JPWO2015141571A1 - Magnetic material sputtering target - Google Patents

Abstract

A sputtering target having a metal matrix phase containing Fe and a nonmagnetic phase that is dispersed in the form of particles, the nonmagnetic phase containing 0.1 to 40 mol% of C, A sputtering target characterized in that the integral width of the diffraction peak having the highest intensity among the single peaks is 0.8 or less. Provided is a non-magnetic material particle-dispersed sputtering target that suppresses the generation of initial particles during sputtering and reduces the burn-in time, and that can obtain a stable discharge during sputtering. [Selection figure] None

Description

  The present invention relates to a ferromagnetic sputtering target used for forming a magnetic thin film of a magnetic recording medium, particularly a magnetic recording layer of a hard disk adopting a perpendicular magnetic recording method, and has a small initial particle and stable when sputtering. The present invention relates to a non-magnetic material particle-dispersed sputtering target capable of obtaining discharge.

In the field of magnetic recording typified by hard disk drives, materials based on Co, Fe, or Ni, which are ferromagnetic metals, are used as materials for magnetic thin films in magnetic recording media. For example, a Co—Cr-based or Co—Cr—Pt-based ferromagnetic alloy containing Co as a main component has been used for a magnetic thin film of a hard disk employing an in-plane magnetic recording method.
In addition, a composite material composed of a Co—Cr—Pt ferromagnetic alloy containing Co as a main component and nonmagnetic inorganic particles is often used for a magnetic thin film of a hard disk that employs a perpendicular magnetic recording method that has been put into practical use in recent years. It has been. The above-mentioned magnetic thin film is often produced by sputtering a sputtering target containing the above material as a component with a DC magnetron sputtering apparatus because of its high productivity.

On the other hand, the recording density of a hard disk is rapidly increasing year by year, the future from a surface density of 600Gbit / in ² of current is believed to reach 1 Tbit / in ^2. When the recording density reaches 1 Tbit / in ² , the size of the recording bit becomes less than 10 nm. In that case, superparamagnetization due to thermal fluctuation is expected to be a problem, and magnetic recording media currently used It is expected that a material obtained by adding Pt to a material such as a Co—Cr base alloy to increase the magnetocrystalline anisotropy is not sufficient. This is because magnetic particles that behave stably as ferromagnetism with a size of 10 nm or less need to have higher crystal magnetic anisotropy.

For the reasons described above, FePt phase having an L1 ₀ structure is attracting attention as a material for an ultra-high density recording medium. FePt phase having an L1 ₀ structure with a high magnetocrystalline anisotropy, corrosion resistance and excellent oxidation resistance, is what is expected as a material suitable for the application as a magnetic recording medium. When the FePt phase is used as a material for an ultra-high density recording medium, it is necessary to develop a technique for aligning and dispersing the ordered FePt magnetic particles in as high a density as possible in a magnetically isolated state. It has been.

For this reason, the FePt magnetic particles having an L1 ₀ structure, the magnetic thin film having a granular structure that is isolated by the non-magnetic material such oxides and carbon (C), the next generation hard disk employing a thermally assisted magnetic recording method It has been proposed as a magnetic recording medium. This granular structure magnetic thin film has a structure in which magnetic particles are magnetically insulated by interposition of a nonmagnetic substance. An example of a magnetic recording medium having a magnetic thin film with a granular structure and related literature relating thereto is Patent Document 1.

The granular structure magnetic thin film having a FePt phase with the L1 ₀ structure, a magnetic thin film containing 10-50% carbon (C) as the non-magnetic material as a volume ratio, is noted in particular because of their high magnetic properties Yes. It is known that such a granular structure magnetic thin film is produced by simultaneously sputtering a single element target of an Fe target, a Pt target, and a C target, or by simultaneously sputtering an Fe-Pt alloy target and a C target. ing. However, in order to simultaneously sputter these sputtering targets, an expensive simultaneous sputtering apparatus is required.

 Therefore, at the time of mass production, a magnetic thin film is produced by using an integrated sintered sputtering target made of an Fe-based alloy and a nonmagnetic material. However, such a target may suffer damage such as chipping or peeling of the nonmagnetic phase exposed on the surface during finishing (machine) processing, which may be inadvertently detached during sputtering or abnormal. There has been a problem that the generation of particles (dust adhering to the substrate) increases due to discharge.

