Trace Storage Technology Corp.

Jason S Lin

An-Hung Tan

Cheng-Der Lin

Yuan-Ming Chang

Nowadays, in fabricating a magnetic recording medium, a disk substrate is first mechanically polished to form an even surface. Next, a laser texturing process is performed to produce a textured annular landing zone on the disk substrate. A magnetic layer is then formed on the disk substrate to complete the fabrication process. However, abnormal asperity usually remains on the surface of the disk substrate. Further, as the amount of exposure time in the air increases, an oxide film is inevitably formed on the surface of the disk substrate. Both of them degrade the surface smooth of the disk substrate, resulting in poor control of the size and structure of the laser texture. In addition, due to the irregular distribution of the mechanical polished texture on the disk substrate, a subsequently formed magnetic layer can not easily achieve the desired properties. This invention therefore provides a light texture process for fabricating a magnetic recording medium. The process is characterized in forming light textures by a two-step light texturing process before forming the laser texture on a disk substrate. The process is intended to remove abnormal asperity and oxide film on the disk substrate, as well as form a plurality of circumferential light textures on the surface of the disk substrate. The roughness of the circumferential light textures is less than that of the laser texture. As the surface smooth of the disk substrate is improved, the size and structure of the laser texture are more controllable. Furthermore, it is easier to form a magnetic layer having desired properties because the circumferential light textures are distributed in a regular way.

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I-Laing Hsieng, Taiwan

Jason S Lin