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Title: Nanostructure, structural stability, and diffusion characteristics of layered coatings for heat-assisted magnetic recording head media

Abstract

The intense laser heating in heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) has been a major hindrance to HAMR technology from becoming commercially viable. Thermal damage of the near-field transducer (NFT) and write pole (WP) embedded in the trailing edge of the magnetic head due to failure of the protective carbon overcoat after prolonged heating at an elevated temperature are major obstacles. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to develop an effective coating method for HAMR heads. This was accomplished by introducing a new class of layered coatings consisting of ultrathin amorphous carbon (a-C) overcoat, adhesion (SiN) layer, and buffer (NiCr or TaOx) layer sequentially deposited onto Au and FeCo base layers to mimic the layer stacking of NFT and WP elements, respectively. The structural stability of the a-C overcoats and diffusion characteristics of each comprising layer under conditions of heating at 350°C for 30 min in an Ar atmosphere were investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). For most stacking configurations the HRTEM/STEM and EELS results generally revealed some layer intermixing and minute carbon atom rehybridization in the heated a-C overcoats. The findings of this investigation suggest that furthermore » optimization of the developed layered coatings can provide a viable solution to thermal damage of HAMR heads.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
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  1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
  2. Western Digital Co., San Jose, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1624406
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Scientific Reports
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 8; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
Science & Technology - Other Topics

Citation Formats

Matlak, J., Rismaniyazdi, E., and Komvopoulos, K. Nanostructure, structural stability, and diffusion characteristics of layered coatings for heat-assisted magnetic recording head media. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-27688-4.
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Matlak, J., Rismaniyazdi, E., & Komvopoulos, K. Nanostructure, structural stability, and diffusion characteristics of layered coatings for heat-assisted magnetic recording head media. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-27688-4
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Matlak, J., Rismaniyazdi, E., and Komvopoulos, K. Thu . "Nanostructure, structural stability, and diffusion characteristics of layered coatings for heat-assisted magnetic recording head media". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-27688-4. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1624406.
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@article{osti_1624406,
title = {Nanostructure, structural stability, and diffusion characteristics of layered coatings for heat-assisted magnetic recording head media},
author = {Matlak, J. and Rismaniyazdi, E. and Komvopoulos, K.},
abstractNote = {The intense laser heating in heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) has been a major hindrance to HAMR technology from becoming commercially viable. Thermal damage of the near-field transducer (NFT) and write pole (WP) embedded in the trailing edge of the magnetic head due to failure of the protective carbon overcoat after prolonged heating at an elevated temperature are major obstacles. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to develop an effective coating method for HAMR heads. This was accomplished by introducing a new class of layered coatings consisting of ultrathin amorphous carbon (a-C) overcoat, adhesion (SiN) layer, and buffer (NiCr or TaOx) layer sequentially deposited onto Au and FeCo base layers to mimic the layer stacking of NFT and WP elements, respectively. The structural stability of the a-C overcoats and diffusion characteristics of each comprising layer under conditions of heating at 350°C for 30 min in an Ar atmosphere were investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). For most stacking configurations the HRTEM/STEM and EELS results generally revealed some layer intermixing and minute carbon atom rehybridization in the heated a-C overcoats. The findings of this investigation suggest that further optimization of the developed layered coatings can provide a viable solution to thermal damage of HAMR heads.},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-018-27688-4},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
number = 1,
volume = 8,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Jun 28 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Thu Jun 28 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
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Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-27688-4
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Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 9 works
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Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: (a–d) Cross-sectional HRTEM images and (e,f) depth profiles of C K-edge normalized intensity and sp3 fraction calculated from C K-edge EELS spectra of industry sourced a-C overcoats deposited on a SiN/Au sample stack obtained before and after heating at 350 °C for 30 min in an Ar environment.more » (The EELS profiles show a layered cross-sectional nanostructure consisting of the following five regions: (i) underlayer, (ii) interface (intermixing) layer, (iii) bulk layer, (iv) surface layer, and (v) capping layer).« less
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Works referenced in this record:

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Ultrathin carbon coatings for magnetic storage technology
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The role of microstructure in the high temperature oxidation mechanism of Cr3C2–NiCr composite coatings
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Thermal stability and oxidation properties of magnetron sputtered diamond-like carbon and its nanocomposite coatings
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High temperature oxidation studies of detonation-gun-sprayed Cr3C2–NiCr coating on Fe- and Ni-based superalloys in air under cyclic condition at 900°C
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Deposition of hydrogen‐free diamond‐like carbon film by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition
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Coverage and properties of a-SiNx hard disk overcoat
journal, May 2003

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Direct-current cathodic vacuum arc system with magnetic-field mechanism for plasma stabilization
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Synthesis of ultrathin carbon films by direct current filtered cathodic vacuum arc
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Hydrogenated amorphous carbon films prepared by plasma‐enhanced chemical‐vapor deposition
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Structural stability of hydrogenated amorphous carbon overcoats used in heat-assisted magnetic recording investigated by rapid thermal annealing
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The Role of Duty Cycle of Substrate Pulse Biasing in Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc Deposition of Amorphous Carbon Films
journal, December 2015

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    Using structural phase transitions to enhance the coercivity of ferromagnetic films
    journal, October 2019

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    • APL Materials, Vol. 7, Issue 10
    • DOI: 10.1063/1.5118893
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