JP2005063579A - Cleaning method and magnetic transfer apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning method by which foreign matter adhered to a master carrier for magnetic transfer and a magnetic recording medium can be more surely removed, and a magnetic transfer apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The magnetic transfer apparatus 100 is provided with a cleaning means 10 which is provided with an air blasting part blasting air to a surface 1a (2a) of at least either of the master carrier for magnetic transfer and the magnetic recording medium 2, and an air suction part sucking air present near the places where the air is blasted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a magnetic transfer master carrier provided with a magnetic layer having a transfer pattern for transferring information to a magnetic recording medium, a magnetic recording medium cleaning method, and a magnetic transfer apparatus.

  At present, with the increase in recording density of magnetic recording media such as hard disk drives (HDD) and flexible disks (FD), information such as address signals and servo signals (hereinafter referred to as transfer information) is produced at the time of production of these magnetic recording media. Research is underway on magnetic transfer technology that can write the image in a short time.

  The magnetic transfer is a magnetic field for transfer in a state in which the surface of a master carrier carrying transfer information by a fine uneven pattern of a magnetic material is in close contact with a magnetic recording medium (slave medium) having a magnetic recording portion that receives the transfer. Is applied to the master carrier, and the magnetization pattern corresponding to the transfer information is transferred and recorded on the magnetic recording medium (for example, Patent Document 1).

  At this time, if particles of foreign matter such as dust adhere to the surface of the master carrier, when the surface is brought into close contact with the magnetic recording portion of the magnetic recording medium, the contact surface between the two by the foreign matter particles A slight space is generated between them, and the fine concave-convex pattern formed on the surface of the master carrier does not properly come into contact with the magnetic recording portion, so that transfer information cannot be transferred to the magnetic recording medium. In addition, when the master carrier and the magnetic recording medium are brought into close contact with each other, the foreign particles can scratch the magnetic recording portion of the magnetic recording medium, or the contact portion with the foreign particles on the surface of the magnetic recording portion can be recessed. There was a case.

  Therefore, conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 2 below, a magnetic transfer apparatus that removes foreign particles by blowing air onto the surface of a magnetic recording medium has been proposed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-342921 JP 2002-358635 A

  However, in the magnetic transfer apparatus described in Patent Document 2, foreign particles to which air is blown are blown off and float in the atmosphere near the surface of the magnetic recording medium, but some of these foreign particles are on the surface. It could not be avoided that the particles adhere again and remain as they are. For this reason, when the master carrier and the magnetic recording medium are brought into close contact with each other and magnetic transfer is performed, there is a problem that the transfer quality is deteriorated due to the particles of the remaining foreign matters.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning method and a magnetic transfer apparatus that can more reliably remove foreign particles attached to a magnetic transfer master carrier and a magnetic recording medium. There is to do.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configurations.
(1) A magnetic transfer apparatus for performing magnetic transfer by bringing a magnetic transfer master carrier having a transfer pattern corresponding to information to be transferred onto a magnetic recording medium into close contact with the magnetic recording medium. A cleaning means provided with an air blowing portion that blows air onto at least one surface of the master carrier and the magnetic recording medium, and an air suction portion that sucks air in the vicinity of the location where the air is blown A magnetic transfer device characterized by.

In this magnetic transfer apparatus, cleaning means capable of simultaneously sucking air by the air suction unit while air is being blown by the air blowing unit on the surface of at least one of the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium. I have. By this cleaning means, the magnetic transfer master carrier and the particles of the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the magnetic recording medium are blown off from the surface by blowing air and floated in the vicinity of the surface. Can be aspirated. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem that foreign particles once blown off from the surface again adhere to the surface in a conventional magnetic transfer apparatus having a cleaning unit that only blows air onto the surface.
Therefore, the magnetic transfer device reliably removes the foreign particles adhering to the surface of the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium, thereby creating a space between the master carrier and the magnetic recording medium. It is possible to obtain a magnetic recording medium with good transfer quality.