 In order to solve such problems, conventionally, many measures for reducing the surface roughness have been used. For example, Patent Document 2 teaches a technique for suppressing the generation of particles by suppressing the generation of nodules by adjusting the surface roughness Ra ≦ 1.0 μm of the sputtering target. However, since the sputtering target disclosed here does not include non-magnetic particles such as oxides, surface machining of the target is easy, and the particle suppression effect is relatively easy to achieve. There is a problem that it cannot be used for a sputtering target in which non-magnetic particles are finely dispersed.

 As another measure, in a sputtering target that does not contain a nonmagnetic material, in order to reduce initial particles (shortening burn-in time), not a physical method such as machining, but a chemical method such as etching, The processing distortion was also removed. However, in the case of a magnetic material target containing carbon (C) or an oxide such as Fe or Pt, good etching cannot be performed, and the surface roughness is the same as that of a target made of a single element. No improvement could be made.

 Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for realizing a reduction in burn-in time during sputtering by removing a surface deformation layer of a sputtering target. In this surface treatment method, the target surface is brought into contact with a viscoelastic polishing medium (VEAM), and the target surface is extruded and horn polished. However, such a surface treatment method is effective for a metal material in which non-magnetic particles are not present, but there is a problem that they are detached when applied to a target in which non-magnetic particles are present.

JP 2004-152471 A JP-A-11-1766 Special table 2010-516900 gazette

  As described above, in the case of a magnetic target containing a metal material such as Fe and a non-magnetic material such as carbon (C), the non-magnetic phase exposed on the target surface is damaged by chipping or peeling due to machining, and sputtering is performed. There was a problem that the generation of particles sometimes increased. Moreover, even if the problem of chipping or peeling of the non-magnetic phase caused by this machining can be solved, residual processing strain due to surface machining exists in the target, which also causes generation of particles. In particular, since the residual processing strain is not sufficiently grasped, the surface processing method and processing accuracy are affected, and the fundamental solution of particle generation has not been achieved.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have conducted intensive research, and as a result, reduced non-magnetic phase chipping and peeling during machining, and reduced residual processing strain of the sputtering target. By identifying the degree of processing strain by the integral width of the peak of X-ray diffraction, it is possible to suppress the generation of initial particles during sputtering, greatly shorten the burn-in time, and stable discharge during sputtering. It has been found that the resulting non-magnetic material particle-dispersed sputtering target can be provided.

Based on such knowledge, the present invention
1) A sputtering target having a metal matrix phase containing Fe and a nonmagnetic phase that is dispersed in the form of particles, containing 0.1 to 40 mol% of C as the nonmagnetic phase, and an X-ray A sputtering target characterized in that the integral width of the diffraction peak having the highest intensity among the single peaks of diffraction is 0.8 or less,
2) The sputtering target according to the above 1), wherein the metal matrix phase has a Pt of 33 mol% or more and 56 mol% or less, and the remainder is Fe and inevitable impurities,
3) One or more kinds selected from SiO ₂ , TiO ₂ , Ti ₂ O ₃ , Cr ₂ O ₃ , Ta ₂ O ₅ , Ti ₅ O ₉ , B ₂ O ₃ , CoO, and Co ₃ O ₄ as the nonmagnetic phase. The sputtering target according to 1) or 2) above, which contains 5 to 25 mol% of an oxide,
4) The metal matrix phase contains 0.1 mol% to 10 mol% of one or more elements selected from Ag, Cu, B, Ti, V, Mn, Zr, Nb, Ru, Mo, Ta, and W. The sputtering target according to any one of 1) to 3) above is provided.

 The present invention can provide a non-magnetic material particle-dispersed sputtering target that can significantly reduce the burn-in time by suppressing the generation of initial particles during sputtering and can obtain a stable discharge during sputtering. . This also increases the target life and makes it possible to manufacture a magnetic thin film at low cost. Furthermore, it has the effect of significantly improving the quality of the film formed by sputtering.

  The component which comprises the sputtering target of this invention has the metal matrix phase containing Fe, and the nonmagnetic phase which disperse | distributes and forms particle | grains. The integral width of the diffraction peak having the highest intensity among the single peaks of X-ray diffraction is 0.8 or less. This is an index for reducing the residual processing strain. As a result, the residual processing strain can be reduced, so that the generation of initial particles due to the residual processing strain is small, and the burn-in time can be greatly reduced.

