Recording Media Having a Nanocomposite Protection Layer and Method of Making Same
A method includes: forming a recording layer on a substrate and depositing a nanocomposite layer on the recording layer, the nanocomposite layer including a wear-resistant material and a solid lubricant material, wherein the atomic percentage of the solid lubricant material in the nanocomposite layer is in a range from about 5% to about 99%.
1 . A method comprising:
forming a recording layer on a substrate; and
depositing a nanocomposite layer on the recording layer, the nanocomposite layer including a wear-resistant material and a solid lubricant material, wherein the atomic percentage of the solid lubricant material in the nanocomposite layer is in a range from about 5% to about 99%.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the wear-resistant material has a hardness of at least 10 GPa.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the wear-resistant material comprises at least one of:
diamond-like carbon, Al 2 O 3 , SiN, TiN, TiC or YSZ.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the solid lubricant material comprises at least one of:
sputtered PTFE, or chemical vapor deposited CF x , or WO N .
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the nanocomposite layer has a thickness in the range from about 1 nm to about 5 nm.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing a nanocomposite layer on the recording layer comprises:
co-deposition of the wear-resistant material and the solid lubricant material.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing a nanocomposite layer on the recording layer comprises:
co-sputtering the wear-resistant material and the solid lubricant material using two separate targets.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing a nanocomposite layer on the recording layer comprises:
sputtering the wear-resistant material and the solid lubricant material using a composite target.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing a nanocomposite layer on the recording layer comprises:
depositing the wear-resistant material and the solid lubricant material in alternating layers.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the number of layers is in a range of from 2 to about 25.
11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the thickness of the layers is in a range from about 0.2 nm to about 2 nm.
12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
depositing an overcoat layer between the nanocomposite layer and the recording layer.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the overcoat layer comprises:
ion beam deposited carbon.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the protection layer is in a range of from about 0.5 nm and about 5 nm.
15 . A method comprising:
forming a recording layer on a substrate; and
depositing a nanocomposite layer on the recording layer, the nanocomposite layer including a wear-resistant material and a solid lubricant material, wherein the mole ratio between the solid lubricant material and the wear-resistant material is in a range from about 0.2 to about 100.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the step of depositing a nanocomposite layer on the recording layer comprises:
co-deposition of the wear-resistant material and the solid lubricant material.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the step of depositing a nanocomposite layer on the recording layer comprises:
co-sputtering the wear-resistant material and the solid lubricant material using two separate targets.
18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the step of depositing a nanocomposite layer on the recording layer comprises:
sputtering the wear-resistant material and the solid lubricant material using a composite target.
19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the step of depositing a nanocomposite layer on the recording layer comprises:
depositing the wear-resistant material and the solid lubricant material in alternating layers.
20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the number of layers is in a range of from 2 to about 25.