Patents Assigned to Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.
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Patent number: 6103367Abstract: A coated metal-substrate disk for magnetic-recording applications is disclosed having a first coating selected from the group consisting of nitrides, carbides, or borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten, or the group consisting of aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, or silicon carbide on the metal substrate and a magnetic-recording material coating on the first coating. The first coatings are applied by evaporative reactive ion plating or by reactive sputtering.Type: GrantFiled: April 23, 1998Date of Patent: August 15, 2000Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Richard D. Weir, Carl W. Nelson
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Patent number: 5961792Abstract: An improved magnetic-recording disk and a process for manufacturing magnetic-recording disks are disclosed. Precision cold-rolled titanium or titanium alloy is the substrate for a magnetic-recording disk. The surface of the substrate may be hardened by plasma nitriding, plasma carburizing, or plasma carbonitriding. A hard coating may be applied to the substrate by evaporative reactive ion plating or reactive sputtering of aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, or nitrides, carbides, or borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten.Type: GrantFiled: April 18, 1997Date of Patent: October 5, 1999Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir, Richard S. Weir
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Patent number: 5900126Abstract: An improved magnetic-recording disk and a process for manufacturing magnetic-recording disks are disclosed. A precision cold-rolled authentic stainless steel is the substrate for a magnetic-recording disk. The surface of the substrate may be hardened by plasma nitriding, plasma carburizing, or plasma carbonitriding. A hard coating may be applied to the substrate by evaporative reactive ion plating or reactive sputtering of aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, or nitrides, carbides, or borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten.Type: GrantFiled: June 3, 1996Date of Patent: May 4, 1999Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir
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Patent number: 5855951Abstract: An improved magnetic-recording disk and a process for manufacturing magnetic-recording disks are disclosed. An electrically conductive hard coating is deposited upon a ceramic substrate. This coating can be one from the group including the nitrides, carbides, and borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten. Graded interfacial diffusion or pseudo-diffusion layers are formed between the ceramic substrate and the coating by the elemental metal present in the coating. Magnetic-recording media is then deposited upon the electrically conductive coating. Optionally, a texturable coating that is softer than the hard coating can be placed over the electrically conductive hard coating before the magnetic-recording media is deposited. This texturable coating limits the depth to which abrasive tape texturing can take place.Type: GrantFiled: April 18, 1997Date of Patent: January 5, 1999Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir, Richard S. Weir
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Patent number: 5811182Abstract: A coated metal substrate disk for magnetic-recording applications is disclosed having a first coating selected from the group consisting of nitrides, carbides, or borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten, or the group consisting of aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, or silicon carbide on the metal substrate and a magnetic-recording material coating on the first coating. The first coatings are applied by evaporative reactive ion plating or by reactive sputtering.Type: GrantFiled: October 4, 1991Date of Patent: September 22, 1998Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Richard D. Weir, Carl W. Nelson
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Patent number: 5707705Abstract: An improved magnetic-recording disk and a process for manufacturing magnetic-recording disks are disclosed. Precision cold-rolled titanium or titanium alloy is the substrate for a magnetic-recording disk. The surface of the substrate may be hardened by plasma nitriding, plasma carburizing, or plasma carbonitriding. A hard coating may be applied to the substrate by evaporative reactive ion plating or reactive sputtering of aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, or nitrides, carbides, or borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten.Type: GrantFiled: September 8, 1993Date of Patent: January 13, 1998Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir, Richard S. Weir
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Patent number: 5681635Abstract: An improved magnetic-recording disk and a process for manufacturing magnetic-recording disks are disclosed. An electrically conductive hard coating is deposited upon a ceramic substrate. This coating can be one from the group including the nitrides, carbides, and borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten. Graded interfacial diffusion or pseudo-diffusion layers are formed between the ceramic substrate and the coating by the elemental metal present in the coating. Magnetic-recording media is then deposited upon the electrically conductive coating. Optionally, a texturable coating that is softer than the hard coating can be placed over the electrically conductive hard coating before the magnetic-recording media is deposited. This texturable coating limits the depth to which abrasive tape texturing can take place.Type: GrantFiled: January 20, 1994Date of Patent: October 28, 1997Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir, Richard S. Weir
