This book presents the latest research in ultrathin carbon-based protective overcoats for high areal density magnetic data storage systems, with a particular focus on hard disk drives (HDDs) and tape drives. These findings shed new light on how the microstructure and interfacial chemistry of these sub-20 nm overcoats can be engineered at the nanoscale regime to obtain enhanced properties for wear, thermal and corrosion protection - which are critical for such applications. Readers will also be provided with fresh experimental insights into the suitability of graphene as an atomically-thin overcoat for HDD media. The easy readability of this book will appeal to a wide audience, ranging from non-specialists with a general interest in the field to scientists and industry professionals directly involved in thin film and coatings research.

Inhalt
Introduction.- Overview of Amorphous Carbon Films.- Overcoat Fabrication and Characterization.- Optimization of Ultrathin Carbon Overcoats on Hard Disk Media.- Development of a Protective Sinx/C Bilayer Overcoat for Hard Disk Media.- Wear-Durable Protective Overcoats for Functional Tape Heads.- Graphene as a Protective Overcoat for Hard Disk Media.- Conclusions and Future Work.