Patent ID: 7049013

Claim:
A magnetic recording medium comprising: a substrate; a magnetic layer, including a CoCr-based alloy and nonmagnetic elements other than Cr, and having a multi-layer structure and disposed above said substrate, said multi-layer structure having a first magnetic layer disposed above said substrate and at least one second magnetic layer disposed directly on said first magnetic layer on an opposite side from said substrate; a first underlayer including a Cr-based alloy and disposed on said substrate; a second underlayer including a Cr-based alloy and disposed between said first underlayer and said first magnetic layer, said second underlayer including at least one element selected from a group consisting of Mo, W, V and Ta; and an intermediate layer made of a Co-based alloy and disposed between said second underlayer and said first magnetic layer, said first magnetic layer having a Cr-content larger than that of said second magnetic layer, said first magnetic layer having a larger sum total content of nonmagnetic elements which are other than Cr and which nonmagnetic elements have a larger atomic radius than Co compared to said second magnetic layer, said second underlayer having a larger sum total content of elements, other than Cr, than said first underlayer.