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Patent number: 5635269Abstract: A magnetic-recording disk comprising a metal substrate disk having a textured annular first surface area with an outer diameter which is substantially less than the diameter of the metal substrate is disclosed herein. The metal substrate disk further has a smooth annular second surface area between the first surface area's outer diameter and the metal substrate's circumferential edge. The textured annular first surface area has a laser-etched circular pattern. Furthermore the metal disk substrate of an aluminum alloy, a titanium alloy, or an austenitic stainless steel has a thin-film coating selected from the group consisting of nitrides, carbides, or borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum or tungsten.Type: GrantFiled: January 19, 1995Date of Patent: June 3, 1997Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Richard D. Weir, Carl W. Nelson, Neil D. Heiman
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Patent number: 5626920Abstract: A coated metal-substrate disk for magnetic-recording applications is disclosed having a first coating selected from the group consisting of nitrides, carbides, or borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten, or the group consisting of aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, or silicon carbide on the metal substrate and a magnetic-recording material coating on the first coating. The first coatings are applied by evaporative reactive ion plating or by reactive sputtering.Type: GrantFiled: April 21, 1995Date of Patent: May 6, 1997Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Richard D. Weir, Carl W. Nelson
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Patent number: 5624725Abstract: A sputter-deposited wear-resistant protective coating for magnetic-recording alloy thin films is disclosed. The protective coating includes a protective layer and an interfacial adhesion layer. The protective layer is preferably titanium diboride or amorphous nitrided carbon, and the interfacial adhesion layer is preferably titanium, but can alternatively be other metals, such as zirconium or hafnium, which share characteristics similar to titanium. More broadly, the protective layer may be a nitride, carbide, or boride, or mixture thereof, of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten, and the interfacial adhesion layer may be the corresponding metal of the protective layer compound.Type: GrantFiled: August 11, 1995Date of Patent: April 29, 1997Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir
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Patent number: 5536549Abstract: An improved magnetic-recording disk and a process for manufacturing magnetic-recording disks are disclosed. A precision cold-rolled austenitic stainless steel is the substrate for a magnetic-recording disk. The surface of the substrate may be hardened by plasma nitriding, plasma carburizing, or plasma carbonitriding. A hard coating may be applied to the substrate by evaporative reactive ion plating or reactive sputtering of aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, or nitrides, carbides, or borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten.Type: GrantFiled: August 2, 1993Date of Patent: July 16, 1996Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir, Richard S. Weir
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Patent number: 5490910Abstract: A sputtering apparatus for depositing thin films on substrates is disclosed, which includes a process chamber having a central sputtering region and an annular plasma distribution region surrounding and open to the central sputtering region, a planar disk diode positioned in the central sputtering region of the process chamber, a mechanism for positioning a substrate within the central sputtering region adjacent to the planar disk diode, and a plasma generation means for supplying plasma to the annular plasma distribution region of the process chamber for diffusion into the central sputtering region.Type: GrantFiled: March 6, 1995Date of Patent: February 13, 1996Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir
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Patent number: 5457298Abstract: A hollow-cathode plasma device includes a hollow chamber composed of an electrically conductive material with a gas inlet at one end and a plasma outlet at an opposite end, a multipolar magnet array surrounding a portion of the chamber for isolating the plasma from the walls of the chamber, and a radiofrequency power source connected to the chamber.Type: GrantFiled: July 27, 1993Date of Patent: October 10, 1995Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir
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Patent number: 5453168Abstract: A sputter-deposited wear-resistant protective coating for magnetic-recording alloy thin films is disclosed. The protective coating includes a protective layer and an interfacial adhesion layer. The protective layer is preferably titanium diboride or amorphous nitrided carbon, and the interfacial adhesion layer is preferably titanium, but can alternatively be other metals, such as zirconium or hafnium, which share characteristics similar to titanium. More broadly, the protective layer may be a nitride, carbide, or boride, or mixture thereof, of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten, and the interfacial adhesion layer may be the corresponding metal of the protective layer compound.Type: GrantFiled: August 25, 1993Date of Patent: September 26, 1995Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir
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Patent number: 5232569Abstract: Disclosed is a sputtering apparatus and method for deposition of a film on a substrate with means for exciting a plasma by ultrahigh radio frequency or microwave at the electron cyclotron resonance to create a region of plasma which is devoid of magnetic field and at least one high-radio frequency planar disk diode positioned within the region devoid of magnetic field, a target attached to said rf planar diode, and a high-radio frequency substrate biasing electrode parallel to the planar diode.Type: GrantFiled: March 9, 1992Date of Patent: August 3, 1993Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir