Postdoctoral Researcher
Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics, Carnegie Mellon University (2006)

Department of Chemical Engineering
Doherty Hall Room B205
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-268-3038 (lab)
412-268-4531 (office)
412-268-7139 (fax)

Fabrication and Surface characterization of amorphous carbon (a-CFx and a-CHx) overcoats. Fluorination and Oxidation of a-CFx overcoats and their effects on the thermal stability of the amorphous carbon overcoats.

This project follows the work of Yang Yun in this group, supported by heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) funding from the Data Storage Systems Center (DSSC) at Carnegie Mellon University. Heat assisted magnetic recording will require heating of the carbon overcoat and the lubricant to unprecedented temperatures. Success will require the use of new materials with far higher thermal stability than those in current use for magnetic recording applications. We have developed instrumentation that allows the deposition of overcoats in vacuum and their subsequent analysis by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and temperature programmed desorption spectroscopy (TPD). The TPD measurement allows us to determine the thermal stability of the overcoats and the lubricants in one simple measurement. This is being used to assess the thermal stability of new materials being proposed for use with HAMR.

Fluorinated amorphous carbon (a-CFx) films have a very low friction coefficient. It is feasible for fluorinated amorphous carbon films to fulfill the functions of both the carbon overcoats and the lubricant layer. The focus of current work is to fabricate fluorinated amophouos carbon films which have superior thermal stability. In other words, we want to make a overcoat which is compatible with the requirements of HAMR.

Our ultra high vacuum (UHV) system allows us to perform carbon overcoat sputtering and in-situ XPS and TPD. Controlled gas dosing can be achieved using leak valves. The figure below shows a photograph and diagram of the experimental apparatus used in this project.