According to the JCPDS card: 03-065-4899, the integrated value evaluation of the X-ray diffraction peak is such that the X-ray diffraction peak of α-Fe has a (111) plane attribute peak at 2θ = 44.66 ° and a (200) plane. It is known that an attribution peak is observed at 65.01 °. Further, according to JCPDS card: 01-074-4586, as for the X-ray diffraction peak of Fe ₃ Pt, the (202) plane attribution peak is observed at 42.50 ° and the (220) plane attribution peak is observed at 44.70 °. It is known that However, in the case of a target including an Fe—Pt alloy, even if an X-ray diffraction peak is observed at around 44.7 °, it may be due to an α-Fe (111) plane attribute peak, Fe ₃ Pt ( 220) It may be difficult to determine whether it is due to the plane attribution peak or the sum of them.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the X-ray diffraction peak used for the evaluation of the integral width is selected from single peaks that do not possibly overlap with other peaks. Among them, the peak having the highest intensity among the single peaks is selected so that the influence of the measurement error is minimized. The magnitude of the processing strain affects the peak position and peak width in X-ray diffraction. When distortion occurs such that the average value decreases or expands while the variation in the inter-lattice distance remains constant, only the peak position is shifted to the high angle side or the low angle side without affecting the peak width. However, when machining strain is applied, the dispersion of the interstitial distance actually increases, so that the peak width increases and the peak position may shift slightly at the same time. Therefore, quantitatively comparing the peak widths corresponds to comparing the magnitudes of distortion. As an index of the peak width, it is preferable to use an integration width that is less affected by the measurement conditions. Here, the integral width means a value obtained by dividing the integral area of the peak by the peak intensity.

In the present invention, the metal matrix phase is typically a sputtering target in which Pt is 33 mol% or more and 56 mol% or less, and the balance is Fe and inevitable impurities, and the present invention includes these. These sputtering targets are ferromagnetic material sputtering targets used for forming a magnetic thin film of a magnetic recording medium, particularly a magnetic recording layer of a hard disk adopting a perpendicular magnetic recording method.
The nonmagnetic phase contains at least 0.1 to 40 mol% of carbon (C). When the content of C particles in the sputtering target composition is less than 0.1 mol%, good magnetic properties can be obtained because carbon cannot sufficiently insulate the magnetic interaction between the magnetic particles in the magnetic thin film. In some cases, if the amount exceeds 40 mol%, C particles aggregate and a coarse C phase is generated in the target structure, which may increase the generation of particles.

As the nonmagnetic phase, in addition to the carbon (C) described above, SiO ₂ , TiO ₂ , Ti ₂ O ₃ , Cr ₂ O ₃ , Ta ₂ O ₅ , Ti ₅ O ₉ , B ₂ O ₃ , One or more oxides selected from CoO and Co ₃ O ₄ can be given. The target of the present invention contains 5 to 25 mol% of these. In the examples described later, only some of these examples are shown, but all of them have almost equivalent functions as nonmagnetic phases.

  Furthermore, in the sputtering target of the present invention, at least one element selected from Ag, Cu, B, Ti, V, Mn, Zr, Nb, Ru, Mo, Ta, and W as a metal matrix phase is 0.1 mol% or more. It can be contained in an amount of 10 mol% or less. These are elements added as necessary in order to improve the characteristics as a magnetic recording medium. The blending ratio can be within the above range, but any of them can maintain the characteristics as an effective magnetic recording medium.

The sputtering target of the present invention can be produced by a powder sintering method.
First, powders of metal elements of each metal element are prepared. These powders desirably have a particle size of 0.5 μm or more and 10 μm or less. If the particle size of the powder is too small, there is a problem that oxidation is promoted and the oxygen concentration in the sputtering target is increased. On the other hand, if the particle size of the powder is large, it is difficult to finely disperse the C particles in the alloy.

Moreover, you may use the alloy powder (for example, Fe-Pt powder) of these metals instead of the powder of each metal element. In particular, although the alloy powder containing Pt depends on its composition, it is effective for reducing the amount of oxygen in the raw material powder. Also when using an alloy powder, it is desirable to use a powder having a particle size of 0.5 to 10 μm.
Then, these metal powders are weighed so as to have a desired composition, and mixed using a known method such as a ball mill for pulverization. When non-magnetic particles are added, it may be mixed with metal powder at this stage.

 C powder and oxide powder are prepared as the nonmagnetic particle powder. It is desirable to use nonmagnetic particle powder having a particle size of 0.5 μm or more and 10 μm or less. If the particle size of the powder is too small, it tends to agglomerate, so it is desirable that the particle size be 0.5 μm or more. On the other hand, if the particle size is large, a particle generation source is desirable.

