Claims
- 1. A granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium, comprising:
a substrate; a surface treated granular magnetic layer formed over the substrate comprising a boundary layer formed on the surface of the granular magnetic layer, wherein the granular magnetic layer has a granular structure comprising magnetic grains separated by grain boundaries, the grain boundaries comprising at least one of oxygen and nitrogen; and a protective overcoat formed over the surface treated granular magnetic layer.
- 2. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1, wherein the boundary layer comprises at least one of oxides and nitrides.
- 3. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1, wherein the granular magnetic layer comprises cobalt-based alloy comprising at least one of oxide and nitride.
- 4. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 3, wherein the granular magnetic layer further comprises at least one of Cr, Pt, B, Ta, Nb, Si, Al, Zr, Hf, and Ti.
- 5. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1, wherein the grain boundaries comprise at least one of oxides and nitrides.
- 6. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1, wherein the grain boundaries have a thickness in the range of about 2 Å to about 20 Å.
- 7. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1, wherein the protective overcoat is a carbon-containing overcoat, the carbon-containing overcoat having a thickness in the range of about 20 Å to about 70 Å.
- 8. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1, further comprising at least one interlayer formed over the substrate wherein the surface treated granular magnetic layer is formed over the at least one interlayer.
- 9. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 8, wherein the at least one interlayer comprises at least one of Ru, RuCr, and non-magnetic CoCr.
- 10. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 9, wherein the interlayer comprises non-magnetic CoCr, wherein the non-magnetic CoCr further comprises at least one of Pt, Mo, Ta, Nb, B, C, and Ru.
- 11. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1, further comprising at least one soft magnetic layer formed over the substrate, wherein the surface treated granular magnetic layer is formed over the at least one soft magnetic layer.
- 12. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 11, wherein the at least one soft magnetic layer comprises at least one of iron and cobalt.
- 13. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 12, wherein the at least one soft magnetic layer further comprises at least one of Ni, N, Ta, C, B, Si, Al, Zr, and Nb.
- 14. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1, further comprising at least one seed layer formed over the substrate, wherein the surface treated granular magnetic layer is formed over the at least one seed layer.
- 15. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 14, wherein the seed layer comprises at least one of Ta, Ag, Cu, Au, and Pt.
- 16. A granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium, comprising:
a substrate; at least one soft magnetic layer formed over the substrate; at least one interlayer formed over the soft magnetic layer; a granular magnetic layer formed on the interlayer, wherein the granular magnetic layer has a granular structure comprising magnetic grains separated by grain boundaries, the grain boundaries comprising at least one of oxygen and nitrogen; a boundary layer formed on the surface of the granular magnetic layer; and a protective overcoat formed on the boundary layer.
- 17. The granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 16 further comprising at least one seed layer formed over the soft magnetic layer, wherein the interlayer is formed over the seed layer.
- 18. A method of manufacturing a granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium, comprising:
depositing a granular magnetic layer having granular structure over a substrate, wherein the granular structure comprises magnetic grains separated by grain boundaries, the grain boundaries comprising at least one of oxygen and nitrogen; and surface treating the granular magnetic layer in an atmosphere comprising at least one of oxygen and nitrogen to produce a surface treated granular magnetic layer comprising a boundary layer formed on the surface of the granular magnetic layer.
- 19. The method of manufacturing a granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 18, wherein depositing the granular magnetic layer comprises reactive sputtering the granular magnetic layer in the presence of a gas comprising at least one of oxygen and nitrogen.
- 20. The method of manufacturing a granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 18, wherein depositing the granular magnetic layer is conducted at ambient room temperature.
- 21. The method of manufacturing a granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 19, wherein the gas is a gas mixture comprising argon and oxygen.
- 22. The method of manufacturing a granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 18, wherein the atmosphere comprises air.
- 23. The method of manufacturing a granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 18, wherein the atmosphere is at ambient room temperature.
- 24. The method of manufacturing a granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 18, further comprising depositing a protective overcoat over the surface treated granular magnetic layer.
- 25. The method of manufacturing a granular perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 24, wherein depositing a protective overcoat comprises ion beam depositing a protective overcoat.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/475,665, entitled “Granular Perpendicular Media Made With Surface Treatment After The Deposition Of Magnetic Films”, which was filed Jun. 3, 2003, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. This application is related to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/475,834, entitled “In-Situ Post-Deposition Oxidation Treatment For Improved Magnetic Recording Media”, by inventors Chung-Hee Chang and Charles Brucker, filed on Jun. 3, 2003, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Provisional Applications (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60475665 |
Jun 2003 |
US |
|
60475834 |
Jun 2003 |
US |