JP2000099939A - Recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to improve the adhesiveness to a magnetic material by providing a magnetic recording medium with a substrate, a magnetic layer and a protective film consisting of diamond-like carbon and forming the thickness of this protective film to a specific value. SOLUTION: The thickness of the protective film is formed to <=50 μm. A PET film 11 of 7 μm in thickness is used as a supporting substrate and the center line average height of the substrate surface is specified to 3 nm. The deposition of the magnetic film 12 is previously executed before the formation of a DLC film. An alloy of CoNi is used for the magnetic film 12. The deposition is executed by vacuum vapor deposition and the film thickness is specified to 200 nm. The DLC film is deposited on the magnetic film by changing the thickness between 10 and 50 nm. When the DLC film is deposited, its coefficient of friction falls to a low level and there is substantially no change in the coefficient of friction in spite of repetition of sliding. Then, the ruggedness of the surface may be decreased and the magnetic characteristics may be improved while maintaining the coefficient of friction at a low level. The similar strength of adhesion is obtained even by using Ge which is other group IV elements exclusive of Si for the purpose of improving the adhesiveness.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an audio tape,
The present invention relates to an information recording / reproducing apparatus using a magnetic recording medium such as a video tape, a floppy disk, and a hard disk. In particular, the present invention provides a technique relating to formation of a coating on a magnetic thin film for improving characteristics of the magnetic recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A magnetic recording medium such as an audio tape, a video tape, a floppy disk, and a hard disk is generally formed by forming a magnetic film on a support substrate such as an organic resin or a metal. The magnetic film is formed by a vacuum process such as coating, vapor deposition, or sputtering. When cost is given priority over performance, coating is used. When high performance is required, a vacuum process is used.

[0003] In the state of use of these magnetic recording media, a magnetic head (signal writing / reading) is always or temporarily provided.
Reading device) or its mechanical parts, and feed mechanism parts such as capstein and roller, and receives a mechanical load. For this reason, mechanical durability and low friction are required at the same time as the magnetic properties. Conventionally, measures have been taken to reduce the coefficient of friction, such as applying a lubricating film to the surface of the magnetic film, and making the surface uneven to substantially reduce the contact area. It wears, increases the coefficient of friction, and accelerates deterioration.

[0004] In recent years, there has been a trend to digitize information conventionally handled as analog signals, such as video and audio, and it has been desired to improve the recording reliability of magnetic recording media. In such a background, it is necessary to stably maintain the friction coefficient at a low level in the long term.

A magnetic thin film is formed by mixing a magnetic material powder into an organic polymer and forming a layer on a substrate by coating, or by forming a layer of the magnetic material itself by a vacuum process such as vacuum evaporation or sputtering. The magnetic properties are better when the process is used. Magnetic material is ferrite,
It is common to use a metal or the like. NiCo, CoPtCr, or the like is used as the metal magnetic material.

On the other hand, it is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 3-72711 and 4-27690 that a carbon or a film having a high hardness containing carbon as a main component can be formed by the plasma CVD technique.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-27691 and the like and is well known. That is, mainly a hydrocarbon gas and a hydrogen gas are introduced as source gases into the depressurized container, and a high-frequency electric field is usually applied to one or more electrodes installed in the container, and the source gas is turned into plasma by the electric field. This technology activates particles containing carbon and deposits them on a substrate.

[0007] These coatings are called diamond-like carbon (hereinafter abbreviated as DLC) because of their high hardness and diamond-like physical properties. Usually, when a DLC is formed, a self-bias or a bias from an external power supply is applied so that a negative bias with respect to the plasma potential is applied to the substrate. As a result, a bond (sp ² hybrid orbital + p orbit) exhibiting physical properties like graphite in the carbon film is etched, and a bond (sp 3 hybrid orbital) exhibiting diamond-like physical properties is mainly formed.

The hardness of such a DLC thin film is as high as 2000 kg / mm ² or more in Vickers hardness and the coefficient of friction is low, so that it is suitable as a protective film and a lubricating film on the surface of the magnetic film.

[0009]

However, these DLs
The C film does not have sufficient adhesiveness to magnetic materials, especially metallic magnetic materials, and peels off spontaneously after film formation, peels off by contact with mechanical components, and slides, and has enough adhesive strength to withstand practical use. There was a problem not to do.

