Diamonex, Incorporated

Morgan Chemical Products, Inc.

David Ward Brown

Rudolph Hugo Petrmichl

Leonard Joseph Mahoney

Edward George Thear

Fred M Kimock

Bradley J Knapp

Melissa Baylog

A unique Hall-Current ion source apparatus is used for direct ion beam deposition of DLC coatings with hardness values greater than 10 GPa and at deposition rates greater than 10 &angst; per second. This ion source has a unique fluid-cooled anode with a shadowed gap through which ion sources feed gases are introduced while depositing gases are injected into the plasma beam. The shadowed gap provides a well maintained, electrically active area at the anode surface which stays relatively free of non-conductive deposits. The anode discharge region is insulatively sealed to prevent discharges from migrating into the interior of the ion source. A method is described in which a substrate is disposed within a vacuum chamber, coated with a coating of DLC or Si-DLC at a high deposition rate using a Hall-Current ion source operating on carbon-containing or carbon-containing and silicon-containing precursor gases, respectively. The method is particularly advantageous for producing thin, hard, wear resistant DLC and Si-DLC coatings for magnetic transducers and media used for magnetic data storage applications.

Method and apparatus for deposition of diamond-like carbon and silicon-doped diamond-like carbon coatings from a hall-current ion source

A method is provided for manufacturing a diamond-like carbon (DLC) coated optical phase-change recording medium for use with near-field optical head devices and which exhibits superior wear resistance and improved lifetime. According to the method, the surface of a composite optical phase-change media structure deposited onto a substrate is subjected to ion beam deposition of a DLC over-coat to a thickness of no greater than about 450 .ANG.. Preferably the DLC is ion beam deposited onto the phase-change recording layer at the surface of the medium structure or onto a germanium-containing adhesion-promoting interlayer to achieve the desired adhesion of the DLC to the surface of the medium structure.

Diamond-like carbon over-coats for optical recording media devices and

A unique Hall-Current ion source apparatus is used for direct ion beam deposition of DLC coatings with hardness values greater than 10 GPa and at deposition rates greater than 10 .ANG. per second. This ion source has a unique fluid-cooled anode with a shadowed gap through which ion sources feed gases are introduced while depositing gases are injected into the plasma beam. The shadowed gap provides a well maintained, electrically active area at the anode surface which stays relatively free of non-conductive deposits. The anode discharge region is insulatively sealed to prevent discharges from migrating into the interior of the ion source. A method is described in which a substrate is disposed within a vacuum chamber, coated with a coating of DLC or Si-DLC at a high deposition rate using a Hall-Current ion source operating on carbon-containing or carbon-containing and silicon-containing precursor gases, respectively. The method is particularly advantageous for producing thin, hard, wear resistant DLC and Si-DLC coatings for magnetic transducers and media used for magnetic data storage applications.

Method for deposition of diamond-like carbon and silicon-doped

The invention provides a thermal print head with a protective coating of silicon-doped diamond-like carbon (Si-DLC) which imparts superior wear resistance, and improved lifetime. The Si-DLC is comprised of the elements C, H, Si and possibly O, N and Ar. The highly wear and abrasion-resistant Si-DLC diamond-like carbon coating is deposited by ion-assisted plasma deposition including direct ion beam deposition and capacitive radio frequency plasma deposition, from carbon-containing and silicon-containing precursor gases consisting of hydrocarbon, silane, organosilane, organosilazane and organo-oxysilicon compounds, or mixtures thereof. The resulting Si-DLC coating has the properties of Nanoindentation hardness in the range of approximately 10 to 35 GPa, thickness in the range of approximately 0.5 to 20 micrometers, dynamic friction coefficient of less than approximately 0.2, and a silicon concentration in the range of approximately 5 atomic % to approximately 40 atomic %. Optimum performance is obtained when the Si-DLC coating hardness is in the range of approximately 15 to 35 GPa, preferably in the range of about 15 GPa to about 19 GPa, and the Si-DLC layer thickness is in the range of approximately 2 micrometers to approximately 10 micrometers, dynamic friction coefficient of less than approximately 0.15, and a silicon concentration in the range of approximately 10 atomic % to 30 atomic %, preferably in the range of about 15 atomic percent to about 24 atomic percent.

Growing community of inventors

Lansdale, PA, United States of America

David Ward Brown