Method of manufacturing magnetic recording medium

A method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium, comprising:

• forming, on a magnetic recording layer, a first hard mask comprising a metal material, a second hard mask comprising an oxygen-resistant material, a third hard mask comprising carbon, and a resist;
• imprinting the resist with a stamper that transfers a pattern of protrusions and recesses to the resist;
• removing a residue in the recesses of the patterned resist;
• etching the third hard mask by use of the patterned resist as a mask that transfers the pattern of protrusions and recesses to the third hard mask;
• etching the second hard mask by use of the third hard mask as a mask that transfers the pattern of protrusions and recesses to the second hard mask;
• etching the first hard mask by use of the second hard mask as a mask that transfers the pattern of protrusions and recesses to the first hard mask;
• patterning the magnetic recording layer with ion beam irradiation;
• and
• removing the first hard mask with a remover liquid having higher reactivity to the metal material of the first hard mask than to a constituent element of the magnetic recording layer.