[0010]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, carbon or a carbon-based film formed on a magnetic thin film is added with a Group 4 element of 20 atomic% or less. is there. Si or Ge can be used as the group 4 element.

The reason why the adhesiveness is improved by adding a Group 4 element to DLC can be inferred as follows. In the DLC film, a bond (sp ² hybrid orbital + p orbit) exhibiting physical properties like graphite and a bond (s
p ³ hybrid orbitals), and in the case of sp ³ hybrid orbitals, four σ electrons contribute to the bond, but in the case of sp ² hybrid orbitals + p orbitals, the bond is formed by three σ electrons and one π electron. You. Since bonding by π electrons is considered to have a lower bonding force than that by σ electrons, a DLC film having a higher ratio of carbon atoms forming sp ³ hybrid orbitals has higher hardness and exhibits physical properties close to diamond. This can be considered in the same way at the interface with the metal.
^It is considered that the smaller the number of carbon atoms having ^two hybrid orbitals + p orbitals, the better the bonding strength, that is, the adhesion.

On the other hand, it is known that Si atoms can only take sp ³ hybrid orbital state (4-coordinate) even in an amorphous state, and ³ in an isolated state in a 4-coordinate element.
When a coordinating or pentacoordinating element is added, the coordination number is the same as the surrounding coordination number, that is, four coordination is more thermally stable. When P or B is doped into Si, P or B becomes It is well known that it is four-coordinated. That is, if a Si atom that can only take a 4-coordinate state is arranged at the nearest atom of a carbon atom in an sp ² hybrid orbital + p-orbital (3-coordinate) state, the carbon atom becomes 4-coordinated, and as a result, sp
The ratio of carbon atoms in ^three hybrid orbitals will increase. Therefore, it is considered that the DLC film to which Si is added has improved adhesion.

The amount of Si added to the DLC is preferably 20 atomic% or less, and more preferably 1 to 15 atomic%. As the amount of Si added increases, the C—C bond decreases and C
-Si, the bonding amount of Si-Si increases. C-Si, S
When the bonding amount of i-Si increases, the physical properties of the film become closer to that of the Si film, the hardness decreases, and the friction coefficient increases. Therefore S
There is an optimum value for the i amount.

Further, in the DLC, an H element exists in addition to C and Si. This is because H enters the film due to the use of hydrocarbons as the source gas. However, hydrogen may be added to the source gas and hydrogen may be positively added to the film. Hydrogen in the film acts as a terminator for dangling bonds (unbonded bonds), and serves to improve the electrical and optical properties of the film and to improve the thermal stability. The DLC of the present invention is also 10 to 60 atomic%, preferably 15 to 60 atomic%.
Contains 40 atomic% of H.

Further, a group 3 or group 5 element can be added. B, Al, Ga as a group 3 element, N, P, As or the like as a group 5 element can be used. These Group 3 or Group 5 elements can act to reduce the internal stress of the DLC film. Adhesion is D
Although it largely depends on the adhesive strength at the interface between the LC and the magnetic material, the adhesiveness can be improved by reducing the internal stress of the DLC itself. That is, since the driving force for peeling the film is the internal stress of the DLC itself, the driving force is to alleviate the internal stress.

The concentration of Si atoms contained in the DLC may be constant in the depth direction of the film.
More preferably, the atomic concentration is reduced. This is Si
This is because the sp ³ property increases as the atomic concentration increases, but the friction coefficient increases. In the portion where adhesion near the interface is required to increase the sp ³ property by adding Si, divided into at least two layers of DLC layer and so does not perform the addition of Si in a portion where the low friction coefficient of the surface is required, each It separates functions. The structure of the DLC film on the magnetic thin film is preferably a function-separated type. For example, a DLC film is
It may have a concentration distribution of impurities (for example, Si, Ge, Sn, Pb) as shown in FIG. 10A or 10B. The impurity concentration decreases from the interface between the magnetic film and the DLC film toward the surface of the DLC film. Further, the impurity concentration of the DLC film near the surface of the DLC film is higher than that of the interface near the interface.
It is smaller than the impurity concentration of the LC film.

