Total contamination monitoring for disc drive manufacture

Abstract

This edited version of the author's presentation at the SEE's Annual Technical Meeting in October commences with brief descriptions of high-capacity disc drives and the manufacturing defects that contamination control strategies seek to eliminate. Traditional environmental and parts contamination monitoring methods are outlined. Recent changes in recording disc technology have changed the focus of contamination control to include chemical and vapour phase contaminants. All of the contamination monitoring systems used at the company's Havant site are described, as is the integral role of critical supplier processes.