressing a reference sample object in the same manner as the sample object is processed. Which of a plurality of predetermined numerical ranges the difference data amount belongs to is identified. A predetermined process is determined which is associated with the identified numerical range in advance as a next process to be carried out next.

Next process-determining method, inspecting method and inspecting apparatus

A magnetic recording medium includes at least a disk substrate, a magnetic recording layer formed with a predetermined concavo-convex pattern on the disk substrate, and a non-magnetic layer formed in concave portions of the concavo-convex pattern. Convex shapes made of a non-magnetic material are formed on the magnetic recording layer or the non-magnetic layer. Each convex shape is formed, for example, into a mountain-like shape whose upper surface width is made smaller than a width of each convex portion of the magnetic recording layer or a width of each concave portion where the non-magnetic layeris formed.

Magnetic recording medium including disk substrate, magnetic layer, and non-magnetic layer

A magnetic recording medium capable of preventing contact with a magnetic head for use in recording or reproduction, during recording or reproducing of record data. The magnetic recording medium has a disk-shaped substrate having a surface formed with an annular data-recording area, an outer area outward of the data-recording area, and an inner area inward of the same. The annular data-recording area has a plurality of tracks separated from each other by concentric separating grooves. At least one of the outer area and the inner is subjected to lift-adjusting treatment for enabling adjustment of lifts applied to the magnetic head. This makes it possible to effectively prevent the magnetic head from being inclined to be brought into contact with the magnetic recording medium.

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Tokyo, Japan

Mitsuru Takai