Abstract
The lubricity, durability and anti-corrosive properties of metal evaporated tape (ME tape) for digital VCRs were investigated. To improve reliability of the ME tape, Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) film and lubricant were applied as protective layers on a Co-O magnetic layer. This newly developed ME tape has on output +5.0 dB higher than conventional Hi-8 ME tape for a recording density of 100 kBPI. Its still frame life was over 10 hours. The key development of this DLC film is the application of high Vickers hardness and uniform morphology as a protective layer and partially fluorinated alkyl carboxylic acid as a lubricant layer on the film. Even if the surface roughness of the ME tape is low, excellent running durability, still frame life and corrosion resistance are obtained from the combination of effects from the DLC protective layer and the lubricant layer. This ME tape plays a major role in determining consumer-use digital VCR specifications and will help advance the next generation of high density recording technology.
