JP2005267736A - Manufacturing method of magnetic recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of magnetic recording medium by which a magnetic recording medium having a magnetic recording layer of a irregular pattern of which the surface is sufficiently flat and recording/reproducing accuracy is good can be manufactured efficiently and surely. <P>SOLUTION: A stage part 21 projected to an opposite direction to a glass substrate 12 is formed along a peripheral edge part of a magnetic recording layer 20 corresponding to a convex part of the irregular pattern, and the stage part 21 is removed by a process (non-magnetic material filling process, flatting process) after magnetic recording layer processing process, in the magnetic recording layer processing process. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention provides a non-magnetic material that fills the concave portions of the concavo-convex pattern by forming a non-magnetic material on the concavo-convex pattern after the magnetic recording layer processing step of processing the magnetic recording layer on the substrate into a predetermined concavo-convex pattern. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium including a material filling step.

  Conventionally, magnetic recording media such as hard disks have been remarkably improved in surface recording density through improvements such as refinement of magnetic particles constituting the magnetic recording layer, change of materials, and refinement of head processing. Improvement in surface recording density is expected.

  However, since the improvement of the surface recording density by such a conventional improvement method has reached the limit, the magnetic recording layer is set as a predetermined uneven pattern as a candidate for a magnetic recording medium capable of further improving the surface recording density. A so-called patterned media type magnetic recording medium such as a discrete track type or a discrete bit type in which a concave portion of a concavo-convex pattern is filled with a nonmagnetic material has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, in order to process the concavo-convex shape of the concavo-convex pattern formed on the magnetic recording layer into a desired shape, several types of masks are formed on the magnetic recording layer, and several types of etching gases are used using reactive ion etching or the like. A device such as etching a mask or a magnetic recording layer has been proposed.

  As a means for realizing the filling of the nonmagnetic material, a film forming method such as a sputtering method, a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method, or an IBD (Ion Beam Deposition) can be used. When these film formation methods are used, the nonmagnetic material is formed not only on the concave portion of the concave / convex pattern, but also on the upper surface of the convex portion, and the surface of the nonmagnetic material has an irregular shape following the concave / convex shape of the magnetic recording layer. Become.

  In order to obtain good magnetic properties, it is preferable to remove as much as possible the nonmagnetic material on the magnetic recording layer. Also, if there is a step on the surface of the magnetic recording medium, problems such as unstable head floating and accumulation of foreign matter may occur, so it is possible to flatten the surface while removing excess nonmagnetic material on the magnetic recording layer. preferable. For removal and flattening of excess nonmagnetic material on the magnetic recording layer, a processing technique such as ion beam etching can be used. In addition, if the unevenness | corrugation of the surface of the formed nonmagnetic material is small, it is easy to planarize the surface by the planarization process. Therefore, it is preferable to suppress unevenness on the surface of the nonmagnetic material as much as possible in the step of forming the nonmagnetic material.

  With respect to this, a method of forming a nonmagnetic material while applying bias power to a workpiece is known (see, for example, Patent Document 2). When forming a film while applying bias power, a film forming action for forming a non-magnetic material and an etching action for etching a non-magnetic material on which a gas urged by the bias power has progressed simultaneously proceed. However, the film formation proceeds as the film formation action exceeds the etching action. However, the etching action acts selectively and strongly on the protruding part of the formed nonmagnetic material, and the other part of the nonmagnetic material protrudes. Since there is a tendency to remove it earlier than the part, the etching effect can suppress surface irregularities in the film formation process of the nonmagnetic material. Thereby, the surface can be efficiently and sufficiently planarized in the planarization step.

JP-A-9-97419 JP 2000-311937 A

  However, in the film forming method in which the bias power is applied, the etching action sometimes works on the magnetic recording layer together with the nonmagnetic material. As shown by the arrows in FIG. 20, this etching action works selectively and strongly on the peripheral edge of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer processed into a concavo-convex pattern, and the peripheral portion of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer is made stronger than other portions. Since there is a tendency to selectively remove quickly, the peripheral edge of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer is processed into a rounded shape, and even if the magnetic recording layer is processed into a desired concavo-convex shape when processing the magnetic recording layer However, as shown in FIG. 21, a deviation from the desired concavo-convex shape occurred due to the film formation of the nonmagnetic material.

  In consideration of the fact that the peripheral portion of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer is removed earlier than the other portions, a nonmagnetic material is deposited as a protective layer on the concavo-convex pattern without applying bias power, and then the bias is applied. Although a method of forming a nonmagnetic material by applying power is also conceivable, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the magnetic recording medium increases due to an increase in the number of steps and an increase in the thickness of the nonmagnetic material. is there.

