Texturing of Glass Disks by Microgrid Method

A new texturing method for glass disk substrates is proposed. Thin perforated plastic film (microgrid) is first formed on a substrate, and then the substrate is chemically etched using the perforated Aim as a mask. The textured substrate has micron-size round holes distributed uniformly on the surface. A 0.2 ¿m thick magnetic film and 0.025 ¿m thick carbon overcoat were sputter-deposited on the textured substrate and CSS tests were carried out using an Al2O3-TiC minislider head. The microgrid-textured disk of 3 ¿m hole diameter and of 0.1 ¿m hole depth showed a good friction coefficient as low as 0.4 after 25600 CSS cycles. This result is better than that of a mechanically textured disk of similar surface roughness.