Ultrathin diamond-like carbon films deposited by filtered carbon vacuum arcs
- LBNL Library
Ultrathin (< 5 nm) hard carbon films are of great interest to the magnetic storage industry as the areal density approaches 100 Gbit/in{sup 2}. These films are used as overcoats to protect the magnetic layers on disk media and the active elements of the read-write slider. Tetrahedral amorphous carbon films can be produced by filtered cathodic arc deposition, but the films will only be accepted by the storage industry only if the ''macroparticle'' issue has been solved. Better plasma filters have been developed over recent years. Emphasis is put on the promising twist filter system - a compact, open structure that operates with pulsed arcs and high magnetic field. Based on corrosion tests it is shown that the macroparticle reduction by the twist filter is satisfactory for this demanding application, while plasma throughput is very high. Ultrathin hard carbon films have been synthesized using S-filter and twist filter systems. Film properties such as hardness, elastic modulus, wear, and corrosion resistance have been tested.
- Research Organization:
- Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- CRADA BG98-084(01) of the ER-LTR Program of the U.S. Department of Energy, under Contract No. DE-AC03-76SF00098, by CVC-Veeco, Inc., the CRADA Industrial Partner, by the National Storage Industry Consortium (NSIC), and the Computer Mechanics Laboratory at (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098
- OSTI ID:
- 788049
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL--48647
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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