International Business Machines Corporation

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.v.

James Aloysius Hagan

Douglas Howard Piltingsrud

Dennis Leonard Fox

Steven F Starcke

David C Paurus

Tim Minvielle

Frederick Paul Benning

Christopher Guild Keller

David Thomas Margulies

Hoa Van Do

John David Amundson

Thomas A Gregory

Wei-Tsu Tseng

Adam D Ticknor

Timothy Martin Reith

John C Shen

Steven L Maynard

Bruce Peter Kruger

Jon Edward Podolske

Brent Ray Den Hartog

Ben Kim

Manoj Balachandran

Thomas E Priebe

Deoram Persaud

Kannimangalam Venkatasubramanyam Viswanathan

Janice Blue Ostrom

Mark Kenneth Hoffmeyer

Kai Tang

David J Braun

Xiaoping Bian

Mary Frances Doerner

Mohammad Taghi Mirzamaani

Ullal Vasant Nayak

Timothy Charles Daun-Lindberg

Douglas Allan Kuchta

Steven Dennis Keidl

John Gregory Stephanie

James Hannah

Adam Polcyn

Charles J Guenther

John Patrick Hagen

Donald L Mabe

Kerry R Lindemann

Bradley J Offuh

James E Maloy

Myron A Wilke

Vincent W Ting

Paul Henry Hanson

Theresa Marie Lewis

R Paul Thicke

The invention is directed to a chemical-mechanical polishing formulation that includes: an abrasive particulate component; iodic acid; and water. The invention is also directed to a method for polishing a metal-containing substrate, the method including the steps of polishing the metal-containing substrate with a polishing pad at a suitable polishing pressure while the metal-containing substrate is in contact with the above polishing formulation.

Chemical-mechanical polishing formulation and methods of use

Processes and apparatuses are disclosed for detecting and characterizing SiCOH-based dielectric materials during integrated circuit fabrication. The processes generally include chromatographically analyzing a fluid stream generated during a process employed for device fabrication, e.g., during a wet strip, a chemical mechanical planarization process and the like.

Detection and characterization of SiCOH-based dielectric materials during device fabrication

The present invention is an apparatus and method for extending the life of abrasive disks used in the conditioning of polishing pads used in chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of polishing pads used to polish and/or planarize the surfaces of semiconductor wafers during the production of integrated circuits. The invention consists of the a disk comprising a plurality of abrasive segments, each of which is fixed in tangential and radial relationship to one another about the common axis of rotation of the conditioning disk. Means are provided for movement of the abrasive segments, individually or in sets, into or out of the plane of the active abrasive surface of the conditioning disk according to the present invention.

Extended life conditioning disk

A self-cleaning colloidal slurry and process for finishing a surface of a glass, ceramic, glass-ceramic, metal or alloy substrate for use in a data storage device, for example. The slurry comprises a carrying fluid, colloidal particles, etchant, and a surfactant adsorbed and/or precipitated onto a surface of the colloidal particles and/or substrate. The surfactant has a hydrophobic section that forms a steric hindrance barrier and substantially prevents contaminates, including colloidal particles, from bonding to the substrate surface. The slurry is applied to the surface of the substrate while a pad mechanically rubs the surface. Subsequent cleaning with standard soap solutions removes substantially all remaining contamination from the substrate surface. In an exemplary embodiment, the slurry is used to superfinish a glass disk substrate to a surface roughness of less than 2 &#x212b;, with substantially no surface contamination as seen by atomic force microscopy (AFM) after standard soap cleaning steps.

Self-cleaning colloidal slurry composition and process for finishing a surface of a substrate

The circumferential edges of glass or ceramic disks used in disk drive data storage devices are preferably finished by ductile grinding to produce an essentially fracture-free surface, which is not chemically strengthened. Preferably, the material is glass, and both the inner and outer edges of the disk are finished. Edge finishing is preferably achieved in a two-stage process, involving a coarse grind and a ductile grind, using air bearing spindles rotated at high speed for grinding wheels and workpiece. Preferably, the grinding wheels are shaped to provide a radius at the juncture of the circumferential edges and flat disk surfaces.

Edge finishing process for glass or ceramic disks used in disk drive data storage devices

A thin film magnetic media structure with a pre-seed layer of CrTi is disclosed. The CrTi pre-seed layer presents an amorphous or nanocrystalline structure. The preferred seed layer is RuAl for use with the CrTi pre-seed layer. The use of the CrTi/RuAl bilayer structure provides superior adhesion to the substrate and resistance to scratching, as well as, excellent coercivity and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and reduced cost over the prior art. One embodiment of the invention sputter-deposits a CrTi pre-seed layer and a RuAl seed layer followed by at least one underlayer and at least one magnetic layer on a circumferentially polished substrate structure to achieve an Mrt orientation ratio greater than one. Two methods according to the invention allow the Mrt orientation ratio of the disk to be adjusted or maximized by varying the thickness of the RuAl seed layer and/or altering the atomic percentage of titanium in the pre-seed layer.