(2) The cleaning means includes an inner cylinder part and an outer cylinder part arranged coaxially, and the air is blown from an inner diameter side of the inner cylinder part, The magnetic transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the air is sucked from between the outer cylinder portion.

  In this magnetic transfer device, the air blown from the inner cylinder part collides with the surface and diffuses radially, but the outer cylinder part and the inner part provided coaxially on the outer side of the inner cylinder part Since air is sucked from the space between the cylindrical portions, the diffused air is guided toward this time. For this reason, it can prevent that the particle | grains of a foreign material adhere again to the other location in the surface, without being attracted | sucked by the blown air.

(3) The front surface side end portion of the inner tube portion and the front surface side end portion of the outer tube portion are configured to be positioned on the same plane. Magnetic transfer device.
In this magnetic transfer device, since the surface side end portions of the outer cylinder portion and the inner cylinder portion are provided on the same plane, it is possible to minimize the interference between the blown air and the sucked air. Therefore, it is possible to remove foreign particles more efficiently.

(4) The magnetic transfer device according to any one of (1) to (3), further comprising a measuring unit capable of counting foreign particles sucked into the air.
This magnetic transfer apparatus can confirm the cleaning status such as how much foreign particles on the surface have been removed by the measuring means as the count of foreign particles. The user can determine whether or not the cleaning can be repeated and whether or not the magnetic transfer process can be performed based on the count number.

(5) A magnetic transfer master carrier provided with a transfer pattern corresponding to information to be transferred to the magnetic recording medium, and a cleaning method for removing foreign particles adhering to the magnetic recording medium, wherein the magnetic transfer master Before the carrier and the magnetic recording medium are brought into close contact with each other, air is blown onto at least one surface of the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium, and the air in the vicinity of the location where the air is blown is sucked. A cleaning method characterized by counting foreign particles contained in the sucked air and repeating air blowing and suction until the counted number of foreign particles becomes a predetermined value or less.

In this cleaning method, foreign particles adhered to the surfaces of the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium are removed by blowing air and sucking air on the surfaces of the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium. It is possible to remove foreign particles from the surface by blowing off the air and making it float in the vicinity of the surface and immediately sucking air. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the foreign particles once blown off from the surface from re-adhering to the surface, so that compared to the conventional cleaning method of removing the foreign particles by simply blowing air on the surface. Foreign particles can be removed more reliably.
Further, since cleaning is repeated until the number of foreign particles contained in the sucked air becomes a predetermined value or less, the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium can be properly brought into close contact during magnetic transfer. By setting the predetermined value in this manner, foreign particles can be reliably removed by cleaning.

(6) The magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium of which one to be cleaned is rotated in the circumferential direction, and air is blown and air is blown along the direction orthogonal to the rotation direction. The cleaning method according to claim 5, wherein suction is performed.
This cleaning method can minimize the drive range of the magnetic transfer master carrier and the cleaning means, and can efficiently perform cleaning over the entire surface.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cleaning method and a magnetic transfer apparatus that can more reliably remove foreign particles attached to a magnetic transfer master carrier and a magnetic recording medium.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a cleaning means in the magnetic transfer apparatus according to the present invention. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion indicated by an arrow X in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning unit 10 includes a nozzle portion 11. The nozzle portion 11 is provided with a nozzle body 12, and jet air (air) A 1 is blown from the nozzle body 12 to a surface 1 a of a magnetic recording master carrier (hereinafter referred to as a master carrier) 1 to be cleaned. It is configured to be able to suck air A2 in the vicinity of the location where A1 is sprayed.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the target of cleaning is the master carrier has been described, but a magnetic recording medium may be the target of cleaning.

  Here, the master carrier 1 includes a disk-shaped substrate made of a magnetic material and a magnetic layer formed on the surface of the substrate. On the surface of the magnetic layer, fine protrusions corresponding to transfer information are formed. Note that the magnetic layer may be provided on the entire surface of the substrate, and is not limited thereto, and may be provided at least on a fine convex portion of the transfer region.