  As the concavo-convex pattern required for improving the surface recording density of the magnetic recording medium is miniaturized, the effect of such a concavo-convex shape shift on the characteristics of the magnetic recording medium tends to be relatively large. There is an increasing need for a method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium that can form a magnetic recording layer in a concavo-convex shape.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and efficiently and reliably manufactures a magnetic recording medium having a magnetic recording layer having a concavo-convex pattern with a sufficiently flat surface and good recording / reproducing accuracy. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium that can be used.

  In the magnetic recording layer processing step of processing the magnetic recording layer on the substrate into a predetermined concavo-convex pattern, the present invention protrudes in the direction opposite to the substrate along the peripheral edge of the magnetic recording layer corresponding to the convex portion of the concavo-convex pattern. The step is formed, and the step is removed in a step after the magnetic recording layer processing step, thereby solving the above problem.

  In this way, when the non-magnetic material is applied with a bias power to the work piece or when the surface is flattened, the step portion formed along the peripheral edge of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer is used. Since it is removed first, it is possible to prevent the peripheral portion of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer from being removed earlier than the other portions, and the peripheral portion of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer has a rounded shape. A magnetic recording medium having a magnetic recording layer having a concave / convex pattern of a desired concave / convex shape without being processed can be produced.

  That is, the present invention aims to solve the above problems by the techniques described in claims 1 to 6.

  In this specification, the term “ion beam etching” is used as a general term for a processing method such as ion milling for irradiating an object with an ionized gas to remove a processing object. It is not limited to the processing method which irradiates with a focused beam.

  Further, in the present application, the term “magnetic recording medium” is not limited to a hard disk, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic tape, or the like that uses only magnetism for recording and reading information, and is an MO (Magnet) that uses both magnetism and light. It is used in the meaning including a magneto-optical recording medium such as Optical) and a heat-assisted recording medium using both magnetism and heat.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the magnetic recording layer processing step of processing the magnetic recording layer on the substrate into a predetermined concavo-convex pattern, along the peripheral portion of the magnetic recording layer corresponding to the convex portion of the concavo-convex pattern, Since the step that protrudes in the direction opposite to the substrate is formed, the peripheral edge of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer is rounded when filling the concave portion of the concave and convex pattern with a nonmagnetic material or when flattening the surface. Thus, a magnetic recording medium having a magnetic recording layer having a concavo-convex pattern having a desired concavo-convex shape can be manufactured without being processed into a desired shape.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the magnetic recording layer processing step, a mask layer is formed on the magnetic recording layer, and the mask layer is processed into the shape of the concavo-convex pattern, and then the magnetic recording layer is processed. While removing the exposed portion of the layer by ion beam etching, the stepped portion is formed along the peripheral portion of the magnetic recording layer by reattaching particles scattered by the ion beam etching to the side surface of the mask layer. Since the step of forming is included, the stepped portion can be formed efficiently without increasing the number of steps.

  Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 3, since the resist material is used as the material of the mask layer, the stepped portion can be formed efficiently at low cost.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the nonmagnetic material is deposited while applying the bias power to the substrate in the nonmagnetic material filling step, the uneven pattern of the surface is suppressed while suppressing the unevenness of the surface. The recess can be filled with a nonmagnetic material.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, after the nonmagnetic material filling step, a flattening step for removing the surplus nonmagnetic material on the magnetic recording layer and flattening the surface is provided. A magnetic recording medium having a magnetic recording layer with a concavo-convex pattern having a sufficiently flat surface and good recording / reproducing accuracy can be manufactured. Further, even if the stepped portion is not completely removed in the nonmagnetic material filling step, it can be removed in the planarization step.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 6, since the flattening step uses ion beam etching, the surface is flattened while removing excessive nonmagnetic material on the magnetic recording layer efficiently. be able to.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, magnetic processing is performed as shown in FIG. 2 by processing a processing starting body of the workpiece 10 formed by forming the magnetic recording layer 20 and the like on the glass substrate 12. The recording layer 20 is divided into a number of recording elements 20A (convex portions of the concavo-convex pattern in the present invention) to process the magnetic recording layer 20 into a predetermined concavo-convex pattern, and the concave portions 24 (concave portions of the concavo-convex pattern) between the recording elements 20A. ) Is filled with a non-magnetic material 26 to manufacture a magnetic recording medium 29, which is characterized by a process of processing the magnetic recording layer 20 into a predetermined concavo-convex pattern. Since the other steps and the configuration of the apparatus used are the same as those in the prior art, the description will be omitted as appropriate.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a processing starting body of the workpiece 10 includes a glass substrate 12, an underlayer 14, a soft magnetic layer 16, an orientation layer 18, a magnetic recording layer 20, a resist layer 22 (mask layer in the present invention). ) Are formed in this order.

