# Patent

## Title
Magnetic recording medium possessing a fluctuation field of not less than 30 Oe

## Abstract

An ferromagnetic thin film is used to provide a magnetic recording medium whose noise is low and whose S/N value is high. The ferromagnetic thin film as the magnetic film of the magnetic recording medium is such that the fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity at 25° C. at the field strength equal to remanence coercivity or coercivity is not less than 15 oersteds and the coercivity is not less than 2000 oersteds.

## Background
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/849,404 filed on May 7, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,428, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/521,363 filed on Aug. 31, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,748. The contents of application Ser. Nos. 09/849,404 and 08/521,363 are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a magnetic recording medium using a ferromagnetic metal thin film, and more particularly, to a magnetic recording medium having excellent electromagnetic transducing properties, and a large capacity magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus.
For improving the recording density, increasing the output, and reducing the noise of magnetic recording media, it is essential to micronize magnetic particles in the case of a coated medium and crystal grains in the case of a thin film medium. Regarding a medium using metal particles that has heretofore been studied, for example, micronization has progressed and high-performance tapes such as Hi-8 (8-mm high-density magnetic tapes) using extra-fine particles having a cylinder major axis length of approximately 200 nm and a cylinder diameter of approximately 30 nm are now put to practical use. Incidentally, a plurality of particles are subjected to magnetic reversal in a group and signals are recorded when magnetic particles have been formed into a cluster agglomerate or when the interaction between crystal grains is strong even though the magnetic particles or crystal grains of a magnetic medium are extremely fine. When the plurality of particles are subjected to magnetic reversal and when the magnetic reversal unit becomes larger, noise increases at the time of reproducing data. In consequence, the density improvement is greatly hampered.
The size of the magnetic reversal unit is relevant to magnetic viscosity. In other words, it is considered that the greater the fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity becomes, the smaller the magnetic reversal unit is. A description has been given of a meaning of the fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity in Journal of Physics F: Metal Physics, Vol. 14, 1984, pp. L155-L159. Further, a detailed description has also been given of the measurement conditions in Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, Vol. 127, 1993, pp, 233-240. The principle of measuring the fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity will subsequently be described.
When a new magnetic field is applied to a magnetic material, the magnetization I(t) often varies in relation to the logarithm ln(t) of the field applied time:

I(t)=const+S·ln(t)  (1)

In this case, I(t) represents a magnetic moment per unit volume, and t represents elapsed time after the new magnetic field is applied. The viscosity coefficient S has a positive value when the magnetic field is shifted in the positive direction and has a negative value when the magnetic field is shifted in the negative direction. Moreover, it is known that S can be expressed by the product of the irreversible susceptibility Xirr and the fluctuation field Hf. In other words, there is established the following relation:

S=Xirr·Hf  (2)

Therefore, the fluctuation field is determined if S and Xirr are found experimentally. The fluctuation field is a quantity representing the degree of the influence of thermal fluctuation, and a greater fluctuation field signifies that it is easily affected by thermal fluctuation and that the magnetic reversal unit is small in size.

The fluctuation field where the field strength is equal to coercivity or remanence coercivity can also be found from the dependence on the field applied time of the coercivity Hc or remanence coercivity Hr. The coercivity or remanence coercivity, together with field applied time t, often decreases according to the following relation

Hc(or Hr)=−A·ln(t)+const   (3)

as the application time elapses. All the specimens mentioned in the present specification satisfied Eq. (3). When the coercivity or remanence coercivity varies with the field applied time t according to Eq. (3), it is known that A takes substantially the same value as that of the fluctuation field Hf where the field strength is equal to the coercivity or remanence coercivity. This procedure is not only simple but also excellent in reproducibility. Hence, the value A is taken as the fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity according to the present invention.

