Patent ID: 6036824
Filing Date: 2000-03-14
Classification: G11B,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
A magnetron sputtering production process for producing magnetic thin film memory disks from circumferentially textured substrates with coatings on both sides of the disk and a circumferential orientation of coercivity, comprising:texturing a substrate with grooves in the circumferential direction;mounting a cleaned substrate in an approximately vertical plane;providing a transportation of the vertically mounted substrate through a sequential series of sputtering processing steps at a series of separate sputtering stations;reducing the pressure to enable a sputtering operation at each sputtering station;providing a gas in a plasma state at each separate sputtering station;heating the vertically mounted substrate to a temperature within an approximate temperature range of 75.degree. C. to 250.degree. C.;sputtering a thin film nucleating layer above the substrate using magnetron sputtering sources of a nucleating layer material, by bombarding the nucleating sources with ions from a plasma gas to deposit a nucleating layer on both sides of the substrate, without substantial oxidation of a nucleating surface, for epitaxial growth of a subsequent magnetic layer;sputtering a thin film magnetic layer above the nucleating layer, including magnetron sources to deposit a magnetic layer on both sides of the substrate by bombarding the magnetic layer magnetron sources, whereby a coating process on both sides of a substrate is performed with a hexagonal close-packed cobalt alloy deposited above the nucleating layer with a circumferential orientation of coercivity; andsputtering a thin film protective layer above the magnetic layer, including magnetron sputtering sources to deposit a protective layer on both sides of the substrate, by bombarding the protective layer sources to deposit a protective layer on both sides of the substrate.