The underlayer 14 is provided for the purpose of controlling the orientation of the soft magnetic layer 16 formed thereon, and the soft magnetic layer 16 is provided for the purpose of forming a magnetic circuit between the magnetic head and the magnetic recording medium. The alignment layer 18 is provided for the purpose of controlling the alignment of the magnetic recording layer 20 formed thereon.

  The magnetic recording layer 20 has a thickness of 5 to 30 nm and is made of a CoCr (cobalt-chromium) alloy.

  The resist layer 22 has a thickness of 30 to 300 nm and is made of an electron beam resist (ZEP520A, manufactured by Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd.).

  The workpiece 10 is processed using an ion beam etching apparatus or the like shown in FIG.

  The ion beam etching apparatus 30 includes a vacuum chamber 32, a stage 34 for placing the workpiece 10 in the vacuum chamber 32, an ion gun 36 for generating ions and irradiating the stage 34, and an ion gun 36. A gas supply unit 38 for supplying Ar (argon) gas and a power source 40 for applying a beam voltage to the ion gun 36 are provided. The vacuum chamber 32 is provided with a discharge hole 32A for discharging Ar gas.

  The ion gun 36 includes an anode 36A connected to a power source 40 and a cathode 36B. A large number of fine holes 36C are provided in the cathode 36B, and the ionized Ar gas accelerated between the anode 36A and the cathode 36B is emitted and irradiated from the fine holes 36C.

  Although not shown, the stage 34 is configured to change the angle of the workpiece 10 with respect to an ion beam (ionized Ar gas beam), and the center of the workpiece 10 is the rotation axis. It is configured to be able to rotate.

  The nonmagnetic material 26 is filled using a bias sputtering apparatus 50 as shown in FIG.

The bias sputtering apparatus 50 includes a vacuum chamber 52, a target holder 56 for holding a SiO ₂ (nonmagnetic material) target 54 in the vacuum chamber 52, and a workpiece 10 for holding the workpiece 10 in the vacuum chamber 52. A workpiece holder 58.

  The vacuum chamber 52 is provided with an air supply hole 52A for supplying Ar gas as a sputtering gas and an exhaust hole 52B for exhausting the sputtering gas.

  A power source 56A is connected to the target holder 56, and a power source 58A is connected to the workpiece holder 58.

  The bias sputtering apparatus 50 can adjust sputtering conditions (film formation processing conditions) such as the magnitude of the bias voltage (voltage of the power supply 58A), the pressure in the vacuum chamber 52, and the distance between the target 54 and the workpiece 10. Yes.

  Next, the processing method of the to-be-processed body 10 is demonstrated along the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, a starting body of the workpiece 10 shown in FIG. 1 is prepared (S101). The starting body of the workpiece 10 is a glass substrate 12 on which an underlayer 14, a soft magnetic layer 16, an orientation layer 18, and a magnetic recording layer 20 are formed in this order by sputtering, and a resist layer 22 is applied by spin coating. Can be obtained.

  The resist layer 22 as the starting body of the workpiece 10 is exposed to a portion corresponding to the concave portion of the concave / convex pattern using an electron beam exposure apparatus (not shown), and ZED-N50 (manufactured by Zeon Corporation) is used. Development is performed at room temperature for 5 minutes to remove the exposed portion, and a large number of grooves are formed at fine intervals as shown in FIG. 6 (S102).

  Next, using the ion beam etching apparatus 30, the magnetic recording layer 20 on the bottom surface of the groove is removed as shown in FIG. 7 (S103). Specifically, when the workpiece 10 is placed and fixed on the stage 34, Ar gas is supplied to the ion gun 36 for ionization, and the power source 40 applies a beam voltage between the anode 36A and the cathode 36B, the Ar gas is It approaches the cathode 36B side, is further inserted into the fine hole 36C, is emitted into the vacuum chamber 32, and is irradiated onto the workpiece 10. As a result, Ar gas collides with the workpiece 10 and the surface of the magnetic recording layer 20 is removed. Ar gas also removes the surface of the resist layer 22.

  At this time, some of the particles removed from the magnetic recording layer 20 and scattered are reattached to the side surface of the resist layer 22 near the bottom of the groove, as shown in FIG. As will be described later, this redeposited material becomes a step portion 21 at the peripheral edge of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer 20. Incidentally, due to the taper angle of the groove side surface, a groove having a narrower width than the groove formed in the resist layer 22 is formed in the magnetic recording layer 20.

  As ion beam etching proceeds, the magnetic recording layer 20 on the bottom surface of the groove and the resist layer 22 in a region other than the groove gradually become thinner as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, while the amount of reattachment on the side surface of the resist layer 22 increases. And grow up. Note that the shape of the reattachment can be controlled according to the setting conditions of the ion beam etching. For example, if the beam voltage of the power supply 40 is increased, the reattachment can be grown greatly.