The above-described method was used to improve the adhesiveness. Further, the present inventor conducted an experiment to confirm the effect of DLC. As a result, the use of DLC eliminates the necessity of the conventionally required surface irregularities. As a result, Since the distance between the magnetic head and the magnetic material can be reduced, the magnetic characteristics can be greatly improved. It is for the following reasons.

In general, assuming that the magnetization per unit area is constant, the S / N ratio is improved as the distance of the magnetic head is closer to the magnetic material. Conversely, if the distance of the magnetic head is sufficiently short, the S / N ratio becomes higher than a certain value. The magnetic flux that guarantees the N ratio can be reduced. Therefore, in order to improve the recording reliability, it is necessary to bring the magnetic head as close as possible to a magnetic material.

Conventionally, the surface of a magnetic recording medium has been made uneven to reduce the surface friction coefficient. This is because, when the surface has irregularities, the effective contact area decreases, and the friction coefficient decreases. However, it can be said that this prioritized the friction coefficient at the expense of magnetic properties.

In the present invention, it is possible to simultaneously satisfy the above-mentioned contradictory characteristics, that is, a reduction in the coefficient of friction between the surface of the magnetic recording medium and various mechanical components and an improvement in the recording reliability.

According to the inventors' experiments, the coefficient of friction of the surface on which no DLC is formed is about 0.4 when the center line average roughness (Ra) is 30 nm, and 0.8 when Ra = 10 nm.
The practical coefficient of friction is 0.4 or less, which indicates that Ra = 30 nm or more is required when DLC is not formed. On the other hand, when DLC is formed, the coefficient of friction is Ra = 10 nm.
Is in the low level of 0.2-0.4, and
There was almost no change in the coefficient of friction even after repeated sliding.

It is known from experiments that the friction coefficient depends on the DLC film thickness, and that the larger the DLC film thickness, the smaller the friction coefficient. Practical coefficient of friction is 10n
m or more.

That is, it is possible to reduce the surface irregularities while keeping the friction coefficient at a low level, and to improve the magnetic characteristics.

The method of manufacturing the DLC is described below. As described in the related art, DLC can be manufactured by using a plasma CVD method. The plasma CVD method may be a method using a general parallel plate electrode or a positive column type plasma CVD using a positive column portion of plasma. In the case of the parallel plate electrode system, the substrate is limited to a flat surface, while in the case of the positive column system, a three-dimensional film can be formed.

In the case of a flat plate, the substrate is set in a substrate holder and held in the reaction space. When the substrate is a film, the film can be formed by introducing the film into a vacuum in a roll state and running in a reaction space by a method of winding from roll to roll.

As the reaction gas, a hydrocarbon can be used as a raw material of carbon. Examples of the hydrocarbon include saturated hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, propane and butane, and unsaturated hydrocarbons such as ethylene and acetylene. benzene,
Aromatic compounds such as toluene, adamantane, adamantanol and the like may be used. Further, a halogenated hydrocarbon in which one or more of hydrogen atoms of a hydrocarbon molecule is replaced by a halogen element such as F, Cl, or Br may be used.

Hydrogen may be added to the reaction gas in addition to hydrocarbons. When hydrogen is added, the number of hydrogen radicals in the plasma increases, and an effect of extracting extra hydrogen in the film can be expected. Therefore, a higher quality film can be obtained. The ratio of the hydrogen gas flow rate to the total gas flow rate is 90-30.
%, Preferably 70 to 50%. If the ratio of the hydrogen gas flow rate to the total gas flow rate is too large, the film forming rate is reduced, and if it is too small, the effect of extracting excess hydrogen is lost.

As the gas for adding the group 4 element, silane, disilane, fluorinated silane or the like can be used for Si. For Ge, germane, fluoride germane, or the like can be used. For Group III elements, diborane, boron trifluoride, trimethyl boron, etc. For Group IV elements nitrogen, N ₂ , ammonia, nitrogen trifluoride, etc.
For P, a gas such as phosphine can be used. The flow ratio of the added gas depends on other film forming parameters such as pressure and applied power, but is preferably controlled to a flow rate of 10% or less with respect to the carbon source gas.

