Patents by Inventor James Kent Howard
James Kent Howard has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 6660357Abstract: Magnetic recording media having a biased soft magnetic underlayer are disclosed. The soft magnetic underlayer includes at least two soft magnetic layers separated by a thin non-magnetic layer. Magnetostatic coupling between the soft magnetic layers causes the magnetizations in the layer to be anti-parallel. The biased soft magnetic underlayer is brought into a substantially single-domain state, thereby reducing or eliminating unwanted noise in the soft underlayer. In a preferred embodiment, the recording media includes a perpendicular magnetic recording disk.Type: GrantFiled: February 2, 2001Date of Patent: December 9, 2003Assignee: Seagate Technology LLCInventors: Dmitri Litvinov, Sakhrat Khizroev, James Kent Howard, Roy Wallace Gustafson
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Patent number: 6656613Abstract: Materials including alternating magnetic layers and spacer layers for use as hard magnetic recording layers of magnetic recording media are disclosed. The spacer layers and the magnetic layers are treated in an oxygen-containing atmosphere in order to form oxidized boundary layers between adjacent granular columns extending through the layers. The columnar microstructure extends through the entire thickness of the multilayer structure to thereby exchange decouple the magnetic layers as well as the spacer layers. The spacer and magnetic layers may include additives which are present in grain boundary regions throughout the layers. The presence of the additives in the grain boundary regions may facilitate diffusion and oxidization between the adjacent granular columns. In a particular embodiment, the magnetic layers comprise Co, the spacer layers comprise Pd, and the additives comprise Cr, Pt, B, Ta, Nb or combinations thereof.Type: GrantFiled: September 27, 2001Date of Patent: December 2, 2003Assignee: Seagate Technology LLCInventors: Dmitri Litvinov, Sakhrat Khizroev, James Kent Howard
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Publication number: 20020098381Abstract: An alloy of tetragonal polycrystalline structure acts as a thin film magnetic medium. The medium can be for recording or sensing magnetic transitions representative of data and is of a thickness less than about 200 Å, and has a coercivity in excess of about 2000 Oe. The film is in the L1o phase which is suitable for longitudinal recording and can be constituted by an alloy selected from cobalt or iron together with platinum or palladium. The film is formed by sputtering from a target and thereafter annealing the thin film and at a temperature in excess of about 500° C.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 4, 1999Publication date: July 25, 2002Inventors: KEVIN ROBERT COFFEY, JAMES KENT HOWARD, MICHAEL ANDREW PARKER
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Publication number: 20020037439Abstract: Materials including alternating magnetic layers and spacer layers for use as hard magnetic recording layers of magnetic recording media are disclosed. The spacer layers and the magnetic layers are treated in an oxygen-containing atmosphere in order to form oxidized boundary layers between adjacent granular columns extending through the layers. The columnar microstructure extends through the entire thickness of the multilayer structure to thereby exchange decouple the magnetic layers as well as the spacer layers. The spacer and magnetic layers may include additives which are present in grain boundary regions throughout the layers. The presence of the additives in the grain boundary regions may facilitate diffusion and oxidization between the adjacent granular columns. In a particular embodiment, the magnetic layers comprise Co, the spacer layers comprise Pd, and the additives comprise Cr, Pt, B, Ta, Nb or combinations thereof.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 27, 2001Publication date: March 28, 2002Inventors: Dmitri Litvinov, Sakhrat Khizroev, James Kent Howard
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Patent number: 6016241Abstract: A heterogeneous thin film structure including a discontinuous layer of ferromagnetic material deposited on an insulating substrate and overcoated with a layer of nonmagnetic electrically conductive material exhibits giant magnetoresistance in saturation fields on the order of 350 Oersteds. A layer of ferromagnetic material is deposited on a heated insulating substrate by high vacuum evaporation techniques to form a layer of isolated ferromagnetic particles and overcoated with a nonmagnetic conductive material to form a plurality of ferromagnetic particles embedded in a nonmagnetic conductive matrix. As the ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic materials are deposited separately, it is not required that the two materials be immiscible and subsequent annealing is not required to induce phase separation.Type: GrantFiled: May 22, 1995Date of Patent: January 18, 2000Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Kevin Robert Coffey, James Kent Howard, Todd Lanier Hylton, Michael Andrew Parker
