Laser texturing magnetic recording medium with ultra-fine textur

Electric heating – Metal heating – By arc

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Details

21912168, B23K 2636

Patent

active

061473227

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to laser texturing a magnetic recording medium. The present invention is particularly applicable to laser-assisted ultra-fine texturing a pattern on the data storage media surface of a magnetic recording medium.


BACKGROUND ART

Conventional magnetic disk drive designs comprise a commonly denominated Contact Start-Stop (CSS) system commencing when the head begins to slide against the surface of the disk as the disk begins to rotate. Upon reaching a predetermined high rotational speed, the head floats in air at a predetermined distance from the surface of the disk due to dynamic pressure effects caused by air flow generated between the sliding surface of the head and the disk. During reading and recording operations, the transducer head is maintained at a controlled distance from the recording surface and is supported on a bearing of air as the disk rotates, such that the head can be freely moved in both the circumferential and radial directions to allow data to be recorded on and retrieved from the surface of the disk at a desired position. Upon terminating operation of the disk drive, the rotational speed of the disk decreases and the head again begins to slide against the surface of the disk and eventually stops in contact with and pressing against the disk. Thus, the transducer head contacts the recording surface whenever the disk is stationary, accelerated from a stop and during deceleration just prior to completely stopping. Each time the head and disk assembly is driven, the sliding surface of the head repeats the cyclic operation consisting of stopping, and sliding against the surface of the disk, floating in the air, sliding against the surface of the disk and stopping.
It is considered desirable during reading and recording operations to maintain each transducer head as close to its associated recording surface as possible, i.e., to minimize the flying height of the head. Thus, a smooth recording surface is preferred, as well as a smooth opposing surface of the associated transducer head, thereby permitting the head and the disk to be positioned in close proximity with an attendant increase in predictability and consistent behavior of the air bearing supporting the head. However, if the head surface and the recording surface are too flat, then the precision match of these surfaces gives rise to excessive stiction and friction during the start up and stopping phases, thereby causing wear to the head and recording surfaces eventually leading to what is referred to as a "head crash." Thus, there are competing goals of reduced head/disk friction and minimum transducer flying height.
Conventional practices for addressing these apparent competing objectives involve providing a magnetic disk with a roughened surface to reduce the head/disk friction by techniques generally referred to as "texturing." Conventional texturing techniques involve polishing the surface of a disk substrate to provide a texture thereon prior to subsequent deposition of layers, such as an underlayer, a magnetic layer, a protective overcoat, and a lubricant topcoat, wherein the textured surface on the substrate is intended to be substantially replicated in the subsequently deposited layers.
The escalating requirements for high areal recording density impose increasingly greater requirements on thin film magnetic media in terms of coercivity, stiction, squareness, low medium noise and narrow track recording performance. In addition, increasingly high density and large-capacity magnetic disks require increasingly smaller flying heights, i.e., the distance by which the head floats above the surface of the disk in the CSS drive. The requirement to further reduce the flying height of the head challenges the limitations of conventional technology for controlled texturing to avoid head crash.
Conventional techniques for providing a disk substrate with a textured surface comprise a mechanical operation, such as polishing. In texturing a substrate for a magnetic recording medium, con

REFERENCES:
patent: 5279775 (1994-01-01), Thomas et al.
patent: 5283773 (1994-02-01), Thomas et al.
patent: 5416298 (1995-05-01), Roberts
patent: 5760880 (1998-06-01), Fan et al.
patent: 5910262 (1999-06-01), Baumgart et al.

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