The reaction gas is introduced into the reaction vessel, the pressure is controlled to a predetermined value, and high-frequency power is applied to a pair or a plurality of electrodes installed in the reaction vessel to convert the reaction gas into plasma. The total flow rate of the reaction gas is about 0.0
In the case of 2 cubic meters, 30 sccm or more, preferably 50 sccm or more is required. The upper limit of the total flow rate is determined by the exhaust speed of the exhaust device, but at least the above value is necessary.

The reaction pressure ranges from 5 mTorr to 1000 mT.
orr, preferably 10 to 100 mTorr. The high frequency power usually uses a frequency of 13.56 MHz.
Power to be applied is 0.01 to 1 / cm ^2, and it is preferably a 0.05 to 0.5 / cm ^2.

The temperature of the substrate need not be heated, which is a great advantage when considering mass productivity.

In the case of DLC film formation, the presence of an electric field such that particles in the plasma, mainly ions, are incident on the substrate surface is advantageous for improving hardness and densifying the film. In the case of the parallel plate type, there is a method in which a blocking capacitor is provided on an electrode on the RF power supply side to generate a self-bias on the electrode side, and this is used as an electric field for ions to be incident on the substrate surface. In this case, the substrate is placed on the RF power supply side.

In the case of the positive column method, an electric field that causes ions to be incident on the surface of the substrate is not generated only by setting the substrate in the positive column. Therefore, the electric field must be generated by an external power supply. The electric field generated by the external power source is preferably an alternating current, and the frequency is preferably set between the ion plasma frequency and the electron plasma frequency in the plasma. Due to the difference in mass between ions and electrons, the ion plasma frequency is several orders of magnitude lower than the electron plasma frequency. When an external electric field having a frequency higher than the ion plasma frequency and lower than the electron plasma frequency is applied, the movement of ions cannot follow the external electric field, while the electrons follow the external electric field, so that the substrate surface becomes negative. Charges. As a result, an electric field is generated on the substrate surface such that ions enter the substrate surface, and a hard and dense DLC film is generated by the action of the incident ions. The frequency of the external electric field for bias application depends on the electron temperature, electron density, ion temperature, and ion density in the plasma.
It is preferably between 1 and 1000 kHz, preferably between 10 and 50 kHz.
0 kHz is good. Electric field strength is 50 peak-to-peak
１０００1000V, preferably 100〜400V.

The DLC film of the present invention can be formed by using the CVD apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, the CVD apparatus includes insulators 51, 52, 53, 54, 55 and 56,
Can roll 31 (which functions as a cathode electrode),
An unwinding roll 33, a winding roll 32, a guide roll 34, an RF power supply 35 connected to the can roll 31 via a blocking condenser 58, and exhaust pipes 36, 37, 38, 39, 4 connected to a vacuum pump.
2, 45 and 47, a gas supply passage 40 extending to the discharge space 44 through the inside of the anode 43, a DLC film deposition space 41, a hydrogen plasma processing space 49, and an anode 46.
And a gas supply passage 50 extending to the discharge space 48 through the inside of the gas supply passage 48. The film substrate 57 (on which the magnetic material layer is provided) is supplied from the unwinding roll 33 and wound on the winding roll 32. Space 4
9 and the discharge space 48 are connected to the exhaust pipe 4 by a vacuum pump.
7, and the H ₂ gas is supplied to the gas supply passage 50.
And the pressure in the space 49 and the discharge space 48 is 60 to 10
It is maintained at 0 Pa, for example, 80 Pa. The space 41 and the discharge space 44 are evacuated by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe 42, and H ₂ gas and C ₂ H ₄ gas are supplied from a gas supply passage 40. The pressure in the space 41 and the discharge space 44 is 60 to 100.
Pa is maintained at, for example, 80 Pa. Anodes 43 and 4
6 is grounded, for example. RF power is supplied to the cathode electrode or can roll 31 from the RF power supply 35 at 13.56 MHz. In this way, a discharge occurs between the can roll (cathode) 31 and the anode 46, and a discharge also occurs between the can roll (cathode) 31 and the anode 43. Thus, the film substrate 57 is connected to the discharge space 48.
Is performed, and a DLC film is formed on the magnetic material layer in the discharge space 44. The distance between the surface of the can roll 31 and the surface 59 of the anode 43 and the distance between the surface of the can roll and the surface 60 of the anode 46 are 20 mm or less, preferably 18 mm or less.
The distance between the surface of the can roll 31 and the surface of each of the insulators 51, 52, 55 and 56 is 5 mm or less, for example, 2 mm or less.

