Reliable disk drive and method
OwnerMark A. Dorbeck, Frank Sykora +2inventors
InventorsMark A. Dorbeck, Frank Sykora, Ali Erdemir, Osman Eryilmaz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A durable, reliable high performance drive and method for digitizing, storing and retrieving data from a disk. In a first embodiment, at least one disk and components for spinning the disk, and digitizing, writing and reading data from the disk are covered with a 0.1 to 4 microns thick ultra low friction and wear, structurally amorphous carbon coating eliminating the need for a lubricant for sliding and rotating components. In a second embodiment the components for spinning the disk, and digitizing, writing and reading data from the disk are enclosed in a hermetically sealed housing and the housing is filled with a mixture of hydrogen and an inert gas.
Claims31
A reliable, high performance disk drive for digitizing, storing and retrieving data comprising a housing:
- at least one disk mounted in said housing;
- a read/write head for recording and retrieving data on said disk;
- a thin amorphous carbon film deposited on at least one surface of a pair of mating movable components inside of said housing, said film grown from a plasma containing a mixture of carbon containing gas and hydrogen gas, adjusted such that the atomic molar ratio of carbon to hydrogen is less than 0.3, including all carbon atoms and all hydrogen atoms in said plasma;
- said film further having a coefficient of friction from 0.001 to 0.007 in a substantially clean lubricantless inert gas environment;
- and a lubricantless inert gas environment.
A method for increasing the durability, reliability and performance of a magnetic or optical disk drive comprising the steps of applying a thin ultra low friction and wear structurally amorphous carbon film on at least one mating surface of a pair of mating surfaces of said drive, said film having a coefficient of friction in a clean, non-reactive lubricantless test environment within a range of about 0.001 to 0.007 and a wear rate from about 10−10 to 5×1011 cubic millimeters per Newton meter, measured in said dry, inert lubricantless gas environment;
- hermetically sealing an outer housing of said disk drive;
- purging said outer housing of moisture and air;
- filling said outer housing with a dry inert gas;
- and operating said drive without a lubricant.
A method for increasing the reliability and performance of a magnetic or optical disk drive comprising the steps of applying a bonding material to mating surfaces of movable components of said disk drive;
- applying an ultra low friction structurally amorphous carbon film to said bonding material of said mating movable members having a coefficient of friction of from 0.001 to 0.007 and a wear rate from about 10−10 to 5×1011 cubic millimeters per Newton meter, measured in a dry, inert gas environment;
- hermetically sealing an outer housing of said disk drive;
- purging said disk drive of moisture and air;
- filling said purged outer housing with an inert gas;
- and operating said drive without a lubricant.
In a hard disk drive of the class having a housing, a stack of disks mounted on a common spindle;
- a spindle motor for rapidly spinning said disks;
- magnetic heads adjacent to said disks and attached to common actuators or actuator arms for flying said heads in unison above said rapidly spinning disks and a stepping motor for moving said heads, a means for improving the performance and reliability of said hard disk drive;
- said improvement comprising a hermetically sealed outer housing;
- a thin ultra low friction and ultra low wear structurally amorphous carbon film having a coefficient of friction from 0.001 to 0.007 when measured in a clean nitrogen environment on at least one movable mating surface of said disks, a spindle of said motor, said magnetic heads, said actuators or actuator arms;
- and an inert gas in the interior of said housing.
In a method for manufacturing a floppy disk drive of the class having a magnetic read/write head in contact with a surface of a spinning disk for writing and reading data from a spinning floppy disk, an improvement for improving the performance, durability and reliability of said floppy drive comprising the steps of:
- depositing a very thin ultra low friction and ultra low wear structurally amorphous carbon film having a coefficient of friction from 0.001 to 0.007 when measured in a clean inert gas environment to a surface of said disk which is in contact with a surface of said magnetic head.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.