Glass substrate for information recording medium and magnetic information recording medium to which the glass substrate is applied

Abstract

Disclosed are a glass substrate for an information recording medium, having excellent scratch resistance and a light weight and having high fracture toughness, the glass substrate having a fragility index value, measured in water, of 12 μm−1 / 2 or less or having a fragility index value, measured in an atmosphere having a dew point of −5° C. or lower, of 7 μm−1 / 2 or less, or the glass substrate comprising, by mol %, 40 to 75% of SiO2, 2 to 45% of B2O3 and / or Al2O3 and 0 to 40% of R′2O in which R′ is at least one member selected from the group consisting of Li, Na and K), wherein the total content of SiO2, B2O3, Al2O3 and R′2O is at least 90 mol %, and a magnetic information recording medium comprising a magnetic recording layer formed on the glass substrate.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to a glass substrate for an information recording medium and a magnetic information recording medium to which the glass substrate is applied. More specifically, the present invention relates to a glass substrate for an information recording medium, which glass substrate is excellent in scratch resistance and light in weight and has high fracture toughness, and a magnetic information recording medium to which the above glass substrate is applied, which medium is typified by a hard disk drive.[0003]2. Prior Art of the Invention[0004]Conventionally, aluminum, glass, ceramic, or the like is used as a substrate material for a magnetic information recording medium. At present, aluminum and glass are mainly practically used depending upon a size and use. Of these, a glass substrate has no or few surface defects and is excellent in smoothness and surface hardness, so that the extent to which it is ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]Under the circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a glass substrate for an information recording medium, which has a small density and has excellent scratch resistance so that it is little or not at all susceptible to scratches, and further, which has high resistance against progress of fracture, that is, high fracture toughness, as well as a magnetic information recording medium to which the above glass substrate is applied.

Problems solved by technology

With an increase in the rotation of a recording medium, however, the recording medium is caused to bend and a resonance grows, so that there is increased a risk that the surface of the recording medium collides with a magnetic head to cause a read error or to cause clashing of the magnetic head.

In an existing recording medium, therefore, it is difficult to decrease a distance (flying height) between the magnetic head and the recording medium beyond a certain value, so that the above risk is constituting a factor that inhibits an increase in the recording density of a magnetic recording device.

However, a conventional aluminum substrate has an elastic coefficient of approximately 72 GPa, and a glass substrate has an elastic coefficient of approximately 80 to 100 GPa, so that these substrates cannot comply with an increase in the rotation.

An increase in the thickness of a substrate involves an increase in weight, so that the power consumption for an increase in the rotation increases.

Further, since an aluminum substrate has a far lower surface hardness than a glass substrate and is therefore liable to undergo plastic deformation, so that the surface of a recording medium may be dented due to a collision between a high-speed revolving substrate and a magnetic head.

However, the glass substrate is more fragile than the aluminum substrate, and a slight scratch formed during its production steps leads to breakage of the glass substrate.

During the above processing steps, many scratches that can be start points of fractures occur in a glass edge portion, etc., and slight scratches that are formed not only during the production step but also during handlings such as mounting of the glass to a spindle, etc., may lead to the breakage of the substrate.

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