 Then, after weighing the above powder so as to have a desired composition, the above raw material powder is pulverized and mixed using an attritor. Here, a ball mill, a mortar, or the like can be used as the mixing device, but it is desirable to use a powerful mixing method such as a ball mill. In view of the problem of oxidation during mixing, it is preferable to mix in an inert gas atmosphere or in a vacuum.

 The mixed powder obtained in this manner is molded and sintered using a hot press apparatus to produce a sintered body. Molding / sintering is not limited to hot pressing, and plasma discharge sintering and hot isostatic pressing can also be used. Although the holding temperature at the time of sintering depends on the composition of the target, in many cases, it is set to a temperature range of 1100 ° C. to 1400 ° C.

 Thereafter, hot isostatic pressing is performed on the sintered body taken out from the hot press apparatus. This is an effective means for improving the density of the sintered body. In many cases, the holding temperature during the hot isostatic pressing depends on the composition of the target, but is in the temperature range of 1100 ° C to 1400 ° C. The applied pressure is 100 MPa or more. And the sintered compact obtained in this way is processed so that it may become a desired shape with a lathe.

In the present invention, it is important to remove residual overwork distortion, and after lathe processing, rotary surface grinding and polishing (finishing) with abrasive grains are performed. Evaluation by these processes is performed by observing a peak of XRD (X-ray diffraction). Then, the integral width of the strongest peak among the single peaks of XRD is set to 0.8 or less.
The integral width of the peak (meaning crystal plane) measured by X-ray diffraction of the target reflects the internal strain contained in the crystal plane, which is plastic processing at the time of target production, cutting the target, etc. It is caused by the processing distortion when performing machining. In this case, the larger the integration width (the broader the peak), the greater the residual distortion.

 Since this final evaluation depends on the type of raw material and the surface treatment, a certain amount of trial and error is repeated so that the target can be achieved. Once the surface processing process is established, it is possible to steadily acquire the condition that the integral width of the strongest peak among XRD single peaks is 0.8 or less. These can be said to be conditions that can be easily achieved by those skilled in the art if the present invention is clearly understood. Thus, a sputtering target in which nonmagnetic particles are finely dispersed can be produced.

  Hereinafter, description will be made based on Examples and Comparative Examples. In addition, a present Example is an example to the last, and is not restrict | limited at all by this example. In other words, the present invention is limited only by the scope of the claims, and includes various modifications other than the examples included in the present invention.

Example 1
Fe powder having an average particle diameter of 3 μm, Pt powder having an average particle diameter of 3 μm, TiO ₂ powder having an average particle diameter of 1 μm, and C powder having an average particle diameter of 1 μm were prepared as raw material powders. Commercially available amorphous carbon was used as C powder. Fe powder, Pt powder, TiO ₂ powder, and C powder were weighed in a total weight of 2600 g so that the composition of the target was Fe-40Pt-9TiO ₂ -10C (mol%).

 Next, the weighed powder was enclosed in a 10 liter ball mill pot together with a titania ball as a grinding medium, and mixed and pulverized by rotating for 4 hours. The mixed powder taken out from the ball mill was filled in a carbon mold and hot-pressed. The hot pressing conditions were a vacuum atmosphere, a temperature rising rate of 300 ° C./hour, a holding temperature of 1200 ° C., and a holding time of 2 hours, and pressurization was performed at 30 MPa from the start of temperature rising to the end of holding. After completion of the holding, it was naturally cooled in the chamber.

 Next, hot isostatic pressing was performed on the sintered body taken out from the hot press mold. The conditions for hot isostatic pressing were a temperature increase rate of 300 ° C./hour, a holding temperature of 1100 ° C., a holding time of 2 hours, and gradually increasing the Ar gas pressure from the start of the temperature increase to 1100 ° While being held at C, it was pressurized at 150 MPa. After completion of the holding, it was naturally cooled in the furnace. The sintered body thus produced was turned and then subjected to rotary surface grinding and polishing (finishing) with abrasive grains to obtain a disk-shaped target having a diameter of 180 mm and a thickness of 5 mm. The processing amount of rotary surface grinding was 50 μm, and the processing amount of polishing (finishing) was 3 μm.

In order to estimate the residual strain remaining on the surface of the target, XRD (X-ray diffraction) measurement was performed. As a result, the integral width of the diffraction peak near 2θ = 41 ° where the intensity is the maximum among the single peaks is 0.6, which was within the scope of the present invention. In addition, Rigak Ultima IV was used as a measuring device, and the measurement conditions were tube voltage 40 kV, tube current 30 mA, scan speed 1 ° / min, and step 0.005 °.
Next, this target was attached to a magnetron sputtering apparatus (C-3010 sputtering system manufactured by Canon Anelva), and sputtering was performed. The sputtering conditions were an input power of 1 kW and an Ar gas pressure of 1.7 Pa. After performing pre-sputtering of 2 kWhr, a film was formed on a 4-inch diameter silicon substrate at 1 kW for 20 seconds.