  When the ion beam etching further proceeds, as shown in FIG. 10, the magnetic recording layer 20 on the bottom surface of the groove is completely removed and processed into the shape of the concavo-convex pattern, and the reattachment corresponds to the convex portion of the concavo-convex pattern. The stepped portion 21 that remains along the peripheral portion of the magnetic recording layer 20 and protrudes in the direction opposite to the glass substrate 12 is formed along the peripheral portion of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer 20. Although most of the resist layer 22 is also removed, a minute amount remains between the step portions 21.

  The reason why the reattachment remains in this way along the peripheral edge of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer 20 is not necessarily clear, but can be considered as follows. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the height of the resist layer is higher than the height of the reattachment (ie, the stepped portion), the reattachment portion increases and grows. On the other hand, when the height of the resist layer becomes lower than the redeposits as shown in FIG. 9, the redeposits also start to be etched. However, since some of the particles that are removed from the magnetic recording layer 20 and scattered are reattached to the reattachment, the speed at which the height is reduced by etching is small compared to at least the resist layer. As a result, finally, as shown in FIG. 10, the reattachment remains along the peripheral edge of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer 20, thereby forming the magnetic recording layer 20 having the stepped portion 21 at the peripheral edge. It is thought.

Next, the resist layer 22 remaining between the stepped portions 21 is completely removed by reactive ion etching using O ₂ gas as a reactive gas. (S104)

  As described above, the step portion protruding in the direction opposite to the substrate is formed along the peripheral edge portion of the magnetic recording layer corresponding to the convex portion of the concavo-convex pattern.

Next, SiO ₂ particles are filled in the concave portions 24 between the recording elements 20A by depositing SiO ₂ on the concave / convex pattern using the bias sputtering apparatus 50. (S105)

  Specifically, the workpiece 10 is held by the workpiece holder 58, and sputtering gas is supplied from the supply holes 52 </ b> A into the vacuum chamber 52 while applying bias power to the workpiece holder 58.

Since the sputtering gas collides with the target 54 and the SiO ₂ particles are scattered, and the SiO ₂ particles attempt to uniformly deposit on the surface of the workpiece 10 following the irregular shape of the recording element. Tends to be uneven. On the other hand, when the power source 58A applies a bias voltage to the workpiece holder 58, the sputtering gas is urged in the direction of the workpiece 10 by the bias voltage and collides with the deposited SiO ₂ , and the deposited SiO _2. Etch a part of. This etching action tends to selectively remove the protruding portion of the deposited SiO ₂ earlier than the other portions, so that the unevenness on the surface of the nonmagnetic material 36 is gradually leveled. Actually, these actions proceed simultaneously, and the film formation action exceeds the etching action, so that the film formation of the non-magnetic material 26 proceeds while suppressing surface irregularities. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, the non-magnetic material 26 is formed in a shape in which surface unevenness is suppressed.

At this time, since the magnetic recording layer 20 is exposed as shown in FIG. 11 in the initial stage of film formation, an etching action by bias sputtering acts on the magnetic recording layer 20. This etching action selectively and strongly acts on the step portion 21 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 11, and therefore is removed selectively earlier than the other portions. Further, since SiO ₂ is difficult to deposit on the stepped portion 21, as shown in FIG. 12, in the convex portion of the concave / convex pattern, SiO ₂ is deposited from the vicinity of the center of the upper surface of the convex portion. As the stepped portion 21 is removed and becomes smaller, the etching action on the stepped portion 21 is weakened, so that SiO ₂ is easily deposited on the stepped portion 21. Step 2 is removed as much as possible when SiO ₂ begins to deposit on the peripheral portion of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer 20 and the peripheral portion of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer 20 is not affected by the etching action. Is preferred.

  As described above, as shown in FIG. 13, the nonmagnetic material 26 is formed so as to cover the recording element 20 </ b> A in a shape in which unevenness on the surface is suppressed, and the recess 24 is filled with the nonmagnetic material 26. At the same time, the stepped portion 21 is removed and becomes smaller.

  The step portion 21 is preferably removed as much as possible in the end, more preferably completely removed. As described above, the shape (size) of the stepped portion 21 can be adjusted by the beam voltage of the power source 40 when the stepped portion is formed, and the removal amount can be adjusted by the bias power at the time of filling the nonmagnetic material. It is possible to adjust the size of the stepped portion 21 by adjusting one.

