Coverage and properties of a-SiN_x hard disk overcoat

The study of coverage and properties of amorphous silicon nitride (a-SiNx) overcoats deposited on magnetic disks by rf-reactive sputtering was presented. It was found by the use of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy that amorphous silicon nitride has a low coverage-limit of ∼10 Å. It was concluded that the superior performance of a-SiNx disk overcoat may be attributed to its high hardness and dense structure.