March 2005

Komag Inc.1710 Automation Parkway

San Jose, CA 95131

Presented byMichael A. Russak, Ph.D.

President & Chief Technical Officer

LMR And PMR Media Update

March 2005

The material presented here was generated and kindly provided to the presenter by Dr. Gerardo Bertero and

his team at Komag.

March 2005

Outline of Presentation

• LMR Media for 160 GB/Platter Products• State-of-the-Art Media• Where to expect SNR to come from• Low MrT, thermally stable TMR media

• Komag’s Perpendicular Media• Current Status:

• CoCrPtBO-media• Storage Layer• Interlayer• SUL

• Summary

March 2005

Issues and Challenges for LMR Media

• While a lot of effort is being focused on PMR media development, the bulk of our efforts is still in LMR media.

• SNR improvement is more likely to come from narrowing the transition parameter than by grain size reduction.

• From a media perspective, Hc, MrT and overcoat thickness are extrinsically bounded.

• Grain size uniformity and OR are key features to improve the transition parameter in media.

• Introduction of TMR heads allowing MrT reduction, while challenging, opens up opportunity for further improvements in SNR.

March 2005

SNR Vs. Grain Size and Transition Parameter

30

28

26

24

22

20

18

16

SNR

1514131211109876543 Grain Size, Transition Parameter (nm)

10.9 dB

2.5 dB

W-C Transition Parameter Grain Size

~ 3 dB

35 Gb/in2

100 Gb/in2

67 Gb/in2

125 Gb/in2

At 125 Gb/in2 products there is opportunity to reduce transition parameter with lower MrT media with use of low noise TMR heads.

⎥⎦⎤

⎢⎣⎡=

SaBWPWLogSNR 2

5031.010

March 2005

SAF LMR Media Structure

Strong focus on nucleation layer and exchange layers for grain size uniformity and thermal stability

Stabilizing Layer:Ru

M

Top Magnetic Layers: M

Underlayers

March 2005

HRTEM Image of LMR Mag. Layer

<G.S.> = 6.0 nm; <C.C.D.> = ~ 8.0 nm

5 nmSP3

4.2 Å

6.3 nm

6.6 nm

9.0 nm9.1 nm

8.1 nm

9.0 nm

9.0 nm

6.7 nm

7.8 nm

8.0 nm

6.6 nm

6.7 nm

7.8 nm

8.7 nm

8.0 nm

8.2 nm

6.8

nm

7.6 nm7.7 nm

7.5 nm 8.3 nm

9.1 nm

8.7

nm7.2 nm

11.0 nm 10.0 nm

8.1nm

8.1 nm8.5 nm

8.5 nm

March 2005

State-of-the-Art Media Microstructure

100 nm

March 2005

SNR Improvement Through OR

200 nm200 nm

Line scan for texture line density Line scan for texture line density

Sample 1 Sample 2

March 2005

SNR Improvement Through ORIn

tens

ity (a

.u.)

Inte

nsity

(a.u

.)Distance (nm) Distance (nm)

0 01000 1000

Sample 1: Sample 2:

60 texture line/1 µm 65 texture line/1 µm

MrT OR: 1.7 MrT OR: 1.8

March 2005

LMR Media Improvement Path

• Grain Size reduction cannot be too aggressive from now on.• Grain size uniformity will improve as we refine process in

complex SAF media stack.• Through UL and,• Nucleation layer processing.

• Most media SNR gains will be realized through slimming of the transition parameter.

• Lower MrT (~ 0.3 memu/cm2) will be possible by introduction of low noise TMR heads.

• Thermal stability will be kept by:• Increasing MrT cancellation of SAF media.• Improving dHc/dT of the media alloy.• Improving grain size uniformity.

March 2005

Final Thoughts on LMR

• 80 GB/Platter (~65 Gb/in2) is mature technology but is still good for >1 year

• 100 and 120 GB/Platter technology is starting to ship (shortly) and will live for (1-2 ?) Years

• 160 GB/Platter drives are not just ready yet but they are on LMR platforms.

Granted that PMR may be introduced in 2005 in small programs(and small form factors) but ….

• LMR has at least 3 more years of life and will probably co-exist with PMR for a few more years before PMR takes over completely.

Perpendicular Media

March 2005

PMR Introduction

• Technology hurdles in PMR technology are no longer show stoppers.

• However, PMR technology still faces major problems, e.g.,• Media/Head manufacturability (mainly media)• Wide area track erasure• Channel technology• Servo writing• Magnetic state of the finished media (e.g., DC or AC magnetized ?)• SUL magnetic directionality setting• Mechanical reliability

• Given the plethora of problems and unknowns, the first PMR programs will be very small.

March 2005

PMR Introduction

• At the media level, many problems remain to be solved before we can be ready for manufacturing,

• SNR improvement.• Better uniformity and throughput/utilization.• Domain-free magnetic soft underlayers. • Bulk erase process for AC remanent state.• Robust tribology.

March 2005

CoCrPt-Oxide Perpendicular Media Structure

Inter-layers

Substrate (AlMg or Glass)Substrate (AlMg or Glass)

OvercoatCoCrPtO Hard Magnetic Layer (~15 nm)

Seed LayerRu (10 Ru (10 –– 20 nm)20 nm)

Soft Magnetic Layer (60 – 120 nm)

March 2005

Typical Layer Thickness in PMR Media

15.5 nm14.3 nm2.1 nm

0.9 nm

95 nm 45 nm

95 nm 45 nm

191 nm 91 nm

March 2005

Plan-view Bright Field TEM Image & SADP

March 2005

Nucleation Layer

• We’ve developed a new family of nucleation layer structures that allow us to reach much higher Hc.

• These new NLs also provide smaller magnetic grain sizes and more magnetic grain isolation.

• Media SNR gain is ~ 1 dB.

• Overall NL thickness is still large (minimum at ~14 nm).

• Need to develop a <10 nm process.

March 2005

Nucleation Layer Grain Size Analysis

NL Thickness is the same among these samples

March 2005

Perpendicular Media: SNR Evolution22

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

SNR

[dB

]

50454035302520151050

Time [months]

- 6 dB

+ 11.6 dB

- Boron Alloy Media - Oxide Alloy Media

Dec. 2000 March 2005

March 2005

Summary

• LMR will be extendable to at least 150 Gbit/in2- TMR HEADS- Adjustable Fly Height

• SAF structures will be the end for LMR

• PMR will penetrate in SFF, low volume HDD programs- Toshiba 48mm – mid-2005

• PMR still in need of process and performance improvement