  Next, the excess nonmagnetic material 26 is removed using the ion beam etching apparatus 30, and the surfaces of the recording element 20A and the nonmagnetic material 26 are flattened as shown in FIG. 14 (S106). The “excess nonmagnetic material” is used to mean the nonmagnetic material 26 existing on the recording element 20 </ b> A above the upper surface of the magnetic recording layer 20 (on the side opposite to the glass substrate 12). Since the nonmagnetic material 26 is formed into a shape in which the unevenness on the surface is suppressed in the nonmagnetic material filling step (S105), the unevenness on the surface is surely leveled and flattened by ion beam etching. .

  When the step portion 21 is not completely removed in the nonmagnetic material filling step, it is preferable to remove the step portion in the flattening step.

  At this time, in order to perform high-precision flattening, it is preferable that the incident angle of Ar ions used for ion beam etching is in a range of −10 to 15 ° with respect to the surface. On the other hand, if good flatness of the surface of the nonmagnetic material 26 is obtained in the nonmagnetic material filling step (S105), the incident angle of Ar ions is preferably in the range of 15 to 90 °. By doing in this way, a processing speed becomes quick and production efficiency can be improved. In these cases, the ion beam etching may be performed while the stage 34 of the ion beam etching apparatus 30 is inclined with respect to the ion beam and the workpiece 10 is rotated. Here, the “incident angle” is an incident angle with respect to the surface of the workpiece, and is used to mean an angle formed by the surface of the workpiece and the central axis of the ion beam. For example, when the central axis of the ion beam is parallel to the surface of the workpiece, the incident angle is 0 °.

  In the ion beam etching, the etching rate changes depending on the incident angle of the ion beam as described above, but the state of the change varies depending on the material of the object to be etched. Therefore, the etching rates of the recording element 20A and the nonmagnetic material 26 can be made equal by adjusting the incident angle. By doing so, a step due to the recording element 20A and the nonmagnetic material 26 hardly occurs on the surface, and a magnetic recording medium having a good surface property can be manufactured.

  From the viewpoint of spacing loss between the magnetic head and the magnetic recording layer, it is preferable that the upper surface of the recording element 20A is the same height as the upper surface of the nonmagnetic material 26, or the upper surface of the recording element 20A is higher. In order to reliably produce such a configuration, ion beam etching may be performed under conditions such that the etching rate of the magnetic recording layer 20 is slightly smaller than the etching rate of the nonmagnetic material 26. In this case, the etching action of ion beam etching selectively and strongly acts on the peripheral portion of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer 20, and the peripheral portion of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer is selectively removed earlier than other portions. Since there is a tendency, as shown in FIG. 15, the peripheral edge of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer is processed into a rounded shape. In such a case, the stepped portion 21 is not completely removed in the nonmagnetic material filling step, thereby preventing the peripheral portion of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer from being processed into a rounded shape. can do.

  Next, a protective layer 27 of DLC (diamond-like carbon) is formed with a thickness of 1 to 5 nm on the upper surfaces of the recording element 20A and the nonmagnetic material 26 by CVD, and further, 1 on the protective layer 27 by dipping. A lubricating layer 28 of PFPE (perfluoropolyether) is applied to a thickness of ˜2 nm (S107). Thereby, the magnetic recording medium 29 shown in FIG. 2 is completed. DLC is a hard film material that is an amorphous structure film mainly composed of carbon.

  As described above, since the step portion 21 protruding in the direction opposite to the substrate is formed along the peripheral portion of the magnetic recording layer 20 corresponding to the convex portion of the concavo-convex pattern, the recording element 20A has a nonmagnetic material filling step. (S105) In the flattening step (S106), a magnetic recording medium having a magnetic recording layer having a concavo-convex pattern having a desired concavo-convex shape without being processed into a rounded shape (see FIG. 21) at the periphery is manufactured. Can do. That is, the recording element 20A does not deteriorate its shape even when the recess 24 is filled with the nonmagnetic material 26 and the surface of the nonmagnetic material 26 is flattened, and the magnetic recording medium 29 has good recording / reproducing accuracy.

  Further, since the stepped portion 21 can be formed while processing the magnetic recording layer 20 into a concavo-convex pattern by ion beam etching, the stepped portion 21 can be efficiently formed without increasing the number of steps.

  Also, the ion beam etching can directly use a resist material as a mask, and does not require a mask obtained by transferring the resist material as in reactive ion etching. Therefore, the method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium according to this embodiment In this respect, the production efficiency is good and the etching pattern transfer accuracy is also good. Further, since the resist material is used as the material for the mask layer, the stepped portion 21 can be formed efficiently at low cost.

  Further, in the non-magnetic material filling step (S105), since the non-magnetic material 26 is formed while applying a bias power to the workpiece holder 58 (the workpiece 10), the surface unevenness is suppressed to be small. The nonmagnetic material 26 can be formed into a shape, and the surfaces of the recording element 20A and the nonmagnetic material 26 can be efficiently and sufficiently flattened in the flattening step (S106). As a result, the protective layer 27 and the lubricating layer 28 can also be made sufficiently flat, and the magnetic recording medium 29 has good head flying characteristics and good recording / reproducing accuracy.

