The recording medium enables to achieve high-density recording which has been believed to be impossible previously.

Therefore high-density recording is possible without producing any projections and polishing flaws.

A magnetic head adaptable to high-density recording and a hard disk drive with the magnetic head are thus provided.

There is provided an optical information recording medium assuring a preferable signal quality even in a high-density recording using a translucent information layer.

By reducing the size of the part where the reproduction signal is viewed, high density recorded information can be read.

An organic dye compound which has excellent recording properties in an optical recording medium for high-density recording; and a use of the compound.

An information recording apparatus using near-field scanning optical microscope technology to achieve reliable high-density recording.

As a result, the CPP magnetoresistive device has a high resistance change rate and a high sensitivity and is suitable for a high-density recording.

Further, a microstructure is arranged on the edge of the slider (6) facing the media to decrease the distance to the media, thereby achieving high-density recording of information.

The recording layer (12) is made of an FePt ordered alloy having a high crystal magnetic anisotropy, and therefore the thermal stability is excellent, thus enabling high-density recording.

Therefore, generating of the magnetic wall in the soft magnetic layer can be suppressed, the noise generating from the soft magnetic layer can be suppressed, and a high-density recording is enabled.

  Accordingly, it is possible to form focal spots on the recording layer RL at a narrower interval than the track interval TP of the guide layer GL, thereby enabling a high-density recording.