  The fine protrusions are preferably formed with a height h of 5 nm to 1 μm from the substrate surface at a location where the protrusions are not formed, and with a height h of 50 nm to 300 nm. It is more preferable.

  The substrate is made such that the saturation magnetization Ms of the substrate made of a magnetic material and the saturation magnetization Mm of the magnetic layer have a relationship of 1.0 <Mm / Ms <100, preferably 2.0 ≦ Mm / Ms <3.9. The magnetic layer material is selected. The substrate has a saturation magnetization Ms of 5.65 T (4500 Gauss) or more. Specifically, the substrate can be made of a material such as Ni or Ni alloy, and the magnetic layer can be made of Fe, It can be composed of an alloy material such as FeCo, FeCoNi, FeNi having a face-centered cubic structure including at least one element of Co, Ni, Gd, Dy, Sm, and Nd. Moreover, as long as it exhibits ferromagnetism as a whole, a material containing another magnetic element or nonmagnetic element may be used. The magnetic layer may be any of soft magnetism, semi-hard magnetism, and hard magnetism. However, by using a magnetic layer having a small coercive force such as soft magnetism or semi-hard magnetism, the magnetic transfer can be performed better. It can be carried out.

  The magnetic layer formed on the substrate preferably has a body-centered cubic structure (bcc), a face-centered cubic structure (fcc), or an amorphous structure. Among these, when having a bcc structure or fcc structure, it is desirable that the magnetic layer has a particle structure in which a plurality of fine particles are randomly arranged, and the size observed from the film surface of each particle is 100 nm or less. .

  The magnetic layer is formed by using a magnetic material by vacuum deposition, sputtering, ion plating, or the like, or plating. The thickness of the magnetic layer is preferably in the range of 25 nm to 500 nm, more preferably 50 nm to 300 nm.

  A protective film such as diamond-like carbon (DLC) or sputtered carbon having a thickness of 2 nm to 30 nm is preferably provided on the surface of the magnetic layer, and a lubricant layer may be further provided. Further, an adhesion reinforcing layer such as Si may be provided between the magnetic layer and the protective film. By providing the lubricant, it is possible to improve the deterioration of durability against the occurrence of scratches due to friction when correcting the deviation caused in the contact process with the magnetic recording medium.

An example of the substrate creation process will be described.
First, an adhesion liquid is applied (primed) to a Si substrate, a resist liquid is applied, and baking is performed. Next, this Si substrate is subjected to pattern drawing exposure (EBR) and baked, and then subjected to a development process to perform baking. Next, a Ni conductive film is formed by a sputtering method, Ni electroforming is performed, the Ni conductive film is peeled off from the resist-coated Si substrate, and the resist remaining on the surface is removed to obtain a master (referred to as master (1)).
In order to create a duplicate of the master disk (1) (hereinafter referred to as the master disk (2)), the master disk (1) is further oxidized by Ni electroforming and peeling. Further, the master (3) is similarly created from the master (2), and a master master similar to the master (1) is obtained. Next, a protective film is formed on the pattern surface of each master as described above, the back side is polished if necessary, the polishing powder generated in this polishing step is removed, and then a protective film is also formed on the back side. After punching to a desired size, the punching burr is removed to obtain a master substrate. Then, the magnetic layer described above is formed on this master substrate.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the substrate is a master substrate processed into a donut shape (a disk shape with an opening at the center). As a processing method, a punching method in which the upper blade and the lower blade are engaged, a photo etching method, laser cutting, water cutting, lathe processing, or the like may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the cleaning means 10 may include a detachable holding member 17 in the central opening of the master carrier 1 (and magnetic recording medium). The master carrier 1 is held by the holding member 17 so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 1, and the holding member 17 rotates the master carrier 1 in the direction of arrow R at a predetermined rotational speed during cleaning. Good.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the nozzle body 12 has an inner cylinder portion 13 and an outer diameter that is arranged coaxially with the inner cylinder portion 13 and that is larger than the outer diameter and inner diameter of the inner cylinder portion 13. And an outer cylindrical portion 14 formed to have an inner diameter. The inner cylinder portion 13 functions as an air blowing portion that blows jet air having a predetermined flow rate from the lower opening end portion 12a of the nozzle body 12 to the master carrier 1 by a pump mechanism (not shown) through the inner portion. The gap defined by the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylindrical portion 13 and the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylindrical portion 14 is driven by another pump mechanism (not shown) so that the external atmosphere of the outer cylindrical portion 14 is opened from the opening end 12a. It functions as an air suction part that sucks air inside at a predetermined flow rate.