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Patent number: 6010601Abstract: A significantly thinner boron carbide overcoat layer is provided for a magnetic disk which has the same durability as thicker prior art overcoat layers for protecting an underlying magnetic layer. By employing adhesion layers selected from the group consisting of Ge, Ru, WTiSi, WTi, Si, and Y between the magnetic layer and the overcoat layer, the durability of the overcoat layer is significantly increased over a single overcoat layer of B4C. Certain process steps in the making of the B4C overcoat layer still further enhance the durability of the B4C overcoat layer by maintaining the disk or substrate specimen at a floating potential in a plasma chamber and employing low levels of argon pressure and sputtering wattage.Type: GrantFiled: November 26, 1997Date of Patent: January 4, 2000Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Richard Henry Ahlert, James Kent Howard, Muhammad Inayet Ullah, Richard Donald Umphress
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Patent number: 5989728Abstract: An alloy of tetragonal polycrystalline structure acts as a thin film magnetic medium. The medium can be for recording or sensing magnetic transitions representative of data and is of a thickness less than about 200 .ANG., and has a coercivity in excess of about 2000 Oe. The film is in the L1o phase which is suitable for longitudinal recording and can be constituted by an alloy selected from cobalt or iron together with platinum or palladium. The film is formed by sputtering from a target and thereafter annealing the thin film and at a temperature in excess of about 500.degree. C.Type: GrantFiled: June 12, 1996Date of Patent: November 23, 1999Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Kevin Robert Coffey, James Kent Howard, Michael Andrew Parker
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Patent number: 5897931Abstract: A significantly thinner boron carbide overcoat layer is provided for a magnetic disk which has the same durability as thicker prior art overcoat layers for protecting an underlying magnetic layer. By employing adhesion layers selected from the group consisting of Ge, Ru, WTiSi, WTi, Si, and Y between the magnetic layer and the overcoat layer, the durability of the overcoat layer is significantly increased over a single overcoat layer of B4C. Certain process steps in the making of the B4C overcoat layer still further enhance the durability of the B4C overcoat layer by maintaining the disk or substrate specimen at a floating potential in a plasma chamber and employing low levels of argon pressure and sputtering wattage.Type: GrantFiled: May 15, 1996Date of Patent: April 27, 1999Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Richard Henry Ahlert, James Kent Howard, Muhammad Inayet Ullah, Richard Donald Umphress
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Patent number: 5750231Abstract: A significantly thinner boron carbide overcoat layer is provided for a magnetic disk which has the same durability as thicker prior art overcoat layers for protecting an underlying magnetic layer. By employing adhesion layers selected from the group consisting of Ge, Ru, WTiSi, WTi, Si, and Y between the magnetic layer and the overcoat layer, the durability of the overcoat layer is significantly increased over a single overcoat layer of B4C. Certain process steps in the making of the B4C overcoat layer still further enhance the durability of the B4C overcoat layer by maintaining the disk or substrate specimen at a floating potential in a plasma chamber and employing low levels of argon pressure and sputtering wattage.Type: GrantFiled: April 3, 1996Date of Patent: May 12, 1998Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Richard Henry Ahlert, James Kent Howard, Muhammad Inayet Ullah, Richard Donald Umphress
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Patent number: 4017890Abstract: A method and resulting structure for forming narrow intermetallic stripes which will carry high currents on bodies such as semiconductors, integrated circuits, magnetic bubbles structures, etc. The conductive stripe includes aluminum or aluminum copper with at least one transition metal. The aluminum and at least one transition metal are deposited onto a supporting body at a very low pressure in a substantially oxygen-free high vacuum. The composite is then annealed at a temperature between about 200.degree. C and 525.degree. C for a time sufficient to form an aluminum and transition metal compound within the aluminum. The conductive stripes are then formed by masking and removing portions of the annealed metallic material. The resulting conductive stripes, which may be of a width of about 6.times.10.sup.-.sup.4 inches or less, have a significantly improved electromigration performance without significantly increasing resistance in the conductive stripe.Type: GrantFiled: October 24, 1975Date of Patent: April 12, 1977Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: James Kent Howard, Paul Siu-Chung Ho