JPH06338157A - Head of magnetic recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the damages and the abrasions of a head and a magnetic recording medium by forming a protecting layer comprising three-dimensional carbon molecules in a region in contact with the magnetic recording medium. CONSTITUTION:In the region of a slider 10 provided at the head of a magnetic recording apparatus is in contact with a magnetic recording medium, e.g. on surfaces 15 of slide rails 11, protecting layers 16 comprising three-dimensional carbon molecules are formed. In this constitution, even if the rails 11 come into direct contact with the magnetic recording medium and slid on the magnetic recording medium, the three-dimensional carbon molecules constituting the layers 16 have high lubricating action. Since the friction between the surfaces 15 of the rails 11 and the magnetic recording medium is small, abrasion, damages and the like of the slider 10 and the magnetic recording can be made minimum.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a head in a magnetic storage device, and more particularly to a head suitable as a head for a hard disk device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a magnetic storage device using a magnetic storage medium, for example, in a hard disk device, recording and reproduction on a magnetic surface of a disk as a magnetic storage medium are performed while a head is levitated from a disk rotating at a high speed. It is done.

[0003]

With the recent trend toward higher recording density, hard disk drives are strongly required to have a low flying height, and the frequency of contact between the disk and slider tends to increase. When the disk rotates, the head is levitated by allowing air to flow between the slider supporting the head and the disk to levitate the slider. Maintaining a minute gap between the head and the disk is a levitation force. And the load applied to the slider by the support spring. However, even if the gap between the head and the disk is designed by fluid lubrication so as to maintain stability, it is difficult to eliminate direct contact between the slider and the disk due to various external factors.

Dust is one of the factors that cause instability. If dust of about the same size as the gap between the slider and the recording surface of the disc enters the gap between the slider and the disc, the air film is momentarily destroyed, causing the slider to lose its levitation force and to It will make direct contact with the recording surface. This direct contact accelerates the wear of the slider and the disk, and eventually leads to so-called head crash. Another instability factor is
It is impossible to realize the disk recording surface with the ideal plane. If the recording surface of the disk is not flat, the head moves in the radial direction on the recording surface of the disk to write and read information, that is, while performing a so-called seek operation, while rotating the disk at a high speed,
The air flow is disturbed, the flying of the head becomes unstable, and the slider and the disk come into direct contact with each other. Since this contact occurs at right angles to the moving direction of the head, the edge of the slider cuts the recording surface of the disk.

The object of the present invention is not only such a hard disk device, but also a hard disk device for writing and reading information while the head and the magnetic recording medium are in direct contact with each other, as well as a floppy disk, a magnetic tape, a magnetic card, a magnetic disk. Even in a magnetic storage device using a drum or the like, it is possible to eliminate damage and abrasion of the head and the magnetic recording medium, and to obtain a reliable magnetic recording device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the head of the magnetic storage device of the present invention has a protective layer made of three-dimensional carbon molecules formed in a region in contact with the magnetic storage medium. It has a feature.

[0007]

In the case of a hard disk device, the protective layer is formed on the surface of the slider slide rail facing the magnetic storage medium. Since the three-dimensional carbon molecule has a large lubricating action due to its structure, even if there is direct contact between the slide rail and the disk due to the floating instability of the head, the head and disk will not be worn or damaged, and CSS on the inner side of the disk during operation
Minimize head and disk wear and damage during direct contact and sliding between the slider and disk in a so-called CSS type hard disk drive that fixes the head position in the (contact start / stop) area. Therefore, the device can be made highly reliable.

Further, in the case of a magnetic storage device using a magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk device, a floppy disk, a magnetic tape, a magnetic card, a magnetic drum, etc. for writing and reading information to and from the disc while being in contact with the disc. The protective layer is formed, for example, in a region of the head that contacts the magnetic storage medium. Also at this time, the friction between the head and the magnetic storage medium is extremely small due to the protective layer made of three-dimensional carbon molecules,
The wear and damage of the head and the magnetic storage medium can be minimized.

[0009]

EXAMPLE An example of the head of the magnetic storage device of the present invention is
Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to the accompanying drawings. This head is for a hard disk device and has a slider 10 as shown in FIG. 1, for example. The slider 10 includes Ni-Zn ferrite, Mn-Zn ferrite, Al ₂ O ₃ .TiC, and Zr ₂ like the conventional slider.
A base material such as O ₃ , BaTiO ₃ or CaTiO ₃ is ground and provided with a pair of slide rails 11. Although not shown, a head element for writing information to and reading information from a disk as a magnetic recording medium is not shown in the slider 1
It is attached to the end face 12 at 0. The slider is attached to the support arm via a gimbal fixed to the surface 13 opposite to the surface on which the slide rail 11 is formed, and is mounted in the hard disk device by fixing the support arm to the head positioning mechanism.

The head is fixed in position in a CSS (contact start stop) area on the inner peripheral side of the disk when the hard disk device is not operating. When the device operates and the disk as the magnetic storage medium rotates, air flows from the end surface 14 of the slider 10 between the slider 10 and the disk, and the slider 10 is levitated, so that the distance between the head and the disk is reduced. It is maintained by the balance between the levitation force and the load applied to the slider by the support spring.

