Effect of head slider DLC overcoats produced by various deposition techniques on the interface failure

Author

Zhao, Zheming ; Bhushan, Bharat

Author_Institution

Seagate Technol., Milpitas, CA, USA

Volume

36

Issue

5

fYear

2000

fDate

9/1/2000 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

2663

Lastpage

2666

Abstract

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings were deposited on Al₂O₃-TiC substrate of head sliders by filtered cathodic arc (FCA), ion beam (IB), electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECR-CVD) and sputtering (SP) with thicknesses of 5, 10 and 20 nm. Drag and CSS tests were performed using a commercial laser-textured disk. The interface failures, correlated to tribological properties of coatings on the head slider and disk surfaces, are discussed. The TB coatings show the longest interface durability whereas sputtered DLC coatings show the lowest interface durability. However, if DLC coatings on the head slider and disk surfaces are deposited with the compatible elastic modulus, based on mechanical characterization it is believed that FCA and ECR-CVD may also hold a promise for superior tribological performance

Keywords

CVD coatings; carbon; drag; elastic moduli; magnetic heads; plasma deposited coatings; sputtered coatings; vapour deposited coatings; wear resistant coatings; Al₂O₃-TiC; Al₂O₃-TiC substrate; C; CSS; diamond-like carbon coating; drag; elastic modulus; electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition; filtered cathodic arc deposition; head-disk interface failure; interface durability; ion beam deposition; laser textured disk; magnetic recording head slider; mechanical characteristics; sputtering; tribological properties; Cascading style sheets; Chemical vapor deposition; Coatings; Cyclotrons; Diamond-like carbon; Electron beams; Ion beams; Resonance; Sputtering; Testing;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.908552

Filename

908552