Hard disk vapor lube
AssigneeIntevac, Inc.
InventorsJohn L. Hughes, Benjamin M. DeKoven, Richard E. Lavine
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed is a system for transporting disks in vacuum to a vacuum station whereat a lubricant film is applied uniformly to the surfaces of the disks by evaporation. Thickness uniformity is achieved by directing the evaporate through a multi-hole aperture plate. Described is equipment for manufacture, the process of manufacture and the novel disks created.
Claims20
The process of making a lubricated hard disk comprising sequentially
- (a), coating a substrate with an underlayer of magnetic material in a vacuum enclosure;
- (b), coating in said vacuum enclosure a protective coating onto said underlayer;
- (c), transporting said substrate through a vacuum tight isolation chamber between said vacuum enclosure and a vacuum tight lubrication process chamber such that said vacuum enclosure is fluidly insulated by said isolation chamber on a continuous basis from said lubrication chamber;
- and,
- (d), coating said substrate in said lubricating process chamber with a lubricating layer onto said protective coating, said substrate being maintained in a vacuum atmosphere throughout steps (a) through (d).
Apparatus to make lubricated hard disks comprising:
- deposition equipment to coat substrates with underlying active layers with a protective layer deposited thereon in a vacuum chamber;
- a vacuum tight isolation chamber between said deposition equipment and
- a vacuum tight lubrication process chamber such that said vacuum chamber is fluidly insulated on a continuous basis by said isolation chamber from the lubrication process chamber;
- a lubrication process chamber in which a lubricant layer is evaporated onto the surface of the protective layer on said substrate:
- and
- transport means to sequentially transport a substrate from said vacuum chamber to and through said isolation chamber and to and through said lubrication process chamber whereat a lubricating layer is deposited onto the surface of the protective layer in said lubricating process chamber while transporting the substrate therethrough.
A lubricated disk for hard disk applications comprising a disk including a substrate, data recording coatings on the surface of said substrate deposited in a vacuum chamber, a protective layer on said data recording coating deposited thereon in a said vacuum chamber, and a deposited evaporated lubricant layer on the surface of the protective layer deposited on said protective layer in an isolated chamber after passage of the substrate through a vacuum isolation region which insulates the surface of the protective layer from exposure to processes performed on the substrate in the vacuum chamber and insulates the vacuum chamber from the process of depositing a lubricant onto the protective layer without exposure of the disk after deposition of said protective layer to atmosphere or reactive gases before deposition of the lubricant layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.