  Further, since the planarization is performed using ion beam etching in the planarization step (S106), the surface can be planarized while removing the excess nonmagnetic material on the magnetic recording layer efficiently.

  In this embodiment, the flattening step (S106) is provided after the nonmagnetic material filling step (S105). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the nonmagnetic material filling step (S105). If the surface is sufficiently flat, or if the thickness of the non-magnetic material 26 remaining on the recording element 20A is not problematic for the recording / reproducing accuracy of the magnetic recording medium 29, the flattening is performed. The step (S106) may be omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the nonmagnetic material 26 is formed while applying a bias power to the workpiece 10 in the nonmagnetic material filling step (S105). However, the present invention is not limited to this. If the surface can be sufficiently flattened in the flattening step (S106), the nonmagnetic material 26 is formed without applying bias power to the workpiece 10 in the nonmagnetic material filling step (S105). Also good. Even in this case, the step portion 21 protruding in the direction opposite to the substrate is formed along the peripheral edge portion of the magnetic recording layer 20 corresponding to the convex portion of the concavo-convex pattern, so that in the planarization step (S106), the magnetic recording layer It can prevent that the peripheral part of a convex part is processed into the roundish shape.

  In this embodiment, the resist layer 22 is processed into a predetermined pattern using an electron beam exposure apparatus. However, the unevenness of the predetermined pattern may be transferred to the resist layer 22 by, for example, an imprint method.

  In this embodiment, a resist material is used as a mask layer formed on the magnetic recording layer 20, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other materials such as a metal mask material may be used. good.

  In the present embodiment, the stepped portion 21 is formed by reattaching the particles scattered and removed to the side surface of the resist layer 22 while removing the exposed portion of the magnetic recording layer 20 by ion beam etching using Ar gas. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the exposed portion of the magnetic recording layer 20 is formed by ion beam etching using another rare gas such as Kr (krypton) or Xe (xenon). The step portion 21 may be formed while removing. In the present embodiment, the beam voltage is exemplified as a setting condition of ion beam etching for controlling the shape of the stepped portion 21, but the shape of the stepped portion 21 is controlled by selecting the type of gas. It is also possible.

In the present embodiment, the material of the nonmagnetic material 26 is SiO ₂ , but the present invention is not limited to this, and any other material suitable for a film forming technique such as sputtering may be used. Other non-magnetic materials such as oxides, nitrides such as TiN (titanium nitride), carbides such as SiC (silicon carbide) and TiC (titanium carbide), Ta (tantalum), TaSi, and Si may be used.

  In the present embodiment, in the non-magnetic material filling step (S105), the non-magnetic material 26 is filled into the recesses 24 between the recording elements 20A by forming the non-magnetic material 26 using a bias sputtering method. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the film forming method is not particularly limited as long as a nonmagnetic material can be formed on the surface of the workpiece while applying a bias power to the workpiece. The nonmagnetic film 26 may be formed using a film forming method such as a CVD method or an IBD method in which a bias power is applied.

In this embodiment, the nonmagnetic material 26 is removed to the upper surface of the recording element 20A by ion beam etching using Ar gas, and the surfaces of the recording element 20A and the nonmagnetic material 26 are flattened. For example, the nonmagnetic material 26 is removed up to the upper surface of the recording element 20A by ion beam etching using another rare gas such as Kr or Xe, and the recording element 20A and the nonmagnetic material 26 are removed. The surface may be flattened. Further, planarization is performed by reactive ion beam etching using a halogen-based gas such as SF ₆ (sulfur hexafluoride), CF ₄ (carbon tetrafluoride), C ₂ F ₆ (ethane hexafluoride), or the like. Also good. Further, after the non-magnetic material is formed, a resist or the like is applied flatly, and then, an ion back etching is used to remove excess non-magnetic material onto the recording element, and an etching back method or a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) method is used. Planarization may be performed.

  In the present embodiment, the material of the magnetic recording layer 20 is a CoCr alloy. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, other materials including iron group elements (Co, Fe (iron), Ni) may be used. The present invention can also be applied to the processing of magnetic recording media composed of recording elements of other materials such as alloys of these and laminates thereof.

  In the present embodiment, the underlayer 14, the soft magnetic layer 16, and the orientation layer 18 are formed under the magnetic recording layer 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. What is necessary is just to change suitably the structure of a lower layer according to the kind of magnetic recording medium. For example, one or two of the underlayer 14, the soft magnetic layer 16, and the orientation layer 18 may be omitted. Further, the magnetic recording layer may be directly formed on the substrate.