By measurement at room temperature, the fluctuation field thus found has the nature of becoming large in proportion to the absolute temperature at the time of measurement. When a fluctuation field is measured at room temperatures ranging from 10° C. to 30° C. excluding 25° C. according to the present invention, the fluctuation field thus measured is multiplied by (298/T) (where T is the absolute temperature), and the product is taken as a fluctuation field Hf at 25° C.
In accordance with the conventional method, a Cr under-layer was first formed on a mirror-polished disk made of Ni—P electroless-plated Al—Mg alloy, and then a CoCrTa magnetic layer together with a protective carbon film was formed thereon to fabricate a magnetic disk. The Cr under-layer, the magnetic layer, and the protective layer were formed by Ar-gas sputtering. In this case, the substrate temperature and the Ar pressure were 300° C. and 2.0 millitorr, respectively. Further, the Cr under-layer, the magnetic layer, and the protective layer were 50 nm, 25 nm, and 10 nm thick, respectively. The composition of the CoCrTa magnetic layer is Co: 80%, Cr: 16%; Ta: 4%, expressed by atomic %. This composition will be expressed as CoCr16Ta4. The coercivity Hc and the remanence coercivity Hr were 1645 and 1655 oersteds, respectively. Further, the fluctuation fields of magnetic viscosity at 25° C. at the field strength equal to the coercivity and at the field strength equal to the remanence coercivity were 13.5 and 13.2 oersteds, respectively. Thus, the fluctuation fields of magnetic viscosity at 25° C. at the field strength equal to the coercivity and at the field strength equal to the remanence coercivity exhibit substantially the same value; hereinafter these are called simply the fluctuation field in this specification.
Incidentally, the measuring time of the fluctuation field ranged from 0 to 30 minutes.
A permalloy head having a gap length of 0.4 μm and a coil of 24 turns was used to record magnetic data on the medium, and a magneto-resistive permalloy head was used to reproduce the data in order to examine the electromagnetic transducing properties. The flying height at the time of recording and reproducing data was 80 nm. As a result of measurement, noise at a longitudinal bit density of 150 kFCI (kilo Flux Change per Inch) was 22 μVrms.
Although a magnetic disk unit having a recording density of 300 megabits/square inch could be fabricated by using this medium, a magnetic disk unit having a recording density of 1-gigabit/square inch could not be fabricated.
An object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic recording medium and a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus suitable for reducing noise at the time of reproducing data and for high-density recording.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of a magnetic recording medium embodying the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a nonmagnetic substrate of Ni—P-clad aluminum, Ni—P-clad aluminum-magnesium alloy, glass carbon, or the like; 2, a nonmagnetic under-layer for controlling the crystal orientation and crystal grain size of a magnetic film, which is a metallic layer of Cr, Cr—Mo, Cr—W, Cr—Ti, Cr—V, or the like; 3, a ferromagnetic thin film of a cobalt-based alloy such as Co—Cr—Ta, Co—Cr—Pt, Co—O, Co—Ni, Co—Cr, Co—Mo, Co—Ta, Co—Ni—Cr, Co—Ni—O, or the like; and 4, a protective lubricant layer in which a carbon film, an oxide film, a plasma polymerized film, fatty acid, perfluorocarbon carboxylic acid, perfluoropolyether, or the like may be used as a single or composite material. A ferromagnetic thin film for use as the magnetic layer 3 is desirably such that the fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity at 25®C. at the field strength equal to the remanence coercivity or the coercivity is not less than 15 oersteds, the coercivity is not less than 2000 oersteds, and the thickness of the magnetic layer 3 is not less than 5 nm and not more than 30 nm. It is more desirable that the fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity at 25° C. at the field strength equal to the remanence coercivity or the coercivity is not less than 20 oersteds. The ferromagnetic thin film is desirably a cobalt-based ferromagnetic thin film containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of Cr, Ta, Pt, Ni, Mo, V, Ti, Zr, Hf, Si, W, and O, for example, a thin film containing cobalt of Co—Cr—Ta, Co—Cr—Pt, CO—O, Co—Ni, Co—Cr, Co—Mo, Co—Ta, Co—Ni—Cr, CO—Ni—O, or the like.
A specific method for measuring the fluctuation field is as follows.
In order to obtain a fluctuation field A, a magnetic field of −10,000 oersteds is applied to a specimen 7 mm square cut out of a magnetic disk before being subjected to dc-erase. Subsequently, a positive magnetic field slightly lower than the coercivity or remanence coercivity is applied to the specimen to obtain time tuntil the magnetization or remanent magnetization decreases to zero. While the positive magnetic field applied after the dc-erase is lowered gradually, the operation above is repeated. The fluctuation field A is found from the dependence of the coercivity or remanence coercivity on the field applied time thus determined according to Eq. (3). The fluctuation field found from the dependence of the coercivity on the field applied time shows substantially the same value as that of the fluctuation field found from the dependence of the remanence coercivity on the field applied time. Because of measurement simplicity, the fluctuation field A was found from the dependence of the remanence coercivity on the field applied time according to the present invention. A vibrating sample magnetometer of DMS (Digital Measurement Systems) Co. was employed for the measurement purposes. The measuring temperature was at 25° C. and the field applied time after the dc-erase was in a range of 0 to 30 minutes.
Data from 8 seconds up to 30 minutes was used when the fluctuation field was found since an error in the applied time tends to become greater in a region of a short time less than several seconds.
Although the magnetic disk was an object in the example above, the present invention is also effective for magnetic recording media such as magnetic tapes.
When a ferromagnetic thin film whose fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity at 25° C. at the field strength equal to the remanence coercivity or the coercivity is not less than 15 oersteds and whose coercivity is not less than 2000 oersteds is used, and a magnetic layer 3 whose thickness is not less than 5 nm and not more than 30 nm is used, it is possible to lower the noise level and to raise the S/N value since the cluster size can be decreased at the time of magnetic reversal.
By the combination with a magnetic head using a metal magnetic film in part of the magnetic pole, the medium capable of fast recording is allowed to demonstrate its performance, so that a large-capacity recording and reproducing apparatus can be provided.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a magnetic recording and reproducing medium embodying the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram showing the relations between the fluctuation field and the coercivity and between the fluctuation field and the noise.
FIG. 3 is a characteristic diagram showing the relations between the fluctuation field and the coercivity and between the fluctuation field and the noise.
FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing the relations between the fluctuation field and the coercivity and between the fluctuation field and the noise.
FIG. 5(a) is a top structural view of a magnetic disk unit, and FIG. 5(b) is a cross-section structural view of the magnetic disk unit in FIG. 5(a) taken along the line V(b)-V(b)′ in FIG. 5(a).



DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description will subsequently be given of the contents thereof.
[Embodiment 1]
A Cr-alloy under-layer was first formed on a mirror-polished disk made of Ni—P electroless-plated Al—Mg alloy, and then a CoCrTa magnetic layer together with a protective carbon film was formed thereon to fabricate a magnetic disk.
The Cr-alloy under-layer, the magnetic layer, and the protective layer were formed by Ar-gas sputtering. In this case, the Ar pressure was 2.0 millitorr. Cr—V, Cr—W, Cr—Ti, Cr—Si, and Cr—Mo were used for Cr-alloy under-layers to prepare 20 specimens in total different in under-layer composition. The Cr-alloy layer, the magnetic layer, and the protective layer were 50 nm, 25 nm, and 10 nm thick, respectively. The composition of the CoCrTa magnetic layer thus utilized was CoCr16Ta4. The substrate temperature at the time of forming the Cr-alloy under-layer and the protective carbon film was 300° C., whereas the substrate temperature at the time of forming the magnetic layer was 250-300° C.
The coercivities Hc of the media thus prepared were distributed in a range of 1500-2400 oersteds. The fluctuation fields were distributed in a range of 11.3-16.5 oersteds.
A permalloy head having a gap length of 0.4 μm and a coil of 24 turns was used to record magnetic data on the media, and a magneto-resistive permalloy head was used to reproduce the data in order to examine the electromagnetic transducing properties. The flying height at the time of recording and reproducing data was 80 nm. As a result of measurement, the noise values at the longitudinal bit density of 150 kFCI ranged from 18 to 25 μVrms. Table 1 collectively shows the measurement results.











TABLE 1





Composition
Thickness





of magnetic
of magnetic
Fluctuation
Coercivity
Noise


film
film (nm)
field (Oe)
(Oe)
(μVrms)







