Buffered nitrogenated carbon overcoat for data recording disks and

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a recording medium on a hard disk includes forming a data recording layer on the disk, forming a nitrogenated carbon overcoat layer over the data recording layer, (with or without intervening layers), and the processing data recording layer to protect it from the nitrogen used in the process of forming the nitrogenated carbon. In one approach, the step of processing the data recording layer is accomplished by forming a buffer layer between the data recording layer and the overcoat layer by depositing carbon on the data recording layer using a carbon deposition process excluding nitrogen, then forming the overcoat layer by depositing carbon on the buffer layer using a carbon deposition process that includes a nitrogen source. In an alternative, the step of processing the data recording layer is accomplished with or without a buffer layer in an automated process by transferring the disk after deposition of the data recording layer into an isolation chamber that has no nitrogen, and then into a nitrogenated carbon deposition chamber thereby preventing contamination of the data recording layer deposition process by nitrogen used in the overcoat layer deposition step.