  In this embodiment, the magnetic recording medium 29 is a perpendicular recording type discrete track type magnetic disk in which the recording elements 20A are arranged in parallel in the radial direction of the track, but the present invention is not limited to this. A magnetic disk in which recording elements are arranged in parallel in the circumferential direction (sector direction) of the track at fine intervals, a magnetic disk in which recording elements are arranged in parallel in both the radial direction and the circumferential direction of the track, The present invention is naturally applicable to the manufacture of a magnetic disk having a spiral track. The present invention can also be applied to an in-plane recording type magnetic disk. Also for the manufacture of magneto-optical disks such as MO, heat-assisted magnetic disks that use both magnetism and heat, and magnetic recording media having magnetic recording layers with other concavo-convex patterns other than disk shapes, such as magnetic tapes. The present invention is applicable.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples and comparative examples.

(Example)
The workpiece 10 was processed as in the above embodiment. The thickness of the magnetic recording layer 20 was about 20 nm, and the thickness of the resist layer 22 was about 100 nm.

  The resist layer 22 is exposed and developed with a pattern having a pitch of about 200 nm and a ratio of the convex portion width to the concave portion width of about 2: 1 (that is, a pattern having a convex portion width of about 133 nm and a concave portion width of about 66 nm). A number of grooves were formed.

Next, the magnetic recording layer 20 on the bottom surface of the groove was removed by ion beam etching using Ar gas to form a recording element 20A. As shown in FIG. Formed. FIG. 16 is a photomicrograph after removing the resist layer 20 remaining after ion beam etching by reactive ion etching using O ₂ gas as a reaction gas. The ion beam etching conditions were set as follows.

Beam voltage: 500V
Beam current: 500 mA
Ar gas pressure: 0.5 Pa
Ion beam incident angle: 90 °

Next, in the nonmagnetic material filling step (S105), the following conditions were set, SiO ₂ (nonmagnetic material 26) was formed to a thickness of about 50 nm, and the recesses 24 were filled with SiO ₂ . The film thickness of the nonmagnetic material 26 shown here is the distance between the most protruding portion on the surface of the formed nonmagnetic material 26 and the upper surface of the magnetic recording layer 20.

Deposition power (power applied to target holder 56): 500W
Ar gas pressure: 0.3 Pa
Bias power: 150W

  Next, the following conditions were set in the planarization step (S106), and the nonmagnetic material 26 was removed until the upper surface of the magnetic recording layer 20 was exposed.

Beam voltage: 500V
Beam current: 500 mA
Ar gas pressure: 0.5 Pa
Ion beam incident angle: 2 °

  Next, a DLC protective layer 27 was formed by CVD. As shown in FIG. 17, it was confirmed that the peripheral portion of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer 20 was processed without being rounded.

(Comparative example)
In contrast to the above example, a TaSi mask (composition ratio Ta: Si = 80: 20) as a first mask layer is about 15 nm thick on the magnetic recording layer 20, and Ni is about 10 nm thick as a second mask layer. Films were formed in this order by sputtering. Further thereon, a resist layer 22 was formed with a thickness of about 100 nm. The resist layer 22 was exposed and developed with the same pattern as in the example to form a number of grooves.

Next, after removing the second mask layer on the bottom surface of the groove by ion beam etching using Ar gas, the first mask layer on the bottom surface of the groove was further removed by reactive ion etching using SF ₆ as a reactive gas. .

Further, the magnetic recording layer 20 on the bottom surface of the groove was removed by reactive ion etching using CO gas and NH ₃ gas as reaction gases to form a recording element 20A. Next, the first mask layer remaining on the recording element 20A was removed by reactive ion etching using SF ₆ as a reactive gas. As shown in FIG. 18, the stepped portion 21 was not formed on the peripheral edge of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer 20.

Next, in the same manner as in Example, a non-magnetic material filling process (S105), and formed into a film having a thickness of about 50nm to SiO ₂ (non-magnetic material 26), filled with recesses 24 in SiO _2. As shown in FIG. 19, it was confirmed that the peripheral edge of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer 20 was rounded at this stage.

In the embodiment, the magnetic recording layer 20 is removed by ion beam etching using Ar gas. In the ion beam etching, ions (Ar ions in the embodiment) are physically applied to an object to be processed (magnetic recording layer 20). Since the object to be processed is removed by collision, particles removed from the magnetic recording layer 20 are generated, and the particles are reattached to the side surface of the mask layer to form a stepped portion 21. On the other hand, in the comparative example, the magnetic recording layer 20 is removed by reactive ion etching using CO gas and NH ₃ gas as reaction gases. Reactive ion etching also has some physical effects such as ion beam etching, but most of it removes an object to be processed by chemical reaction with a reactive gas. The removed substance is in a state of reacting with the reaction gas, and is unlikely to reattach to the side surface of the mask layer, so that the stepped portion 21 is hardly formed.