Magnetic thin film media with a pre-seed layer of CrTi

This invention provides a disk which has an in-plane oriented magnetic recording layer on a glass, ceramic, or other nonmetal substrate and a method for making the disc. A thin layer of texturable NiP is sputtered on the substrate. This NiP layer is textured before the magnetic layer is deposited. The disk combines all the advantages of a glass or ceramic substrate along with the advantages of an oriented magnetic medium.

Oriented magnetic recording media on a nonmetallic substrate

The present invention utilizes a combination of chemical and mechanical finishing processes to polish a disk substrate surface to near atomic smoothness. Broadly speaking, the surface of a disk substrate that has been machined (i.e., rough ground) to a predetermined surface roughness is subjected to attack by a chemical formulation (called an attacking agent). The chemical formulation is used to soften the substrate material. Then, the softened material is &ldquo;wiped away&rdquo; via mechanical action.

Substrate independent superpolishing process and slurry

A method for texturing substrate surfaces and a substrate product, such as for computer disk drives. Microbump textured substrates are produced having a Rp value of about 20-200 &angst; and a ratio of Rmax:Rp of about 1.4 or less. In an exemplary embodiment, a microbump textured substrate is produced having colloidal particles on a surface thereof at a density of at least about 25 particles per 25 &mgr;m , wherein the surface topography includes a Rp value of about 20-200 &angst;, a micro-roughness Rq of about 10 &angst; or less, and a ratio of Rmax:Rp of about 1.4 or less. An exemplary method includes first providing a substrate surface having a surface micro-roughness Rq of about 10 &angst; or less and depositing colloidal particles on the surface to provide a Rp value of about 20-200 &angst; and a ratio of Rmax:Rp of about 1.4 or less. In a further exemplary embodiment, the method increases the micro-roughness Rq, but to a value that is still less than about 10 &angst; with Rmax:Rp still of about 1.4 or less.

Disk substrate with monosized microbumps

This invention provides a disk which has an in-plane oriented magnetic recording layer on a glass, ceramic, or other nonmetallic substrate and a method for making the disk. A thin layer of material is deposited on the substrate to form a texture stop layer. A texturable layer is then deposited on the texture stop layer. This texturable layer is textured before the magnetic layer is deposited. The disk combines all the advantages of a glass or ceramic substrate along with the advantages of an oriented magnetic medium.

Oriented magnetic medium on a nonmetallic substrate

An apparatus and method of reclaiming a disk substrate. The cost of reclaiming a disk substrate can be lower, and the quality higher, than making a new one from a blank. A layer of a data storage disk is stripped, e.g., by acid/oxidizing bath immersion. The stripped disk is polished in a carrier between polishing pads, with the relative velocity of the polishing pads as seen by the disk being precisely controlled so that an equal amount of stock is removed from each side. Preferably, several stripped disks are sorted into groups based on disk thickness, and disks from one of the groups are simultaneously polished in the carrier. Sorting improves stock removal uniformity from disk to disk. The polished disks are cleaned and, preferably, ordered in a cassette for stacking in a storage device based on disk thickness to more easily meet a mean center specification.

Apparatus and method for reclaiming a disk substrate for use in a data storage device

A dressing disk for dressing and reconditioning the polishing pad of a planetary disk polishing machine is fabricated by plating a nickel/diamond matrix layer onto a stainless steel disk wherein the matrix layer thickness is developed or plated to a thickness which leaves exposed about 25 percent of the fine diamond particles, thereby forming a surface that has the look and feel of medium to coarse sandpaper. The dressing disks are inserted into the holes in a disk carrier of a planetary polishing machine and driven by its central rotary drive. While being so driven under a flow of water to carry away abraded particles, a pair of polishing pads are engaged with the disk surfaces and forced together with a loading or down force to cause the disks to abrade or grind away a thin surface layer of the polishing pad, thereby removing glazing and exposing cerium particles embedded in the urethane matrix of the polishing pad to engage the glass disks to be polished to a very smooth surface for use as substrates for magnetic memory disks useable in disk drives.

Process of dressing glass disk polishing pads using diamond-coated dressing disks

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, MN, United States of America

James Aloysius Hagan