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AssigneeSeagate Technology LLC
InventorsLinda Lijun Zhong, Connie Chunling Liu, Shawn A. Mawla, Jeff Duane St. John, Jeffrey Lee Petrehn
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Abnormal nodule formation during electroless plating, e.g., of amorphous NiP “seed” layers utilized in the manufacture of magnetic recording media, is eliminated or substantially reduced by performing the electroless plating process in an apparatus employing polymeric or polymer-based materials which are substantially resistant to degradation upon prolonged contact with the electroless plating bath at an elevated temperature, i.e., release of soluble, low molecular weight, carbon-containing species which are incorporated in the electroless plating deposit and act as nucleation centers for abnormal growth leading to nodule formation. Suitable degradation-resistant polymeric materials for use as fittings, piping, racks, tanks, etc. of the electroless plating apparatus include fluorine-containing hydrocarbons and fluorocarbons.
A method of depositing a nodule-free, amorphous nickel-phosphorus (NiP) coating layer on a substrate surface by means of an electroless plating process, wherein an electroless plating bath utilized for depositing said coating layer is contained at an elevated temperature within a plating apparatus including at least one polymeric material, comprising performing said electroless plating in a plating apparatus wherein the at least one polymeric material is substantially resistant to degradation by contact with the elevated temperature electroless plating bath.
A method of fabricating a magnetic recording medium, comprising the sequential steps of:
A method of electrolessly depositing a nodule-free layer of amorphous nickel-phosphorus (NiP) on a substrate surface, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.