Methods and apparatus for fabricating glass substrates for use in magnetic recording media

A method of fabricating a glass substrate disk for a data storage device, comprising:

• placing a glass sheet on a support plate comprising a plurality of vacuum holes configured to facilitate application of a vacuum on the glass sheet;
• applying a first laser to form a plurality of first holes through the glass sheet along a first circular path to correspond to an inner diameter edge of the glass substrate disk and to form a plurality of second holes through the glass sheet along a second circular path to correspond to an outer diameter edge of the glass substrate disk;
• applying a second laser to cut the glass sheet along the first circular path, the second laser having a greater wavelength than that of the first laser;
• applying the vacuum to the glass sheet via the plurality of vacuum holes to affix the glass sheet on the support plate and to cause, in conjunction with gravity, a circular portion of the glass sheet with a perimeter corresponding to the first circular path to be separated from the glass sheet;
• and
• applying the second laser to cut the glass sheet along the second circular path while applying the vacuum to cause, in conjunction with gravity, a remaining portion of the glass sheet to be separated from the glass substrate disk disposed on the support plate.