  The air blowing portion and the air suction portion are not limited to the coaxial cylindrical body, and may be provided at different positions as separate members. However, if the cleaning means 10 is the inner cylindrical body 13 and the outer cylindrical body 14 arranged coaxially as in the present embodiment, the air blown from the inner cylindrical portion 13 collides with the surface 1a. Although it diffuses radially, air is sucked from the gap between the outer cylinder part 14 and the inner cylinder part 13 that are coaxially provided on the outer side of the inner cylinder part 13, so this diffused air Is guided toward this gap. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the foreign particles P from adhering again to other locations on the surface without being sucked by the blown air.

During cleaning, the nozzle portion 11 moves from the inside to the outside at a predetermined scanning speed in the radial direction indicated by the arrow d in the drawing of the master carrier 1 (that is, the direction orthogonal to the rotation direction of the master carrier 1). . At this time, the nozzle portion 11 may move from the outside to the inside in the radial direction. However, since the centrifugal force is applied to the foreign particles by rotating the master carrier 1 (or magnetic recording medium) in the arrow R direction during cleaning, the nozzle portion 11 is moved from the inside to the outside in the radial direction. This makes it possible to efficiently remove foreign particles.
That is, in the cleaning method according to the present invention, in the state where the magnetic transfer master carrier 1 (and / or the magnetic recording medium) is rotated in the circumferential direction, air is blown along the direction orthogonal to the rotation direction. Advance air suction. By doing so, it is possible to minimize the drive range of the magnetic transfer master carrier and the cleaning means and to perform cleaning over the entire surface.

The cleaning means according to the present invention is preferably set as follows.
Distance between air spraying part and surface to be cleaned 0.02mm-1.2mm
Distance between air suction part and surface to be cleaned 0.02mm to 1.2mm
Rotation speed of master carrier and magnetic recording medium 50 to 2000 revolutions / second Scanning speed in the radial direction of nozzle part 0.1 mm / second to 20 mm / second Inner diameter of inner cylinder part φ0.1 mm to φ0.5 mm
Inner diameter of the outer cylinder φ0.5mm to φ10mm
Flow rate of air blown out from the air blowing part 1L / min to 10L / min
Flow rate of air sucked from the air suction part 1L / min to 10L / min

The operation of the cleaning means 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the master carrier 1 to be cleaned is held by the holding member 17 and rotated in the arrow R direction. In a state where the master carrier 1 is rotated, jet air is blown to the surface 1a from the air blowing portion of the nozzle body 12 in the nozzle portion 11 arranged at a predetermined distance on the surface 1a of the master carrier 1, Air is sucked from the air suction portion of the nozzle body 12. Further, the nozzle body 12 is scanned at a predetermined speed from the inner side to the outer side in the radial direction d. Jet air blown from the air blowing portion collides with the surface 1a of the master carrier 1, and blows away foreign particles (particles) P adhering to the surface 1a from the surface 1a. The blown-off foreign particle P is instantaneously separated from the surface 1a and floats above the surface 1a. At this time, since air is sucked from the air suction part, the particles P of these foreign matters are guided to the opening end part 12a of the nozzle body 12 and sucked from between the outer cylinder part 14 and the inner cylinder part 13. The In the above description of the operation, the case of cleaning the master carrier has been described. However, the magnetic recording medium can be cleaned by a similar operation.
In the present embodiment, the particle of foreign matter to be cleaned has a diameter of 0.1 μm or more. However, considering the fact that foreign particles with a particle size of about 0.001 μm may become a problem when the master carrier and the magnetic recording medium are in close contact with each other in actual magnetic transfer, the foreign particles to be cleaned For example, the diameter may be 0.1 μm or less.