In the head according to the present invention, the slider 1
A protective layer 16 made of three-dimensional carbon molecules is formed on the surface 15 of the slide rail 11, for example, in the region of 0 in contact with the disk. Such a protective layer 16
Can eliminate wear and damage on the slider and disk. That is, the head is fixed in position in a CSS (contact start stop) area formed on the inner peripheral side of the disk when the apparatus is not operating, and is prevented from moving to the data area of the disk.
In a CSS type hard disk drive that floats from the S area to the data area on a disk that is rotating at high speed and moves from the data area to the CSS area when stopped, direct contact between the head and disk and sliding of the head on the disk In the head according to the present invention, a protective layer 16 is formed on the surface 15 of the slider rail 11 that contacts the disk, even if the slide rail 11 directly contacts the disk or slides on the disk. The three-dimensional carbon molecules forming the layer 16 have a strong lubricating action,
Since the friction between the surface 15 of the slider rail 11 and the disk is small, the wear and damage of the slider 10 and the disk can be minimized. Further, when the head is performing a seek operation and the disk is rotating at a high speed, the recording surface of the disk is not flat so that the air flow is disturbed and the flying of the head becomes unstable, and the slider 10 and Even if a direct contact with the disk occurs, the edge of the protective layer 16 comes into contact with the recording surface of the disk, so that abrasion and damage of the slider 10 and the disk can be minimized.

The three-dimensional carbon molecule constituting the protective layer 16 is
C60, C64, C70, C72, C74, C76, C
78, C80, C82, C84, C86, C90, C9
2, C94, C96, etc. Of these, preferred results are C60, which is a soccer ball-shaped three-dimensional hollow molecule, and C70, which is a rugby ball-shaped three-dimensional carbon molecule. The thickness of the protective layer 16 is preferably 0.1 to 50 nm.

The protective layer 16 is formed by the three-dimensional carbon molecule C6.
In the case of 0 and C70, since the density is about 1.7 g / cm ³ , it can be performed by forming a thin film consisting of a single molecule or multiple molecules on the surface 15 of the slide rail 11 by a vapor deposition method or a sputtering method. Further, the protective layer 16 is obtained by dispersing the three-dimensional carbon molecules C60 or C70 in a binder and applying this dispersion liquid to the surface 15 of the slide rail 11 of the slider 10, that is,
It is formed by attaching three-dimensional carbon molecules C60 and C70 to the surface 15 of the slide rail 11 using a binder as an adhesive. The binder includes a thermoplastic resin, a thermosetting resin, or a mixture thereof, and all known binders can be used.
For example, epoxy resin, polyurethane resin, polyamide resin, silicon resin, polyester resin, phenol resin, vinyl resin, cellulose derivative, polymer of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid or copolymers thereof, nylon resin, alkyd resin, urea resin, It is a single substance such as urea formaldehyde resin or a mixture thereof.

A more specific structure of the head according to the present invention and the result of the sliding wear test will be described.

After the head A slider 10 is formed into a predetermined shape by grinding, a thin film of three-dimensional carbon molecules C60 is deposited on the surface 15 of the slide rail 11 by vapor deposition to a thickness of 1.5 nm, for example. After forming the protective layer 16,
Similar to the conventional head, the slider 10 is attached to the support spring with a gimbal interposed therebetween, the support spring is fixed to the carriage arm of the head positioning mechanism, and the slider and the spindle motor are incorporated into a container to form a head-disk assembly. And a sliding wear test of the slider was conducted, the sliding wear life was improved by about five times as compared with the head having the conventional slider in which the protective layer 16 was not formed.

Head B The slider 1 is formed into a predetermined shape by grinding similarly to the head A, and then the surface 1 of the slide rail 11 is processed.
5. Deposit a thin film of three-dimensional carbon molecule C60 by vapor deposition on 5.
A protective layer 16 was formed by depositing to a thickness of 0 nm, a head-disk assembly was constructed, and abrasion resistance was tested with the slider almost in contact with the disk. Compared with the conventional slider, the sliding wear life has been improved about four times.

Head C After the slider is formed into a predetermined shape by grinding in the same manner as the head A, the protective layer 16 made of the three-dimensional carbon molecule C70 is replaced by the slide rail 11 of the slider 10 in place of the three-dimensional carbon molecule C60. When formed on the surface 15 and subjected to the same test as the head A, the sliding wear life is improved by about four times as compared with the conventional slider having no protective layer 16.

Further, by attaching the lubricant to the surface of the protective layer 16, it is possible to further improve the wear resistance of the head and the disk and reduce the damage. The lubricant is, for example, perfluoroalkyl polyether containing a CF3 side chain, perfluoroalkyl polyether containing an isocyanate group, perfluoroalkyl polyether containing a phenyl group, or perfluoroalkyl acrylate.

Head D Perfluoroalkyl polyether as a lubricant is applied to the surface 15 of the protective layer 14 of the slider 10 manufactured in the same manner as the head A to a thickness of about 10 nm, and the sliding wear strength is evaluated by the same method. Then, as compared with a head having a conventional slider having no protective layer 16 and having perfluoroalkylpolyether attached to the contact surface with the disk,
Sliding wear life has been improved about four times.

The head according to the present invention comprises these heads A
As is clear from ~ D, the protective layer 16 significantly reduces the friction with the disk and prevents the head crash, so that the flying state of the head can be stabilized and maintained for a long period of time. Since the slider rail has excellent wear resistance, not only can a contact start / stop (CSS) type head slider be significantly improved in durability, but a hard disk drive with high reliability can be obtained. Even in a hard disk device that records and reads information while in contact with the disk, the durability can be greatly improved.

[0021]

As described above, the head of the magnetic storage device of the present invention can remarkably reduce the friction between the magnetic storage medium and the head. Therefore, the wear and damage of the magnetic recording medium in the hard disk drive can be eliminated. Not only can you do it, but also floppy disks, magnetic tapes,
Even in a magnetic storage device using a magnetic card or a magnetic drum, the wear resistance of the head and the magnetic recording medium can be improved, and a reliable magnetic recording device with a short life can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a head of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... a slider of a hard disk device, 15 ... a contact surface of the slider with a magnetic storage medium, 16 ... a protective layer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A head of a magnetic storage device, comprising a protective layer made of three-dimensional carbon molecules formed in a region in contact with the magnetic storage medium.