CoCr16Ta4
25
11.3
1500
25.0


CoCr16Ta4
25
11.5
1601
24.6


CoCr16Ta4
25
11.8
1685
24.3


CoCr16Ta4
25
12.1
1723
24.5


CoCr16Ta4
25
12.3
1756
23.6


CoCr16Ta4
25
12.6
1832
23.2


CoCr16Ta4
25
12.9
1889
22.6


CoCr16Ta4
25
13.0
1890
22.5


CoCr16Ta4
25
13.1
1926
22.0


CoCr16Ta4
25
13.2
1956
22.1


CoCr16Ta4
25
13.4
1985
21.8


CoCr16Ta4
25
13.6
1989
21.5


CoCr16Ta4
25
13.9
2023
21.3


CoCr16Ta4
25
14.1
2056
21.4


CoCr16Ta4
25
14.3
2122
20.7


CoCr16Ta4
25
14.6
2146
20.2


CoCr16Ta4
25
14.7
2250
20.5


CoCr16Ta4
25
15.0
2280
19.5


CoCr16Ta4
25
15.5
2420
19.0


CoCr16Ta4
25
16.5
2400
18.0









FIG. 2 shows the relations between the fluctuation field and the coercivity and between the fluctuation field and the noise. As is obvious from FIG. 2, the noise values of the media whose fluctuation fields have great values are low. The S/N values of the media of having fluctuation fields of not less than 15 oersteds are higher than those of conventional media. It is therefore possible to make the recording density higher than conventional. The use of media with fluctuation fields of not less than 15.0 oersteds made it possible to manufacture magnetic disk units having a recording density of 1-gigabit/square inch.
[Embodiment 2]
As in the first embodiment of the present invention, a Cr under-layer was first formed on a mirror-polished disk made of a Ni—P electroless-plated Al—Mg alloy, and then a CoCrPt magnetic layer together with a protective carbon film was formed thereon to prepare a magnetic disk.
The Cr under-layer, the magnetic layer, and the protective layer were formed by Ar-gas sputtering. In this case, the Ar pressure was 2.0 millitorr. By varying the Cr content of the CoCrPt magnetic layer, 20 specimens in total having compositions ranging from CoCr15Pt8 to CoCr23Pt8 were fabricated. The Cr under-layer, the magnetic layer, and the protective layer were 50 nm, 25 nm, and 10 nm thick, respectively. The substrate temperature at the time of forming the Cr under-layer, the magnetic layer, and the protective carbon film was 300 ° C.
The coercivities Hc of the media thus fabricated were distributed in a range of 1800-2800 oersteds. The fluctuation fields were distributed in a range of 12.0-20.5 oersteds.
As in the first embodiment of the present invention, the electromagnetic transducing properties were measured. As a result the noise values at the longitudinal bit density of 150 kFCI ranged from 17.9 to 30 μVrms. Table 2 collectively shows the measurement results.











TABLE 2





Composition
Thickness





of magnetic
of magnetic
Fluctuation
Coercivity
Noise


film
film (nm)
field (Oe)
(Oe)
(μVrms)







