JPH11335838A - Production of metallic vapor deposited film type magnetic recording medium and apparatus for its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a density additionally higher and noise lower by executing cooling near a vapor deposition working section of a magnetic metal onto a nonmagnetic base from both front and rear sides of this base. SOLUTION: A vapor deposition chamber 1 is internally provided with a cooling means 20 for cooling the nonmagnetic base 3 from the front and rear sides thereof near the vapor deposition working section 22 of the magnetic metal onto the nonmagnetic base 3. The cooling means 20 consists of a cooling can 2 and a cooling touch roll 21 moving under a required pressure across the nonmagnetic base 3 moving in contact with the peripheral surface thereof. The peripheral surfaces cooled to a required temp. of the cooling concn. 2 and the cooling touch roll 21 successively come into contact with the rear surface and front of the nonmagnetic base 3 and, therefore, the nonmagnetic base 3 is uniformly cooled in the respective parts. Even more, this cooling is executed from the front surface of the nonmagnetic base 3 and, therefore, the rapid cooling is effectively executed. The sufficiently cooled nonmagnetic base 3 is thus subjected to the vapor deposition of the magnetic metal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a metal-deposited thin-film type magnetic recording medium in which a magnetic layer is formed by a metal-deposited thin film, a magnetic layer made of a metal-deposited thin film is directly formed on a nonmagnetic support, and no binder is mixed. Therefore, the packing density is high, which is suitable for increasing the recording density of information. So, in recent years,
Development of this metal-deposited thin film type magnetic recording medium has been actively carried out.

In order to increase the density of information in a magnetic recording medium, it is only necessary to increase the magnetic flux generated from the recording medium. For this purpose, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the magnetic layer. I know it. However, if the thickness of the magnetic layer is simply increased, noise also increases. Therefore,
In designing a high-density recording medium, it is necessary to reduce noise while increasing signal components.

[0004] As a method of reducing this noise, a method of making vapor deposition particles finer is known. And, the method of miniaturization of the vapor-deposited particles means that, when the metal thin film forming the magnetic layer is vapor-deposited, the vapor-deposited particles on the non-magnetic support are cooled by cooling the non-magnetic support on which the vapor deposition is performed. The kinetic energy is suppressed to make the vapor deposition particles finer.

In this case, the vapor deposition apparatus, that is, the apparatus for producing a metal vapor-deposited thin film magnetic recording medium, has a cooling can 2 disposed in a vapor deposition chamber 1 as shown in FIG. The non-magnetic support 3 constituting the metal-deposited thin film type magnetic recording medium in contact with is supplied from the supply roll 4 and guided to be moved by the take-up roll 5 so as to be wound.

The inside of the vapor deposition chamber 1 is, for example, a rotary pump 1
The gas is evacuated by a vacuum pump 10 composed of a turbo pump 1 and a turbo pump 12.

Then, the non-magnetic support 3 is cooled from the back by the cooling can 2. The magnetic metal constituting the magnetic layer is deposited on the cooled non-magnetic support 3 in this manner. That is, the electron gun 6
Are provided, and the electron beam 7 emitted from the
Bombarding the magnetic metal material to generate vapor-deposited particles 9, and vapor-deposited particles 9 are vapor-deposited from the back surface of the non-magnetic support 3 by the cooling can 2 to form a magnetic layer of a metal vapor-deposited thin film. It has been made to be. In front of the cooling can 2, a deposition position for the non-magnetic support 3,
That is, the shielding body 13 that shields the vapor deposition particles for setting the vapor deposition operation section and defining the incident direction of the vapor deposition particles on the magnetic support 3 is arranged.

[0008]

In the case of the vapor deposition method shown in FIG. 2, the deposition particles can be miniaturized. However, recently, as described above, higher density and lower noise are required. In order to achieve this, it is required to make the deposited particles finer. The present invention is a method and apparatus for manufacturing a metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium that achieves higher density and lower noise to satisfy this demand.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for producing a metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium in which a magnetic layer is formed on a non-magnetic support by vapor deposition of a magnetic metal. Cooling in the portion where metal deposition is performed, that is, in the vicinity of the magnetic metal deposition working portion for the non-magnetic support, is performed from both the front and back surfaces of the non-magnetic support.

