Fabrication of metallic nano-stamper and replication of nano-patterned substrate for patterned media

With increasing demand for ultra high-density information storages, patterned media has received much attention as a solution to overcome the limits of conventional continuous magnetic media. Current methods to fabricate the patterned media are to use direct patterning and etching. However, those procedures are very costly and are not suitable for mass production. In this study, we investigate the possibility of mass production of patterned media by molding technology with the metallic nano-stapmer. The metallic nano-stamper was fabricated using an electroforming process, and then the nano-patterned substrate was replicated using a nano-molding process. To evaluate the replication quality of the nano-patterned substrate, the surface profile and the roughness of the patterns on the molded substrate were measured and analyzed. The magnetic layer was deposited on the nano-patterned substrate, and a single magnetic domain state was observed on the nano-patterned substrate.