Patent ID: 6979524

Claim:
A method of forming a magnetic transition pattern in a longitudinal magnetic recording medium, comprising steps of: (a) providing a magnetic recording medium including a layer of a magnetic material having a surface comprised of a plurality of longitudinally extending magnetic domains; (b) contacting said surface of said layer of magnetic material with an imprinting surface of a stamper/imprinter, said imprinting surface of said stamper/imprinter comprising a plurality of projections and depressions arranged in a pattern corresponding to said magnetic transition pattern to be formed in said surface of said layer of magnetic material, said stamper/imprinter being formed of at least one high saturation magnetization, high permeability magnetic material; and (c) applying a unidirectional magnetic field perpendicular to said imprinting surface of said stamper/imprinter, said perpendicular magnetic field creating a longitudinal magnetic field component of sufficient strength to effect selective alignment of the magnetic domains of those portions of said layer of magnetic material which face said depressions of said imprinting surface of said stamper/imprinter, such that the magnetic domains of these portions are selectively aligned in a direction reverse that of the magnetic domains facing said projections of said imprinting surface of said stamper/imprinter, and the resulting combination of magnetic domains facing said depressions and projections of said imprinting surface of said stamper/imprinter forms a magnetic transition pattern replicating said pattern of projections and depressions of said imprinting surface of said stamper/imprinter.