Application of cathodic arc deposited amorphous hard carbon films to the head/disk tribology

Anders, S.; Bogy, David B.; Lo, Roger Yu; Fong, Walton; Bhatia, Charanjit S.

doi:10.2172/663565

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…High storage densities require very low overcoat thicknesses in the range of several atomic layers (1-2 nm). The main role of the extremely thin DLC film is to provide a corrosion barrier to the recording medium [261,262,263]. A measurement of the corrosion resistance of different DLC films is shown in Fig.…”

Section: Data Disks and Read-write Heads: Ta-c Deposited By Fcvamentioning

confidence: 99%

60 years of DLC coatings: Historical highlights and technical review of cathodic arc processes to synthesize various DLC types, and their evolution for industrial applications

Vetter

2014

Surface and Coatings Technology

410

159

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Section: Data Disks and Read-write Heads: Ta-c Deposited By Fcvamentioning

confidence: 99%

60 years of DLC coatings: Historical highlights and technical review of cathodic arc processes to synthesize various DLC types, and their evolution for industrial applications

Vetter

2014

Surface and Coatings Technology

410

159

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Diamond-like carbon films can be synthesized by argon sputter deposition using a graphite target [12,22] [6,16,20,21]. Research over the last years has identified filtered cathodic arc deposition as one of the promising techniques for hard carbon films thinner than 5 nm [28,29]. The greatest challenge is the complete removal of "macroparticles" that are generated at the cathode spot.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrathin diamond-like carbon films deposited by filtered carbon vacuum arcs

Anders

Fong

Kulkarni

et al. 2001

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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Ultrathin (< 5 nm) hard carbon films are of great interest to the magnetic storage industry as the areal density approaches 100 Gbit/in 2 . These films are used as overcoats to protect the magnetic layers on disk media and the active elements of the read-write slider. Tetrahedral amorphous carbon films can be produced by filtered cathodic arc deposition, but the films will only be accepted by the storage industry only if the "macroparticle" issue has been solved. Better plasma filters have been developed over recent years. Emphasis is put on the promising twist filter system -a compact, open structure that operates with pulsed arcs and high magnetic field. Based on corrosion tests it is shown that the macroparticle reduction by the twist filter is satisfactory for this demanding application, while plasma throughput is very high. Ultrathin hard carbon films have been synthesized using Sfilter and twist filter systems. Film properties such as hardness, elastic modulus, wear, and corrosion resistance have been tested. Index Terms: diamond-like carbon, cathodic vacuum arc, macroparticle filtering, magnetic storage, carbon overcoats 3 I. INTRODUCTIONUltrathin (< 5 nm) hard carbon films are used as protective overcoats on hard disks and readwrite heads. The tribological properties of the head-disk interface are not only of mechanical but also of chemical nature: the overcoat should protect the magnetic layers against wear and corrosion [1, 2]. The areal density of information stored in disk drive products increased at an amazing rate of over 65% for many years rate, and continues to accelerate to even greater rates [3]. To accomplish this, the "magnetic spacing" between the magnetic layers of the disk and read/write sensor of the head must continue to decrease. The magnetic spacing includes the overcoats, lubrication, and the fly height. Thinner overcoats allow the read-write head to be closer to the magnetic layer of the disk, and hence, the size of individual bits on the disk to be smaller. As we work toward an areal density of 100 Gbit/in 2 , the magnetic spacing approaches the sub-10-nm regime (pseudo-contact recording) and overcoat thickness must shrink to 1-2 nm. Overcoats currently used are sputtered or ion-beam deposited diamond-like carbon films, typically doped with hydrogen or nitrogen. They cease to provide acceptable levels of corrosion protection when the film thickness is less than 5 nm.Overcoats need to be tough (hard and elastic), chemically inert, pinhole-free, and compatible with the lubricant. The challenge of ultrathin film synthesis is to make the films as thin as possible and still continuous, as opposed to an assembly of islands.Nucleation and growth of ultrathin films is a field of intense research. For carbon, it is well known that films that are rich in sp 3 (diamond) bonds should be grown in a kinetic mode at low temperature (less than 200°C, preferably room temperature), with film-forming carbon atoms or ions having an energy of about 100 eV. This energy is optimized for subplantat...

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“…Diamond-like carbon films can be synthesized by argon sputter deposition using a graphite target [12,22], by pulsed laser ablation of graphite [19], direct ion beam deposition [23], plasma beam deposition [24], mass-selected ion beam deposition [25,26], electron-cyclotronresonance plasma chemical vapor deposition (ECR plasma CVD) [27], radio-frequency-CVD [11], and by filtered cathodic arc plasma deposition [6,16,20,21]. Research over the last years has identified filtered cathodic arc deposition as one of the promising techniques for hard carbon films thinner than 5 nm [28,29]. The greatest challenge is the complete removal of "macroparticles" that are generated at the cathode spot.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrathin diamondlike carbon films deposited by filtered carbon vacuum arcs

Anders¹,

Ryan²,

Fong³

et al.

Proceedings ISDEIV. 19th International Symposium on Discharges and Electrical Insulation in Vacuum (Cat. No.00CH37041)

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This work was supported through the CRADA BG98-084 (01) ABSTRACTUltrathin (< 5 nm) hard carbon films are of great interest to the magnetic storage industry as the areal density approaches 100 Gbit/in 2 . These films are used as overcoats to protect the magnetic layers on disk media and the active elements of the read-write slider. Tetrahedral amorphous carbon films can be produced by filtered cathodic arc deposition, but the films will only be accepted by the storage industry only if the "macroparticle" issue has been solved. Better plasma filters have been developed over recent years. Emphasis is put on the promising twist filter system -a compact, open structure that operates with pulsed arcs and high magnetic field. Based on corrosion tests it is shown that the macroparticle reduction by the twist filter is satisfactory for this demanding application, while plasma throughput is very high. Ultrathin hard carbon films have been synthesized using Sfilter and twist filter systems. Film properties such as hardness, elastic modulus, wear, and corrosion resistance have been tested. Index Terms: diamond-like carbon, cathodic vacuum arc, macroparticle filtering, magnetic storage, carbon overcoats 3 I. INTRODUCTIONUltrathin (< 5 nm) hard carbon films are used as protective overcoats on hard disks and readwrite heads. The tribological properties of the head-disk interface are not only of mechanical but also of chemical nature: the overcoat should protect the magnetic layers against wear and corrosion [1, 2]. The areal density of information stored in disk drive products increased at an amazing rate of over 65% for many years rate, and continues to accelerate to even greater rates [3]. To accomplish this, the "magnetic spacing" between the magnetic layers of the disk and read/write sensor of the head must continue to decrease. The magnetic spacing includes the overcoats, lubrication, and the fly height. Thinner overcoats allow the read-write head to be closer to the magnetic layer of the disk, and hence, the size of individual bits on the disk to be smaller. As we work toward an areal density of 100 Gbit/in

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Application of cathodic arc deposited amorphous hard carbon films to the head/disk tribology

Cited by 5 publications

References 10 publications

60 years of DLC coatings: Historical highlights and technical review of cathodic arc processes to synthesize various DLC types, and their evolution for industrial applications

60 years of DLC coatings: Historical highlights and technical review of cathodic arc processes to synthesize various DLC types, and their evolution for industrial applications

Ultrathin diamond-like carbon films deposited by filtered carbon vacuum arcs

Ultrathin diamondlike carbon films deposited by filtered carbon vacuum arcs

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