Structure and Tribological Characteristics of DC-Magnetron Sputtered DLC Overlayer Films

We investigated the structure xand tribological properties of diamond-like carbon (DLC) overcoat films for rigid magnetic disks. DLC films were produced by DC magnetron sputtering, introducing CH
4
gas into Ar gas in various quantities. Drag tests and CSS tests were performed, and the electrical resistivity, Raman spectra and film hydrogen contents were measured. A more polymer-like DLC film appeared to have good tribological properties, making it suitable as a hard-head slider material (Al
2
O
3
-TiC).