  In the present embodiment, the foreign particles P on the surface 1a of the master carrier 1 due to the air blown from the air blowing portion of the inner cylindrical portion 13 cause the master carrier to move from the lower position in the vertical direction of the inner cylindrical portion 13 on the surface 1a. 1 is blown off to the outside in the substantially radial direction, and enters the lower position in the vertical direction with respect to the air suction portion (the space defined by the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylindrical portion 13 and the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylindrical portion 14), The air is sucked by this air suction part. As described above, the outer cylindrical portion 14 that divides the air suction portion is arranged outside the inner cylindrical portion 13 that is the air blowing portion, so that foreign particles are not sucked into the air suction portion. It is possible to clean the master carrier 1 and the magnetic recording medium by preventing the particles from adhering again to other locations on the surface 1a and efficiently removing foreign particles.

  Thus, the cleaning means 10 of the present invention causes the foreign particles P adhering to the surfaces of the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium to be blown off from the surface by blowing air and float in the vicinity of the surface. Immediately, the air can be suctioned by the air suction unit. For this reason, in the magnetic transfer apparatus provided with the leaning device having a configuration for removing foreign particles only by blowing air on the surface, the problem that the foreign particles once blown off from the surface adhere to the surface again is solved. Can do.

  In the present embodiment, the lower end portion of the inner cylindrical portion 13 and the lower end portion of the outer cylindrical portion 14 are configured to be positioned on substantially the same plane. It is good also as a structure which protrudes below from the lower end part of the outer cylinder part 14. FIG. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which the lower end part of the outer cylinder part 14 protrudes below from the lower end part of the inner cylinder part 13. FIG. However, if the lower end portion of the inner cylindrical portion 13 and the lower end portion of the outer cylindrical portion 14 are arranged on the same plane, the blown-out air and the sucked-in air collide with each other and interfere with each other. It is preferable because it is possible to minimize the contact and to remove foreign particles most efficiently.

Next, the operation in cleaning of the magnetic transfer apparatus according to the present invention will be described. In the following description, members having the same configuration / action as those already described are denoted by the same or corresponding reference numerals in the drawings, and the description is simplified or omitted.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state during cleaning in the magnetic transfer apparatus. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state during magnetic transfer in the magnetic transfer apparatus. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the magnetic transfer apparatus 100 is configured to closely transfer a master carrier 1 having a transfer pattern corresponding to information to be transferred to the magnetic recording medium 2 to the magnetic recording medium 2. Is provided with an air blowing portion for blowing air to the surfaces 1a and 2a of the master carrier 1 and the magnetic recording medium 2 and an air suction portion for sucking air near the location where the air is blown. The cleaning means 10 is provided. In the magnetic transfer apparatus 100, the configuration of the cleaning means 10 is the same as that already described above.

  Specifically, the magnetic transfer apparatus 100 includes a disk-shaped holder 21A that can hold the master carrier 1 and a disk-shaped holder 21B that can hold the magnetic recording medium 2. The holder 21A holds the master carrier 1 by a vacuum chuck, and the holder 21B holds the magnetic recording medium 2 by a vacuum chuck. At this time, the master carrier 1 is held with the surface on which the transfer information is written facing the magnetic recording medium side, and the magnetic recording medium 2 is held with the surface to be transferred facing the master carrier 1 side. .

