Patent ID: 7510789

Claim:
A perpendicular magnetic recording medium having a perpendicular magnetization film on a nonmagnetic substrate via a soft magnetic film and an intermediate film, said intermediate film formed of a plurality of layers between said soft magnetic film and said perpendicular magnetization film, and said intermediate film including at least two layers, said at least two layers including: an oxygen-containing layer, or a nonmetallic element-containing layer containing one of nitrogen, silicon and carbon; and a metallic layer formed on a surface side of said oxygen-containing layer or said nonmetallic element-containing layer, said metallic layer including a plurality of isolated island-shaped structures separated from one another, wherein the surface of said oxygen-containing layer or said nonmetallic element-containing layer as an underlining layer of said metallic layer is exposed at a surrounding of each of said isolated island-shaped structures, and crystal grains of said perpendicular magnetization film are formed in separated groups each corresponding to one of said isolated island-shaped structures.