CoCr15Pt8
25
12.0
1800
30.0


CoCr15Pt8
25
12.6
1890
24.3


CoCr16Pt8
25
12.2
1820
29.8


CoCr16Pt8
25
12.9
1850
26.3


CoCr17Pt8
25
13.1
1920
23.6


CoCr17Pt8
25
13.3
2010
23.2


CoCr17Pt8
25
13.7
1860
22.6


CoCr18Pt8
25
13.3
2011
23.3


CoCr18Pt8
25
14.5
2306
22.1


CoCr19Pt8
25
14.1
2215
22.2


CoCr19Pt8
25
14.6
2526
21.8


CoCr20Pt8
25
14.9
2756
21.6


CoCr20Pt8
25
15.0
2654
19.5


CoCr21Pt8
25
15.1
2345
18.8


CoCr21Pt8
25
16.2
2645
18.8


CoCr22Pt8
25
15.3
2689
19.3


CoCr22Pt8
25
16.8
2608
19.2


CoCr23Pt8
25
17.5
2720
18.3


CoCr23Pt8
25
18.8
2800
19.1


CoCr23Pt8
25
20.5
2750
17.9









FIG. 3 shows the relations between the fluctuation field and the coercivity and between the fluctuation field and the noise. As is obvious from FIG. 3, the noise values of the media whose fluctuation fields have great values are conversely low as in the first embodiment of the present invention. The S/N values of media having fluctuation fields of not less than 15 oersteds are higher than those of conventional ones. The use of media having fluctuation fields of not less than 15.0 oersteds made it possible to manufacture magnetic disk units having a recording density of 1-gigabit/square inch. Moreover, the use of media having fluctuation fields of 20.5 oersteds and coercivity of 2750 oersteds also made it possible to manufacture magnetic disk units having a recording density of 1.5-gigabits/square inch. However, any one of the media illustrated in this embodiment was unsuitable for manufacturing magnetic disk units having a recording density of 2-gigabits/square inch.
[Embodiment 3]
A Cr under-layer was first formed on a mirror-polished glass disk, and then a CoCrPt magnetic layer together with a protective carbon film was formed thereon to prepare a magnetic disk.
The Cr under-layer, the magnetic layer, and the protective layer were formed by Ar-gas sputtering. In this case, the Ar pressure was 2.0 millitorr, and the composition of the CoCrPt magnetic layer utilized was CoCr19Pt8. Then 30 specimens were fabricated by varying the thickness of the Cr under-layer from 3 up to 50 nm, varying the thickness of the magnetic layers from 3 up to 30 nm, and setting the thickness of the protective layer to 10 nm. The substrate temperature at the time of forming the Cr under-layer, the magnetic layer, and the protective carbon film was 300° C.
The coercivities Hc of the media thus fabricated were distributed in a range of 1200-2900 oersteds. The fluctuation fields were distributed in a range of 11.2-68.3 oersteds.
As in the first embodiment of the present invention, the electromagnetic transducing properties were measured. As a result, the noise values at the longitudinal bit density of 150 kFCI widely ranged from 8 to 31 μVrms. Table 3 collectively shows the measurement results.











TABLE 3





Composition
Thickness





of magnetic
of magnetic
Fluctuation
Coercivity
Noise


film
film (nm)
field (Oe)
(Oe)
(μVrms)



















