Automatic Defect Review AFM for Hard Disk Media and Substrates

Park Systems, Nanotechnology Solutions Partner for HDD Industry

Park Systems serves the hard disk drive (HDD) industry with automated nanotechnology measurement solutions including atomic force microscopes, software, and global service and support. Partnering with world leaders in HDD industry, Park Systems has been successfully delivering optimized solutions for the most challenging imaging and measurement needs in the industry.

The company's HDD-Optimize program is the state-of the-art nanotechnology solution service for the hard disk drive industry. Under the systematic approach of the program, Park Systems ensures rapid alignment and performance of the Park AFM nanotechnology measurement platform with the specific requirement of its customers.

Limitations in Current Method of HDM Defect Review

	Defect Mapping by Tester	Defect location/marking with KLA Tencor’s Candela^TM Throughput: less than 5 defects/hr	Manual AFM imaging Throughput: : 1~2 defects/hr
Low throughput: 10 defects per day at best High labor cost Destructive method

Challenges in Developing Automated Defect Review AFM

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During Survey Scan;
Small defects are imaged in one or two pixels.
Signal level is often low

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We need AFM with;
Low system noise, less than 0.5 A rms
Artifact-free AFM scan
- to detect tiny defect signal during the Survey Scan
- to profile the defect type (pit, bump, scratch, etc)

XE-HDM: Enabling Automatic Defect Review of Hard Disk Media and Substrates

Continuing the company’s impressive track record of developing optimized solutions, Park Systems introduces XE-HDM, an automatic defect review AFM which revolutionizes the way defects in HDD substrates and media are searched, scanned and analyzed. The new XE-HDM significantly increases throughput for the defect review process.

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Automated reference marker detection
Automated stage mapping of XE-HDM
Transfer KLA Tencor Candela^TM defect map to XE-HDM
Automated survey scan of defects mapped by Candela^TM
Automated zoom-in scan of specified defects
Automated profiling of imaged defect types
Automated analysis of imaged defects (in development)

The Limitations of Conventional AFM

Scanner Bowing (Piezo tube is NOT an Orthogonal 3-D Actuator)

Flattening, software correction, is required
Distorts or wipes out tiny defect signals during the Survey Scan

Non-Contact Mode not Possible

Inevitable tip wear occurs when using contact or tapping mode
Tip life is not long enough to complete “one” automated defect review run