The present invention also provides an apparatus for manufacturing a metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium in which a magnetic layer is formed on a non-magnetic support by vapor deposition of a magnetic metal. It is provided with cooling means for cooling the vicinity of the vapor deposition working section. The cooling means includes a cooling can for moving the non-magnetic support to the peripheral surface, and a cooling touch roll that is rolled over the non-magnetic support with the non-magnetic support sandwiched between the cooling rolls in the vicinity of the magnetic metal deposition work section on the non-magnetic support. Constitute.

That is, in the method of the present invention, as in the prior art, in the deposition of the magnetic metal on the non-magnetic support, the cooling of the non-magnetic support in the deposition working section is simply performed by the non-magnetic support, as in the prior art. Rather than cooling by a cooling can contacting the back surface, the non-magnetic support is surely and sufficiently cooled by cooling both the front and back surfaces of the magnetic-substance support.

In the apparatus of the present invention for carrying out the method of the present invention, the cooling is not performed only by the cooling can contacting the back surface of the non-magnetic support, as in the prior art. In the vicinity of the vapor deposition work part where the magnetic metal is vapor-deposited, a non-magnetic support is sandwiched between the cooling cans and rolled, and a cooling touch roll for cooling the surface of the non-magnetic support is also provided. By cooling from the front and back by the cooling can and the cooling touch roll, the nonmagnetic support is surely and sufficiently cooled.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a method of manufacturing a metal-deposited thin film type magnetic recording medium according to the present invention, cooling is performed from both the front and back surfaces of a non-magnetic support in the vicinity of a work portion for depositing a magnetic metal on the non-magnetic support. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of the apparatus of the present invention that can carry out the manufacturing method of the present invention. An example of the apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. It is not limited. In this example,
This is a configuration corresponding to the apparatus for manufacturing a metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium described with reference to FIG. , A cooling means 20 for cooling the nonmagnetic support 3 from the front and back is provided.

The inside of the vapor deposition chamber 1 is, for example, a rotary pump 1
The air is evacuated to about 10 ⁻³ Pa by a vacuum pump 10 composed of a turbo pump 1 and a turbo pump 12.

The cooling means 20 comprises a cooling can 2 and a cooling touch roll 21 which rolls with a required pressure across the non-magnetic support 3 which moves in contact with the peripheral surface thereof.
Both the cooling can 2 and the cooling touch roll are selected to be in contact with each other over the entire width of the nonmagnetic support 3.

The cooling can 2 is made of a metal cylinder having a high thermal conductivity as usual, for example, a chrome-plated stainless steel cylinder, is rotatably supported around its axis, and has a cooling medium inside. For example, ethylene glycol is circulated to cool to a required temperature. Further, the cooling touch roll 21 is also similar to the cooling can 2,
Similarly, it is composed of a chrome-plated stainless steel cylinder with excellent thermal conductivity, is rotatably supported around its axis, and circulates a cooling medium inside to cool to a required temperature. It has been done. The cooling can 2 and the cooling touch roll 21 are maintained at, for example, −30 ° C.

Each of the cooling touch rolls 21 is configured such that the axis of rotation thereof is elastically pressed toward the axis of rotation of the cooling can 2 by elastic pressing means.

The non-magnetic support 3 is made of, for example, a long polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, which is taken up by a take-up roll 5 to be fed out from a supply roll 4 and taken up from the supply roll 4. A transition is made to roll 5. During the transition, the non-magnetic support 3 is cooled from the front and back by the cooling means 20 described above. In other words, the non-magnetic support 3 unreeled from the supply roll 4 is contacted with the cooling can 2 and the cooling touch roll 21 such that the back surface is in contact with the peripheral surface of the cooling can 2 and the front surface is in contact with the cooling touch roll 21. And a transition is made with the required pressure applied.