[0035]

[Embodiment] In this embodiment, an example in which a magnetic recording medium is formed on a film-like substrate will be described. FIG. 1 shows a layer configuration of a magnetic tape manufactured according to this embodiment.

A 7 μm thick PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film (11) was used as a supporting substrate.
The center line average roughness (Ra) of the substrate surface is 3 nm. The substrate is supplied as a 400 mm wide roll. DLC
Before forming the film, the magnetic film (12) was formed in advance. For the magnetic film (12), an alloy of CoNi was used. The film was formed by vacuum evaporation, and the film thickness was 200 nm. On the magnetic film (12), a DLC film (13) is
The film was formed by changing the thickness between 0 nm.

As the DLC film, a positive column type CVD apparatus was used. FIG. 2 schematically shows the apparatus. A pair of electrodes (22) (shown by dotted lines) is installed in a vacuum vessel (21), and the electrodes (2
When RF power is applied to RF power from a RF power source (not shown) via a matching box (not shown) to the reaction space (2).
Plasma is generated in 5). As the raw material gas, methane gas was introduced into the reaction space at 50 sccm, hydrogen at 50 sccm or methane gas at 30 sccm and hydrogen at 70 sccm. The pressure was controlled at 10 mTorr. The applied RF power was 100 W.

In order to add Si to the interface between the DLC and the magnetic film, SiH ₄ gas was added to the reaction gas for 1 minute, which is 10% of the reaction time. The flow rate was 2.5 sccm.

The substrate film is supplied from a delivery roll (26), and is wound after being formed on a winding roll (27). In the reaction space (25), a plurality of turns are repeated by the roller (28), and the reaction space is effectively used to improve the throughput.

The bias electrode (2
9) was installed and a bias electric field was applied. The bias voltage frequency was 50 kHz, and the bias voltage (peak-to-peak value) was 200 V.

At this time, a silicon wafer was set in the same batch for monitoring the film quality, and the film quality was evaluated using this sample. The hardness was 2500 kg / m in Knoop hardness.
m ² . FIG. 3 shows the result of the FT-IR measurement.
FIG. 4 shows the results of Raman spectroscopy. Stretching vibration of Si-C bonds in the vicinity of 700～800Cm ^-1 from FT-IR measurement result, Si-H stretching vibration bond is observed near 2100 cm ^-1. In addition, from the Raman spectroscopy results, the characteristic 1
A broad scattered light peak near 550 cm ^-1 is observed. This indicates that Si was added and the structure of DLC was maintained.

The friction coefficient of the magnetic tape manufactured in this example was measured. The measuring method is as follows. The tape is wound around a stainless steel pin having a diameter of 3 mm half a round, the load is 20 g, and the sliding speed is 428
mm / min and a sliding distance of 50 mm.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the initial coefficient of friction with respect to the film thickness.
Shown in When the CH ₄ concentration is 30%, there is a film thickness dependency,
When the film thickness is 15 nm, the friction coefficient is as large as 0.44, and the friction coefficient decreases as the film thickness increases. When the film thickness is about 20 nm, the practical friction coefficient is 0.4 or less. On the other hand, C
When the H ₄ concentration is 50%, there is no dependency on the film thickness, and the film thickness is 15 n
m is 0.3 or less.

FIG. 6 shows the change of the friction coefficient with time with respect to the film thickness. The value of the change was the increase in the coefficient of friction after sliding 200 times with respect to the initial coefficient of friction. FIG. 6 shows that the film thickness dependency is exhibited irrespective of the CH ₄ concentration, and that the larger the film thickness, the smaller the change in the friction coefficient with time. Although the no change with time of friction coefficients in practice state is ideal, if the friction coefficient is the limit that does not exceed 0.4, the change with time of friction coefficients in the case of CH ₄ concentration 50% 0.
It is desirably 1 or less, and 0 or less when the CH ₄ concentration is 30%.
Therefore, the film thickness is 27 nm or more when the CH ₄ concentration is 50%,
It can be seen that 21 nm or more is desirable when the CH ₄ concentration is 30%.