 The number of particles adhering to the substrate was measured with a particle counter. As a result, at the time of 0.4 kWh sputtering, the number of particles decreased to the background level (5) or less. In other words, the time (burn-in time) required to stabilize the characteristics of the sputtering target could be shortened to 0.4 kWh. Since the production cannot be started during the burn-in, the burn-in time is preferably as short as possible, and is preferably 1.0 kWh or less.

(Example 2)
A sintered body having a composition of Fe-40Pt-9TiO ₂ -10C (mol%) was produced in the same manner as in Example 1. This sintered body was lathe processed, and then surface grinding was performed to obtain a disk-shaped target having a diameter of 180 mm and a thickness of 5 mm. The finishing process was also carried out by surface grinding, and the finishing process was carried out under the condition that the cutting depth was zero as much as possible. The processing amount of the surface grinding was 50 μm, of which the finishing was 1 μm. In order to estimate the residual strain remaining on the surface of the target, XRD (X-ray diffraction) measurement was performed under the same conditions as in Example 1. As a result, the maximum intensity in a single peak was around 2θ = 41 °. The integrated width of the diffraction peak was 0.8, which was within the scope of the present invention.

 Next, this target was sputtered under the same conditions as in Example 1, and the number of particles adhering to the substrate was measured with a particle counter. As a result, at the time of 0.8 kWh sputtering, the number of particles decreased to the background level (5) or less. That is, the time (burn-in time) required to stabilize the characteristics of the sputtering target could be shortened to 0.8 kWh. Since the production cannot be started during the burn-in, the burn-in time is preferably as short as possible, and is preferably 1.0 kWh or less.

(Example 3)
Fe powder having an average particle diameter of 3 μm, Pt powder having an average particle diameter of ₃ μm, B ₂ O ₃ powder having an average particle diameter of 5 μm, and C powder having an average particle diameter of 2 μm were prepared as raw material powders. The total weight of 2500 g of Fe powder, Pt powder, B ₂ O ₃ powder, and C powder was weighed so that these powders had a target composition of Fe-40Pt-5B ₂ O ₃ -14C (mol%).

 Next, the weighed powder was enclosed in a 10 liter ball mill pot together with a steel ball as a grinding medium, mixed and pulverized by rotating for 4 hours. The mixed powder taken out from the ball mill was filled in a carbon mold and hot-pressed. The hot pressing conditions were a vacuum atmosphere, a heating rate of 300 ° C./hour, a holding temperature of 1000 ° C., and a holding time of 2 hours, and pressurization was performed at 30 MPa from the start of heating to the end of holding. After completion of the holding, it was naturally cooled in the chamber.

 Next, hot isostatic pressing was performed on the sintered body taken out from the hot press mold. The conditions for hot isostatic pressing were a temperature increase rate of 300 ° C./hour, a holding temperature of 1100 ° C., a holding time of 2 hours, and gradually increasing the Ar gas pressure from the start of the temperature increase to 1100 ° While being held at C, it was pressurized at 150 MPa. After completion of the holding, it was naturally cooled in the furnace. The sintered body thus produced was turned and then subjected to rotary surface grinding and polishing (finishing) with abrasive grains to obtain a disk-shaped target having a diameter of 180 mm and a thickness of 5 mm. The processing amount of rotary surface grinding was 50 μm, and the processing amount of polishing (finishing) was 3 μm.

 In order to estimate the residual strain remaining on the surface of the target, XRD (X-ray diffraction) measurement was performed under the same conditions as in Example 1. As a result, the maximum intensity in a single peak was around 2θ = 41 °. The integrated width of the diffraction peak was 0.7, which was within the range of the present invention. Next, this target was attached to a magnetron sputtering apparatus (C-3010 sputtering system manufactured by Canon Anelva), and sputtering was performed. The sputtering conditions were an input power of 1 kW and an Ar gas pressure of 1.7 Pa. After performing pre-sputtering of 2 kWhr, a film was formed on a 4-inch diameter silicon substrate at 1 kW for 20 seconds.