On the other hand, an electron gun 6 is provided, and electron beams 7 emitted from the electron gun 6 are generated by, for example, impacting a magnetic metal material of a Co vapor deposition source 8 to generate vapor-deposited particles 9.
The magnetic layer is formed by depositing Co on the surface of the non-magnetic support 3 that has been cooled by the cooling means 20.

In front of the cooling can 2, a non-magnetic support 3
The vapor deposition position for, ie, the vapor deposition work part 22,
Further, a shield 13 for the deposited particles is provided for defining the incident direction of the deposited particles on the non-magnetic support 3. Then, by selecting the transfer speed of the nonmagnetic support 3, a metal-deposited magnetic layer having a thickness of, for example, 200 nm is formed.

As described above, the cooling touch roll 21 of the cooling means 20 is disposed at the position where the shielding metal 13 deposits the magnetic metal on the non-magnetic support 3, that is, in the vicinity of the deposition work section 22. In the example shown in the drawing, the cooling touch roll 21 of the cooling means 20 has the magnetic metal deposited on the nonmagnetic support 3 just before and immediately after, for example, the vapor deposition work unit 22, that is, in the vicinity of the vapor deposition work unit 22. In the case where the non-magnetic support 3 is disposed at a portion directly in contact with the surface of the non-magnetic support 3 and a portion immediately after the magnetic metal is deposited on the non-magnetic support 3, the portion is in contact with the surface of the magnetic layer. is there.

The cooling can 2 and the cooling touch roll 21 are rotated by frictional contact with the non-magnetic support 3 as the non-magnetic support 3 shifts from the supply roll 4 to the take-up roll 5. In this way, the peripheral surfaces of the cooling can 2 and the cooling touch roll 21 cooled to the required temperatures are sequentially formed on the back surface and the surface of the nonmagnetic support 3 directly or by vapor deposition of a magnetic metal. Since the non-magnetic support 3 is uniformly cooled in each part since it contacts the surface of the magnetic layer on which the film is formed, and since the cooling is performed from the front and back of the non-magnetic support 3, it is effective for rapid cooling. The cooling is performed, and the non-magnetic metal 3 is vapor-deposited on the non-magnetic support 3 sufficiently cooled in this way.

Using the above-described apparatus of the present invention, a magnetic layer made of Co having a thickness of 200 nm is deposited by the method of the present invention, and a lubricant and a rust inhibitor are applied to the surface of the magnetic layer.
A metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium (samples I and II) was prepared by applying a lubricant to the back surface, that is, the nonmagnetic support 3 side.

On the other hand, according to the apparatus and method described with reference to FIG. 2, only the back surface of the nonmagnetic support 3 is cooled by the cooling can 2 and a 200 nm-thick Co magnetic layer is similarly deposited on the surface of the magnetic layer. Then, a lubricant made of stearic acid and a rust inhibitor made of naphthalene diol were applied, and a lubricant was applied to the back surface, that is, the nonmagnetic support 3 side, to produce a metal-deposited thin film magnetic recording medium (sample III).

Table 1 shows the results of measuring the electromagnetic conversion characteristics of these samples I, II and III.

[0026]

[Table 1]

As is clear from the above, Samples I and II produced by the apparatus and method of the present invention using both front and back cooling were the same as Samples I and II produced only by conventional back cooling.
Compared with II, output is improved, noise is reduced, and thus C / N is improved. That is, in the metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium manufactured according to the present invention, the non-magnetic support 3 is rapidly cooled to make the deposited particles finer.

As described above, according to the present invention, in the production of a metal-deposited thin film type magnetic recording medium, the deposition of a magnetic metal on the non-magnetic support 3 is performed in the vicinity of the deposition work section where the deposition is performed. By cooling from the front and back of the body 3, a metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium having excellent electromagnetic conversion characteristics can be obtained.