From the changes in the initial friction coefficient and the friction coefficient with time, C
27% or more at a H ₄ concentration of 50% and a CH ₄ concentration of 30
%, A film thickness of 21 nm or more is required. It is generally known that the signal level of the magnetic characteristics decreases by 1 dB when the magnetic head is separated by 10 nm. In this example, a substrate having a surface roughness of 3 nm was used. Therefore, when a DLC film was formed to ensure a friction coefficient necessary for practical use, 3 dB at a concentration of 50% and 2.4 dB at a concentration of 30%.
Is reduced.

On the other hand, in the conventional method, irregularities of 30 nm are required, and a lubricating film of 10 nm or more is required, so that the level is reduced by 4 dB or more. Therefore,
When the DLC film of the present invention is used, the level is improved by 1 dB or more.

[Comparative Example] For comparison with the embodiment, a DLC film to which Si was not added was prepared. The magnetic tape and the manufacturing method were the same as in the example except that silane gas was not added to the raw material gas. FIG. 7 shows an FT-IR measurement result of the produced film, and FIG. 8 shows a Raman measurement result. The Raman measurement result shows that the film is a typical DLC film, and the FT-IR measurement result shows that Si is not contained in the film. D on magnetic tape
The LC spontaneously peeled off and did not become a film.

[0048]

According to the present invention, when a DLC film is formed as a protective film or a lubricating film on a magnetic recording medium, the adhesion to a magnetic material can be improved by adding Si.
Further, by forming a DLC film on the magnetic recording medium, the irregularities on the medium surface could be reduced, and the magnetic characteristics could be improved by 1 dB or more as compared with the prior art.

Although the DLC film of this embodiment was formed using a positive column type CVD apparatus, the effects of the present invention are not limited by the film formation method. Therefore, although not described in the embodiments, it goes without saying that a parallel plate type CVD apparatus or a film formation method using a carbon ion beam may be used.

Further, in this embodiment, Si is used as an additive for improving the adhesiveness, but it goes without saying that the same adhesive strength can be realized also for Ge, which is another group 4 element.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a layer configuration of a magnetic recording medium.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a positive column type plasma CVD apparatus.

FIG. 3 shows an FT-IR measurement result of a DLC film to which silicon is added.

FIG. 4 shows a result of Raman spectroscopy measurement of a DLC film to which silicon is added.

FIG. 5 shows the dependency of the initial coefficient of friction on the DLC film thickness.

FIG. 6 shows the dependency of a change in friction coefficient with time on the thickness of a DLC film.

FIG. 7 shows FT-IR measurement results of a DLC film to which no silicon is added.

FIG. 8 shows a result of Raman spectroscopy measurement of a DLC film to which silicon is not added.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a roll-to-roll type apparatus for forming a DLC film.

FIG. 10 shows an impurity concentration distribution.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A recording / reproducing apparatus having a magnetic recording medium and a magnetic head which constantly or temporarily contacts the magnetic recording medium, wherein the magnetic recording medium has a substrate, a magnetic layer, and a protective film made of diamond-like carbon. A recording / reproducing apparatus, wherein the thickness of the protective film is 50 nm or less. 2. A recording / reproducing apparatus having a magnetic recording medium and a magnetic head which is always or temporarily in contact with said magnetic recording medium, wherein said magnetic recording medium mainly comprises a substrate, a magnetic layer and carbon having sp ³ hybrid orbitals. A recording / reproducing apparatus having a protective film as a component, wherein the protective film has a thickness of 50 nm or less. 3. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the Vickers hardness of the protective film is 2000 kg / mm ² . 4. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a center line average roughness of the protective film is 30 nm or less. 5. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coefficient of friction of the protective film is 0.4 or less. 6. A recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said protective film has a thickness of 20 nm or less. 7. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protective film contains 10 to 60 atomic% of hydrogen. 8. A recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said protective film contains silicon, germanium, tin or lead. 9. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic recording medium is an audio tape, a video tape, a floppy disk or a hard disk.