Recording medium and method of performing recording/producing on the

Abstract

A recording medium and method of performing recording/reproducing on the recording medium. The recording medium includes a multi-layer structure wherein at least two kinds of atomic layers are alternately laminated on a support. The elements of the atomic layers are selected so that they have secondary electron emission characteristics, such as secondary electron emission efficiency or secondary electron energy spectrums different from each other and do not form any alloy with each other, or so that a reacted mixture between the at least two kinds of atomic layers has secondary electron characteristics different from the atomic layers. The recording is performed by irradiating the surface of the recording medium with a recording beam selected from an electron beam, a charged particle beam, and a neutral particle beam to expose the next lower different kind of atomic layer of forma mixture. The reproducing is performed by irradiating the surface of the recording medium carrying information recorded thereon with a reproducing beam selected from the electron beam, a charged particle beam, and a neutral particle beam to emit secondary electrons from its surface thereof, and detecting the difference in the secondary electron emission characteristic between the emitted secondary electrons.