US Patent 7615292 Magnetic recording medium

A magnetic recording medium having a recording layer formed in a concavo-convex pattern, which can allow a head to have stable flying characteristics. The recording layer is formed in a concavo-convex pattern, and concave portions of the concavo-convex pattern of the recording layer are filled with a non-magnetic material. The relationship of S≦3.6×R holds, when R represents a concavo-convex ratio obtained by dividing an area of convex portions in a surface by an area of the concave portions in the surface, and S represents a difference in height between a concavity and a convexity of the surface. In the magnetic recording medium, an arithmetical mean deviation of the assessed profile of the surface is limited to 0.3 nm or more.