Magnetic recording medium with multiple soft underlayers and magnetic recording apparatus for use therewith

A magnetic recording medium comprising:

• a substrate;
• an adhesion layer directly on the substrate;
• a first soft underlayer (SUL) directly on the adhesion layer;
• a heatsink layer directly on the first SUL;
• a second SUL on the heatsink layer;
• a seed layer directly on the second SUL, the seed layer configured to provide a growth template for subsequently-deposited layers, the seed layer comprising materials selected from the group consisting of MgO and MgO—TiO;
• and
• a magnetic recording layer on the seed layer.

A magnetic recording apparatus comprising:

• a magnetic recording head;
• and
• a magnetic recording medium comprising:
• a substrate;
• a first soft underlayer (SUL) on the substrate, wherein the first SUL has a top surface no farther than 125 nanometers (nm) from the magnetic recording head while the magnetic recording head is positioned to write data to the magnetic recording medium;
• a heatsink layer on the first SUL;
• a second SUL on the heatsink layer, wherein the second SUL has a top surface no farther than 40 nm from the magnetic recording head while the magnetic recording head is positioned to write data to the magnetic recording medium;
• and
• a magnetic recording layer on the second SUL.

A method for fabricating a magnetic recording medium, the method comprising:

• providing a substrate;
• providing an adhesion layer directly on the substrate;
• providing a first soft underlayer (SUL) directly on the adhesion layer;
• providing a heatsink layer directly on the first SUL;
• providing a second SUL on the heatsink layer;
• providing a seed layer directly on the second SUL, the seed layer configured to provide a growth template for subsequently-deposited layers, the seed layer comprising materials selected from the group consisting of MgO and MgO—TiO;
• and
• providing a magnetic recording layer on the seed layer.

A magnetic recording medium comprising:

• a substrate;
• a first soft underlayer (SUL) on the substrate;
• a heatsink layer directly on the first SUL;
• a second SUL on the heatsink layer;
• a seed layer directly on the second SUL, the seed layer configured to provide a growth template for subsequently-deposited layers, the seed layer comprising materials selected from the group consisting of MgO and MgO—TiO;
• and
• a magnetic recording layer on the seed layer.