An anti-ferromagnetically coupled, granular-continuous ("AFC-GC") magnetic
recording medium having increased thermal stability, writability, and
signal-to-medium noise ratio ("SMNR"), comprising a layer stack
including, in sequence from a surface of a non-magnetic substrate: (a)
a continuous ferromagnetic stabilizing layer; (b) a non-magnetic spacer
layer; and (c) a granular ferromagnetic recording layer; wherein: (i)
the continuous ferromagnetic stabilizing and granular ferromagnetic
recording layers are anti-ferromagnetically coupled across the
non-magnetic spacer layer, the amount of anti-ferromagnetic coupling
preselected to ensure magnetic relaxation after writing; (ii) lateral
interactions in the granular, ferromagnetic recording layer are
substantially completely eliminated or suppressed; and (iii) the exchange
coupling strength in the continuous, ferromagnetic stabilizing layer is
preselected to be slightly larger than the strength of the
anti-ferromagnetic coupling provided by the non-magnetic spacer layer to
thereby enhance thermal stability of the recording bits.