Granted Patent B1

US 8,316,668 · App. 12/889,130 · Granted Nov 27, 2012

Abstract

Claims (14)

1. A method for treating a glass hard disk substrate, comprising:

obtaining a formed glass hard disk substrate;

annealing the formed glass hard disk substrate to form an annealed glass hard disk substrate by ramping up the formed glass hard disk substrate to an annealing temperature, maintaining the glass hard disk substrate at the annealing temperature for a first amount of time, and cooling the glass hard disk substrate at a first cooling rate; and

tempering the annealed glass hard disk substrate to form a tempered and annealed glass hard disk substrate by ramping up the annealed glass hard disk substrate to a tempering temperature, maintaining the glass hard disk substrate at the tempering temperature for a second amount of time, and cooling the glass hard disk substrate at a second cooling rate,

wherein the formed glass hard disk substrate is one of a plurality of formed glass hard disk substrates forming a columnar stack of glass hard disk substrates; and

wherein the step of cooling the glass hard disk substrate at the second cooling rate comprising cooling the stack of glass hard disk substrates by flowing air over an outer circumference of the stack of glass hard disk substrates at a first air flow rate and by flowing air over an inner circumference of the stack of glass hard disk substrates at a second air flow rate.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second cooling rate is greater than the first cooling rate.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the tempering temperature and the second amount of time are selected such that the glass hard disk substrate[s] enters a liquidus state during the step of maintaining the glass hard disk substrate at the tempering temperature for the second amount of time; and wherein the second cooling rate is such that a surface region of the glass hard disk substrate enters a solidus state before an inner region of the glass hard disk substrate.

4. The method of claim 3 ,

wherein the first air flow rate and the second air flow rate are configured such that an outer circumferential region of the stack of glass hard disk substrates cools at substantially the same rate as an inner circumferential region of the stack of glass hard disk substrates.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the glass hard disk substrate comprises borosilicate glass, wherein the annealing temperature is between about 645° C. and about 655° C., wherein the tempering temperature is between about 665° C. and about 675° C., wherein the first cooling rate cools the glass hard disk substrate to room temperature in at least about 4 hours, and wherein the second cooling rate cools the glass hard disk substrate to room temperature in at most about 2.5 hours.

6. The method of claim 5 ,

wherein the first air flow rate and the second air flow rate are configured such that an outer circumferential region of the stack of glass hard disk substrates cools at substantially the same rate as an inner circumferential region of the stack of glass hard disk substrates.

7. The method of 6 , wherein the columnar stack of glass hard disk substrates is axial compressed with a force of about 30 N.

Assignments (9)