A drive member 22A configured to be movable in the direction of arrow D1 in FIG. 3 is attached to the holder 21A, and a drive member 22B configured to be movable in the direction of arrow D2 in FIG. 3 is attached to the holder 21B. By moving the drive members 22A and 22B in the directions of the arrows D1 and D2, the master carrier 1 and the magnetic recording medium 2 are brought into close contact with each other by bringing the holder 21A and the holder 21B closer as shown in FIG. Can do. In this state of close contact, magnetic transfer is performed by applying a magnetic field.
The drive members 22A and 22B are configured to rotate in the directions of arrows r1 and r2, respectively, during cleaning.

  The cleaning unit 10 in the magnetic transfer apparatus 100 has a nozzle portion 11. The structure of the nozzle portion 11 is the same as that described above with reference to FIG. The cleaning means 10 is a particle that functions as an air supply means 15 that supplies air to the air blowing part of the nozzle part 11 and a measuring means that can measure the number of foreign particles contained in the air sucked from the air suction part. And a counter 16.

  The air supply means 15 is configured not only to supply air to the air blowing unit at a predetermined pressure and flow rate, but also to appropriately adjust the pressure and flow rate of the supplied air.

  The particle counter 16 includes therein a filter for trapping dust after the particle measuring unit, and allows the air sucked from the air sucking unit to pass through the filter, so that the foreign particles remaining on the filter are used as foreign particles. It has the structure which measures the number of (count).

As shown in FIG. 3, for cleaning the master carrier 1 and the magnetic recording medium 2, the nozzle portion 11 of the cleaning means 10 is moved between the holders 21A and 21B, and the surface to be cleaned (here, the master carrier). Directed to the surface 1a) of 1. Then, while driving the drive member 22A in the direction of the arrow r1 and rotating the master carrier 1 held by the holder 21A in the same direction, jet air is blown from the air blowing portion and air is sucked by the air suction portion. The nozzle unit 11 is scanned.
Next, when cleaning the magnetic recording medium 2, the nozzle portion 11 is rotated downward and the direction of the nozzle body 12 is changed so that air can be blown and sucked downward as indicated by the broken line in FIG. 3. After that, similarly, the drive member 22B is driven in the direction of the arrow r2 to rotate the magnetic recording medium 2 held by the holder 21B in the same direction, while blowing jet air from the air blowing unit, The nozzle portion 11 is scanned while performing suction.
Although it is desirable to clean both the master carrier 1 and the magnetic recording medium 2, only one of them may be cleaned as necessary.

  Further, the magnetic transfer device 10 is configured such that the cleaning means 10 can be moved away from between the holders 21A and 21B by moving in the arrow D3 direction except during cleaning such as when performing magnetic transfer. .

Next, cleaning and magnetic transfer processes in the magnetic transfer apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the steps of cleaning and magnetic transfer.
First, the master carrier 1 in which the transfer information is written and the magnetic recording medium 2 to which the transfer information is transferred are set in the holders 21A and 21B (S101). Then, the surface of the master carrier 1 and the magnetic recording medium 2 to be cleaned (in this description, the surface 1a of the master carrier 1) is sucked of air from the air suction portion, and the particles The counter 16 counts the number of foreign particles contained in the sucked air (S102). At this time, jet air is simultaneously blown from the air blowing unit to perform normal cleaning, and the number of foreign particles may be counted.

After counting the number of foreign particles by the particle counter 16, it is determined whether this number is equal to or less than a predetermined value (for example, 0) (S103).
At this time, if the number of foreign particles is larger than a predetermined value, cleaning is performed (S104). On the other hand, when the number of foreign particles is smaller than a predetermined value, it is determined that the foreign particles are sufficiently removed from the surface 1a of the master carrier 1, and a magnetic field is applied by being in close contact with the magnetic recording medium 2. Then, magnetic transfer is performed (S105).

  The magnetic transfer apparatus according to the present invention reliably removes foreign particles adhering to the surfaces of the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium by using a cleaning means, so that the master carrier and the magnetic recording medium are It is possible to obtain a magnetic recording medium having good transfer quality, which can be in close contact with each other without causing a space.