  The present invention can be used to manufacture a magnetic recording medium having a magnetic recording layer with a concavo-convex pattern, such as a discrete track type hard disk.

Side sectional view which shows typically the structure of the process starting body of the to-be-processed body which concerns on embodiment of this invention Side sectional view schematically showing the structure of a magnetic recording medium obtained by processing the workpiece Side view schematically showing a schematic structure of an ion beam etching apparatus used for manufacturing the magnetic recording medium Side view schematically showing a schematic structure of a bias sputtering apparatus used for manufacturing the magnetic recording medium Flow chart showing an outline of the manufacturing process of the magnetic recording medium Side sectional view schematically showing the shape of the workpiece in which a number of grooves are formed in the resist layer Side sectional view schematically showing the shape of a sample in which a step portion is formed while the magnetic recording layer on the bottom surface of the groove is removed Side sectional view schematically showing the shape of a sample in which a stepped portion is grown while further removing the magnetic recording layer on the bottom surface of the groove Side sectional view schematically showing the shape of the sample in which the resist layer between the step portions is removed lower than the step portions. Side sectional view schematically showing the shape of the sample from which the magnetic recording layer at the bottom of the groove has been completely removed Side sectional view schematically showing how the etching action acts selectively on the stepped portion by bias sputtering Side sectional view schematically showing how a nonmagnetic material is deposited by bias sputtering Side sectional view schematically showing the shape of the workpiece after the non-magnetic material filling step Side sectional view schematically showing the shape of a workpiece with the surfaces of recording elements and non-magnetic material flattened Side sectional view schematically showing a shape in which the peripheral portion of the convex portion of the magnetic recording layer is rounded by the flattening process. The microscope picture which shows the processing shape after the magnetic-recording-layer processing process of the to-be-processed body which concerns on the Example of this invention. Micrograph (A) and schematic diagram (B) showing the shape of the recording element after the protective layer forming step of the same sample Micrograph showing the processed shape of the workpiece according to the comparative example after the magnetic recording layer processing step Micrograph (A) and schematic diagram (B) showing the shape of the recording element after the non-magnetic material filling step of the sample Side sectional view schematically showing a state in which an etching action selectively acts on a peripheral portion of a magnetic recording layer by a conventional magnetic recording medium manufacturing method. Side sectional view schematically showing the shape of a recording element after filling with a nonmagnetic material by a conventional method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Workpiece | work 12 ... Glass substrate 14 ... Underlayer 16 ... Soft magnetic layer 18 ... Orientation layer 20 ... Magnetic recording layer 20A ... Recording element 21 ... Step part 22 ... Resist layer 24 ... Recessed part 26 ... Nonmagnetic material 27 ... Protection Layer 28 ... Lubricating layer 29 ... Magnetic recording medium 30 ... Ion beam etching apparatus 50 ... Bias sputtering apparatus S101 ... Processing object fabrication process for processing object S102 ... Split pattern formation process to resist layer S103 ... Magnetic recording layer processing and step Formation step S104 ... Resist layer removal step S105 ... Non-magnetic material filling step S106 ... Planarization step S107 ... Protection layer and lubricating layer formation step

Claims (6)

After the magnetic recording layer processing step of processing the magnetic recording layer on the substrate into a predetermined concavo-convex pattern, a nonmagnetic material filling step of filling the concave portion of the concavo-convex pattern by forming a nonmagnetic material on the concavo-convex pattern A method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium comprising:
In the magnetic recording layer processing step, a step portion protruding in a direction opposite to the substrate is formed along a peripheral portion of the magnetic recording layer corresponding to a convex portion of the concavo-convex pattern, and the magnetic recording layer processing step A method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium, wherein the step is removed in a subsequent step.   In the magnetic recording layer processing step, after forming a mask layer on the magnetic recording layer and processing the mask layer in the shape of the concavo-convex pattern, the exposed portion of the magnetic recording layer is removed by ion beam etching, 2. The step of forming the step portion along the peripheral portion of the magnetic recording layer by reattaching particles scattered by the ion beam etching to the side surface of the mask layer. A method for producing the magnetic recording medium according to 1.   The method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium according to claim 2, wherein a resist material is used as a material of the mask layer.   4. The magnetic recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the nonmagnetic material filling step uses a film forming method of forming the nonmagnetic material while applying a bias power to the substrate. Production method.   5. The flattening step of flattening the surface by removing excess nonmagnetic material on the magnetic recording layer after the nonmagnetic material filling step is provided. A method for producing the magnetic recording medium according to claim.   6. The method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium according to claim 5, wherein the planarizing step uses ion beam etching.