CoCr19Pt8
30
11.2
1200
31.0


CoCr19Pt8
30
11.7
1321
29.6


CoCr19Pt8
30
15.1
2140
19.6


CoCr19Pt8
30
15.5
2206
21.9


CoCr19Pt8
30
15.6
2518
21.9


CoCr19Pt8
27
12.1
1880
23.1


CoCr19Pt8
27
13.2
1625
24.0


CoCr19Pt8
27
13.8
1979
22.8


CoCr19Pt8
27
14.2
1959
21.5


CoCr19Pt8
27
19.7
2356
18.2


CoCr19Pt8
25
12.4
1754
25.8


CoCr19Pt8
25
15.3
1818
20.7


CoCr19Pt8
25
16.5
2623
18.6


CoCr19Pt8
22
22.7
2218
18.8


CoCr19Pt8
22
33.2
2756
16.7


CoCr19Pt8
20
23.6
2706
19.2


CoCr19Pt8
20
25.8
2900
18.3


CoCr19Pt8
15
26.4
2800
17.8


CoCr19Pt8
15
29.4
2300
17.6


CoCr19Pt8
15
38.7
2356
15.6


CoCr19Pt8
12
21.5
1957
19.3


CoCr19Pt8
10
39.6
2408
14.5


CoCr19Pt8
10
44.3
2036
13.3


CoCr19Pt8
10
58.6
1789
14.2


CoCr19Pt8
10
53.2
2013
11.3


CoCr19Pt8
8
60.3
1802
10.3


CoCr19Pt8
8
67.5
1400
9.5


CoCr19Pt8
5
61.2
1830
8.9


CoCr19Pt8
5
63.5
1750
8.3


CoCr19Pt8
3
68.3
1540
8.0









FIG. 4 shows the relations between the fluctuation field and the coercivity and between the fluctuation field and the noise. As is obvious from FIG. 4, the noise values of the media whose fluctuation fields have great values are conversely low as in the first and second embodiments of the present invention. The use of media whose thicknesses of the magnetic film were 10-27 nm, whose fluctuation fields were not less than 15 oersteds, and whose coercivities were not less than 2000 oersteds made it possible to manufacture magnetic disk units having a recording density of 1-gigabit/square inch. Moreover, the use of media whose thicknesses of the magnetic film were 10-25 nm thick, whose fluctuation fields were not less than 20 oersteds, and whose coercivities were not less than 2000 oersteds also made it possible to manufacture magnetic disk units having a recording density of 1.5-gigabits/square inch. Further, the use of media whose thicknesses of the magnetic film were 10-22 nm, whose fluctuation fields were not less than 30 oersteds, and whose coercivities were not less than 2000 oersteds made it possible to manufacture magnetic disk units having a recording density of 2-gigabits/square inch. In this embodiment, media whose coercivities were not less than 2000 oersteds could not be fabricated when the fluctuation fields exceeded 60 oersteds. The outputs of the media whose coercivities were less than 2000 oersteds were low, and besides, even though the noise values were low, it was impossible to manufacture magnetic disk units having a recording density of not less than 1-gigabit/square inch. If, however, a medium having a coercivity of not less than 2000 or 3000 oersteds is fabricated even though the fluctuation field exceeds 60 oersteds, a magnetic disk unit having a recording density of 2-gigabits/square inch or greater may be manufactured. Notwithstanding this, the influence of thermal fluctuation will become critical if the fluctuation field exceeds 1/20 of the coercivity, thus making the medium practically unusable. Although noise values were low in the case of media whose magnetic films were less than 5 nm thick, sufficient outputs were not achieved, and consequently a magnetic disk unit having a recording density of not less than 1-gigabit/square inch could not be manufactured using such media. If, further, the thickness of the magnetic film exceeds 30 nm, demagnetization in recording due to the thick film was too great. As a result, no magnetic disk unit having a recording density of 1-gigabit/square inch was manufactured.
[Embodiment 4]
FIG. 5(a) is a top structural view of a magnetic disk unit manufactured by using media according to the present invention, and FIG. 5(b) is a cross-sectional structural view of the magnetic disk unit in FIG. 5(a) taken along the line V(b)-V(b)′ in FIG. 5(a). In FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b), reference numeral 5 denotes a magnetic recording medium; 6, a magnetic recording medium drive; 7, a magnetic head; 8, a magnetic head drive; and 9, a recording and reproducing signal processor system. The use of magnetic recording media in the first to third embodiments of the present invention makes it possible to realize a recording density of not less than 1-gigabit/square inch.
As set forth above, according to the present invention, if a ferromagnetic thin film whose fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity at 25° C. at the field strength equal to the remanence coercivity or the coercivity is not less than 15 oersteds and whose coercivity is not less than 2000 oersteds is used, the S/N value of the media can be remarkably improved, thus enabling high-density recording.

## Claims

1. A magnetic recording medium comprising:
a substrate; 
a ferromagnetic layer; and 
a single nonmagnetic under-layer formed between said substrate and said ferromagnetic layer, said ferromagnetic layer being formed on said nonmagnetic under-layer; 
wherein the coercivity of the magnetic recording medium is not less than 2000 Oe; 
wherein a fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity at a field strength equal to remanence coercivity or coercivity is not less than 30 Oe; 
wherein said nonmagnetic under-layer comprises one of Cr and a Cr-alloy wherein the Cr-alloy is an alloy of Cr and at least one element selected from the group consisting of V, W, Ti, Si and Mo; and 
wherein a thickness of said under-layer is from 3 nm to 50 nm.

2. A magnetic recording medium according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of said ferromagnetic layer is from 10 nm to 27 nm.

3. A magnetic recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said nonmagnetic under-layer comprises only Cr.

4. A magnetic recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said non-magnetic under-layer comprises only a Cr-alloy of Cr and at least one element selected from the group consisting of V, W, Ti, Si and Mo.

5. A magnetic recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity at a field strength equal to remanence coercivity or coercivity is greater than 30 Oe and the coercivity of the magnetic recording medium is greater than 2000 Oe.

6. A magnetic recording disk apparatus comprising a magnetic recording medium according to claim 1.

7. A magnetic recording medium comprising:
a substrate; 
a ferromagnetic layer; and 
a single nonmagnetic under-layer formed between said substrate and said ferromagnetic layer, said ferromagnetic layer being formed directly on said single nonmagnetic under-layer; 
wherein the coercivity of the magnetic recording medium is greater than 2000 Oe; 
wherein a fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity at a field strength equal to remanence coercivity or coercivity is greater than 30 Oe; 
wherein said single nonmagnetic under-layer comprises one of Cr and a Cr-alloy wherein the Cr-alloy is an alloy of Cr and at least one element selected from the group consisting of V, W, Ti, Si and Mo.

8. A magnetic recording medium according to claim 7, wherein a thickness of said single nonmagnetic under-layer is from 3 nm to 50 nm.

9. A magnetic recording medium according to claim 7, wherein a thickness of said ferromagnetic layer is from 10 nm to 27 nm.

10. A magnetic recording medium according to claim 7, wherein said nonmagnetic under-layer comprises only Cr.

11. A magnetic recording medium according to claim 7, wherein said non-magnetic under-layer comprises only a Cr-alloy of Cr and at least one element selected from the group consisting of V, W, Ti, Si and Mo.