  In addition, since the said cleaning means can use clean air (air), there is no influence with respect to an installation or a human body in a cleaning process, and since it can be used safely, it is possible to install two or more in many places. .

In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A suitable deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible.
For example, for example, a static eliminator may be provided in the air blowing portion and the vicinity thereof as a countermeasure against static electricity. In this way, even if static electricity is generated in the master carrier or the magnetic recording medium by blowing air, it is possible to prevent dust from being easily attached by removing the static electricity with the static eliminator.
For example, it is preferable that the air to be blown has a diameter of 0.01 μm or less by passing through an air filter.
For example, the dust environment of the magnetic transfer device is generally preferably 10 particles / ft ³ or less of particles of 0.1 μm or more. In addition, it is preferable to provide an all-layer flow type clean environment by installing a filter over the entire upper surface in the magnetic transfer apparatus.
For example, after the master carrier 1 and the magnetic recording medium 2 are brought into a close contact state, the adhesiveness at that time is monitored and it is determined whether or not it is necessary to remove foreign particles by cleaning. Cleaning may be performed by 100 or the cleaning means 10. However, since particles of foreign matters such as dust are crushed and difficult to remove at the time of close contact, it is preferable to perform cleaning in a state before close contact. Note that the foreign particles that are difficult to remove after being in close contact with each other require cleaning processing such as pure water ultrasonic cleaning, low-temperature CO ₂ cleaning, and polishing processing.

  As another method for cleaning the master carrier and the magnetic recording medium 2, it is possible to wipe the surface with a non-woven fabric (for example, 9246 manufactured by BBA NONWOVENS) or a woven fabric (for example, Sabina Minimax manufactured by Kanebo Co., Ltd.). is there. In particular, it is effective to use wiping with a woven fabric in combination, and it is possible to more reliably remove foreign particles by performing this wiping before the jet air blowing cleaning step in the present invention.

  In addition, the magnetic recording medium 2 can be cleaned in the same manner as the master carrier, but other types of cleaning such as a head burnish or a tape burnish may also be performed.

  The cleaning method of the present invention can be preferably carried out by using the cleaning means described above. That is, the cleaning method according to the present invention is a magnetic transfer master carrier provided with a transfer pattern corresponding to information to be transferred to a magnetic recording medium, and a cleaning method for removing foreign matter adhering to the magnetic recording medium. Air is blown onto at least one surface of the transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium, and the air in the vicinity of the location where the air is blown is sucked, and foreign particles contained in the sucked air are counted and counted. Air blowing and suction are repeated until the number of foreign particles becomes a predetermined value or less.

  In the above cleaning method, the cleaning is repeated until the number of foreign particles contained in the sucked air becomes a predetermined value or less. Therefore, when the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium are brought into close contact with each other during magnetic transfer, By setting a predetermined value so as to be in close contact with the surface, foreign particles can be reliably removed by cleaning.

(Example)
Next, using the magnetic transfer apparatus according to the present invention, cleaning is performed under the following conditions, and a test for measuring dropout (DO) and dropin (DI) on the magnetic disk as a sample is performed after magnetic transfer. It was. For measurement of DO / DI, an RQ7000 glide certifier manufactured by Hitachi Electronics Engineering Co., Ltd. was used, and the measurement was performed under certain conditions (head, AMP, frequency). In addition, a part of the sucked air was measured with a particle counter (KC-22A manufactured by Lion Co., Ltd.), and dust in the total suction flow rate was calculated and measured. Here, using RQ7000, a signal is recorded with a magnetic head in advance at a predetermined repetition period, a signal bit of 50% or less of the average reproduction signal is set as DO, and a signal of 20% or more remaining after DC erasure is set as DI. And DI were initial values. Thereafter, AC erasing was performed with an AC magnetic field, and the magnetic transfer was used. The master carrier for magnetic transfer is transferred using the concave / convex pattern (test pattern) corresponding to the above repetitive periodic signal, reproduced by the magnetic head of RQ7000, the DO measurement after transfer, and the DI measurement after DC erasure by the head. And calculated the increase.
Distance between air spray part and surface to be cleaned 0.5mm
Distance between air suction part and surface to be cleaned 0.5mm
Rotation speed of master carrier and magnetic recording medium 1200 revolutions / second Scanning speed in the radial direction of nozzle part 0.1 mm / second Inner diameter of inner cylinder part 0.3 mm
Outer cylinder inner diameter φ5mm
Flow rate of air blown out from the air blowing part 5L / min
Flow rate of air sucked from the air suction part 3L / min