 The number of particles adhering to the substrate was measured with a particle counter. As a result, at the time of 0.4 kWh sputtering, the number of particles decreased to the background level (5) or less. That is, the time (burn-in time) required to stabilize the characteristics of the sputtering target could be shortened to 0.6 kWh. Since the production cannot be started during the burn-in, the burn-in time is preferably as short as possible, and is preferably 1.0 kWh or less.

Example 4
A sintered body having a composition of Fe-40Pt-5B ₂ O ₃ -14C (mol%) was produced in the same manner as in Example 3. This sintered body was lathe processed, and then surface grinding was performed to obtain a disk-shaped target having a diameter of 180 mm and a thickness of 5 mm. The finishing process was also carried out by surface grinding, and the finishing process was carried out under the condition that the cutting depth was zero as much as possible. The processing amount of the surface grinding was 50 μm, of which the finishing was 1 μm. In order to estimate the residual strain remaining on the surface of the target, XRD (X-ray diffraction) measurement was performed under the same conditions as in Example 1. As a result, the maximum intensity in a single peak was around 2θ = 41 °. The integrated width of the diffraction peak was 0.8, which was within the scope of the present invention.

 Next, this target was sputtered under the same conditions as in Example 1, and the number of particles adhering to the substrate was measured with a particle counter. As a result, at the time of 0.9 kWh sputtering, the number of particles decreased below the background level (5). That is, the time (burn-in time) required to stabilize the characteristics of the sputtering target could be shortened to 0.9 kWh. Since the production cannot be started during the burn-in, the burn-in time is preferably as short as possible, and is preferably 1.0 kWh or less.

(Comparative Example 1)
In the same manner as in Example 1, a target having a composition of Fe-40Pt-9TiO ₂ -10C (mol%) was produced. However, when machining the sintered body, only lathe processing was performed. In order to estimate the residual strain remaining on the surface of the target, XRD (X-ray diffraction) measurement was performed under the same conditions as in Example 1. As a result, the maximum intensity in a single peak was around 2θ = 50 °. The integrated width of the diffraction peak was 1.2, exceeding the range of the present invention. As a result of sputtering this target under the same conditions as in Example 1, the number of particles decreased to a background level (five) or less when 1.5 kWh was sputtered. That is, the burn-in time was 1.5 kWh, which was longer than that in Example 1.

(Comparative Example 2)
A sintered body having a composition of Fe-40Pt-5B ₂ O ₃ -14C (mol%) was produced in the same manner as in Example 3. However, when machining the sintered body, only lathe processing was performed. In order to estimate the residual strain remaining on the surface of the target, XRD (X-ray diffraction) measurement was performed under the same conditions as in Example 1. As a result, the maximum intensity in a single peak was around 2θ = 50 °. The integrated width of the diffraction peak was 1.6, exceeding the range of the present invention. As a result of sputtering this target under the same conditions as in Example 1, the number of particles decreased to a background level (five) or less when 2.2 kWh was sputtered. That is, the burn-in time was 2.2 kWh, which was longer than that in Example 3.

 The present invention provides a non-magnetic material particle-dispersed sputtering target capable of greatly reducing the burn-in time by suppressing the generation of initial particles during sputtering and obtaining stable discharge during sputtering. The target life is extended, and a magnetic thin film can be manufactured at a low cost. Furthermore, the quality of the film formed by sputtering can be significantly improved. It is useful as a ferromagnetic sputtering target used for forming a magnetic thin film of a magnetic recording medium, particularly a hard disk drive recording layer.

Claims (4)

 A sputtering target having a metal matrix phase containing Fe and a nonmagnetic phase that is dispersed in the form of particles, the nonmagnetic phase containing 0.1 to 40 mol% of C, A sputtering target characterized in that the integral width of the diffraction peak having the highest intensity among the single peaks is 0.8 or less.  2. The sputtering target according to claim 1, wherein the metal matrix phase has a Pt content of 33 mol% or more and 56 mol% or less, and the remainder is Fe and inevitable impurities. One or more oxides in which the nonmagnetic phase is selected from SiO ₂ , TiO ₂ , Ti ₂ O ₃ , Cr ₂ O ₃ , Ta ₂ O ₅ , Ti ₅ O ₉ , B ₂ O ₃ , CoO, and Co ₃ O ₄ The sputtering target according to claim 1, wherein 5 to 25 mol% is contained.  The metal matrix phase contains 0.1 mol% to 10 mol% of one or more elements selected from Ag, Cu, B, Ti, V, Mn, Zr, Nb, Ru, Mo, Ta, and W. The sputtering target as described in any one of Claims 1-3.