The non-magnetic support 3 is not limited to the PET film described above, but may include other polyesters,
Polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene,
Cellulose triacetate, cellulose diacetate,
Cellulose derivatives such as cellulose acetate butyrate, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl resins such as polyvinylidene chloride, plastics such as polycarbonate, polyimide, polyamide, polyamide imide, paper, aluminum,
It can be composed of a film such as a metal such as copper, a light metal such as an aluminum alloy or a titanium alloy, or a ceramic single crystal silicon.

The form of the non-magnetic support is not limited to a film, but can be applied to any of tapes, sheets, disks, cards, drums and the like.

Further, in the above-described example, Co was used as the metal magnetic material. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. Ferromagnetic materials such as Fe and Ni, and alloys thereof may be used. The magnetic layer may be a single layer film or a multilayer film of two or more layers.

As described above, in the case of a multi-layer film structure, for example, a vapor deposition source such as a magnetic material of each material and a vapor deposition device such as an electron gun are arranged in the same vapor deposition chamber or different vapor deposition chambers, respectively. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the above-described cooling means 20 is disposed in the vapor deposition working section for the body 3.

In the illustrated example, two cooling touch rolls 21 are provided in the cooling means 20.
Either one of them may be configured to be arranged only on the rear side, or three or more may be arranged on the eye for further improving the cooling effect.

Further, in the above-described example, the cooling of the cooling can 2 and the cooling touch roll 21 is performed by cooling with a liquid refrigerant such as ethylene glycol. Various modifications can be made in the apparatus of the present invention, for example, cooling can be performed using a cooling element such as.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the production of a metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium, the deposition of a magnetic metal on a non-magnetic support is carried out in the vicinity of a deposition work section where the deposition is performed. By cooling from the front and back of the support, rapid cooling in the metal deposition portion of the non-magnetic support is reliably and sufficiently performed, so that the fineness of the deposition particles is excellently achieved. The manufactured metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium is manufactured as a metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium having an improved magnetic layer filling density, high output, low noise, and excellent electromagnetic conversion characteristics.

As described above, according to the method of the present invention, an excellent metal-deposited thin film type magnetic recording medium can be manufactured. However, the apparatus of the present invention which can carry out the method of the present invention has a cooling means. As a configuration, a cooling touch roll is added, and this cooling touch roll is the same refrigerant as a cooling can provided conventionally,
That is, since a cooling source can be used, the device is prevented from being greatly complicated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an apparatus for manufacturing a metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional apparatus for manufacturing a metal-deposited thin film magnetic recording medium.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Deposition chamber, 2 ... Cooling can 3 ... Non-magnetic support, 4 ... Supply roll, 5 ... Winding roll
6 ... Electron gun, 7 ... Electron beam, 8 ... Evaporation source, 9
... Evaporated particles, 10 ... Vacuum pump, 11 ... Rotary pump, 12 ... Turbo pump, 13 ...
Shield, 20 cooling means, 21 cooling touch roll, 22 deposition section

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium, wherein a magnetic layer is formed on a non-magnetic support by vapor deposition of a magnetic metal, the method comprising the steps of: A method of manufacturing a metal-deposited thin-film type magnetic recording medium, wherein the cooling is performed from both the front and back surfaces of the nonmagnetic support. 2. An apparatus for manufacturing a metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium in which a magnetic layer is formed on a non-magnetic support by vapor deposition of a magnetic metal, comprising: Means for cooling the non-magnetic support, the cooling can moving the non-magnetic support to the peripheral surface, and the non-magnetic support is provided on the cooling roll in the vicinity of the magnetic metal deposition work section on the non-magnetic support. An apparatus for manufacturing a metal-deposited thin-film magnetic recording medium, comprising: a cooling touch roll that is in contact with a magnetic support. 3. The cooling touch roll of the cooling means is positioned between a position before the deposition of the magnetic metal and a position after the deposition on the nonmagnetic support in the vicinity of the work section for depositing the magnetic metal on the nonmagnetic support. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the magnetic recording medium is disposed.