As an example, 1000 magnetic disks for a hard disk drive are prepared as samples, and the DO / DI value and the generation position thereof are recorded for each magnetic disk. Then, cleaning was performed by the magnetic transfer device under the above conditions, and the transfer was carried out after repeating the cleaning until the number of dust (foreign particles) became zero.
As Comparative Example 1, the same number of magnetic disks for the same HDD were prepared, and only magnetic transfer was performed without cleaning these magnetic disks. As Comparative Example 2, the same number of magnetic disks for the same HDD were prepared, the magnetic disks were cleaned only once, and then magnetic transfer was performed. The results of this test are shown in Table 1.

As shown in Table 1, in the examples, the DO / DI values after magnetic transfer were measured, but no increase in the DO / DI values was observed, whereas in Comparative Example 1, magnetic transfer was performed later. It was found that the DO / DI value increased as the magnetic disk increased. Specifically, DO occurred for the magnetic disk after the first magnetic transfer, and the DO / DI value of the 50th magnetic disk was 100 / surface or more.
In Comparative Example 2, the amount of increase in the DO / DI value was not as large as in Comparative Example 1, but was about 1000 per surface when 1000 sheets were magnetically transferred.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the cleaning means in the magnetic transfer apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is an expanded sectional view in the arrow X of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of the cleaning in the magnetic transfer apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of the magnetic transfer in the magnetic transfer apparatus which concerns on this invention. 6 is a flowchart for explaining cleaning and magnetic transfer processes when the magnetic transfer apparatus according to the present invention is used.

Explanation of symbols

1 Master carrier for magnetic transfer 2 Magnetic recording medium (slave medium)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cleaning means 11 Nozzle part 12 Nozzle body 100 Magnetic transfer apparatus P Particles of foreign matter

Claims (6)

A magnetic transfer apparatus for performing magnetic transfer by bringing a magnetic transfer master carrier having a transfer pattern according to information to be transferred to a magnetic recording medium onto a surface thereof, and bringing the master carrier into close contact with the magnetic recording medium,
And a cleaning unit having an air blowing part for blowing air onto at least one surface of the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium, and an air suction part for sucking air in the vicinity of the location where the air is blown. A magnetic transfer device characterized by. The cleaning means has an inner cylinder part and an outer cylinder part arranged coaxially, and the air is blown from the inner diameter side of the inner cylinder part, and the inner cylinder part and the outer cylinder part The magnetic transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the air is sucked from between the cylindrical portions. 3. The magnetic transfer according to claim 2, wherein the surface-side end portion of the inner cylinder portion and the surface-side end portion of the outer cylinder portion are positioned on the same plane. apparatus. 4. The magnetic transfer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a measuring unit capable of counting foreign particles sucked into the air. A magnetic transfer master carrier provided with a transfer pattern according to information to be transferred to a magnetic recording medium and a cleaning method for removing foreign particles adhering to the magnetic recording medium,
Before the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium are brought into close contact with each other, air is blown onto at least one surface of the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium, and the vicinity of the portion where the air is blown A cleaning method comprising: sucking air, counting foreign particles contained in the sucked air, and repeating air blowing and suction until the counted number of foreign particles becomes a predetermined value or less. While the one to be cleaned of the magnetic transfer master carrier and the magnetic recording medium is rotated in the circumferential direction, air blowing and air suction are performed along a direction orthogonal to the rotation direction. The cleaning method according to claim 5, wherein:

Images