march apr 01PDF - IDEMA · HMT Technology Corporation Osmund “Oz” Fundingsland —IDEMA Secretary OSF International ... NEC Corporation Joel R. Weiss, Ph.D. Seagate Recording

International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association

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Marketplace: Navigating 2001 May be Tricky,but Survivors will Thrive...Eventually (we hope!)

A New Spin on Suspension Windage

ESD Extravaganza Overview

Characterization of Electrodeposited Copper forDynamic Flex Applications (Part 2)

Business Perspective: The Science Behind DataRecovery

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March/April 2001

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March/April 2001 • INSIGHT 3

departments6Marketplace

14Storage News

18Standards Update

26Membership Update

29Industry Calendar

40Technical Education

42IDEMA Japan

articles6Marketplace: Navigating2001 May be Tricky, butSurvivors will Thrive...Eventually (we hope!)

8A New Spin on SuspensionWindage

34Characterization ofElectrodeposited Copper forDynamic Flex Applications(Part 2)

38Business Perspective: TheScience Behind DataRecovery

upcoming featuresHDI/Tribology Issues

on the coverA fiery rendition depictinga SCORCHING issue: howESD can turn your productsto toast!

LarryIDEMA President, Larry Eischen

Recap of IDEMA Services provided in 2000We all know times are difficult in our industry, however I wantyou to know that the IDEMA staff and member volunteers areworking hard to support our industry and to serve ourmembers. Whether it is exhibit space at one of ourDISKCON events, technical symposia covering keytechnology areas, education classes, or advertisingopportunities in INSIGHT, members find that IDEMAservices are more cost-effective than any alternatives currently available. This is easy tounderstand. IDEMA is a nonprofit association and, as such, has one primary financial objective: torecover our costs. Attaining this objective is possible, thanks in part to member employees whovolunteer their time to plan events, speak at conferences, write articles, and help developstandards—the amount of work these volunteers do is amazing. A recap of services delivered toIDEMA members during 2000 follows (consider this to be an informal “annual report”):

DISKCON USA: The tradeshow attracted 314 exhibitors, almost 20 percent less than in 1999. Theattendance of 7,300 was slightly higher than the year before. The new nine-session technicalconference, with a richer technical content, drew 600 people, a 30 percent increase over 1999.Furthermore, $50,000 was donated to charity, based on proceeds garnered from the annual MarkGeenen Technology for Youth Charity Golf Tournament, held in conjunction with DISKCON USA.

Technical Symposia: One thousand people attended six symposia, covering a range of topicsincluding analysts’ assessment, ESD, microcontamination, tribology, new recording technologies,and new applications for storage.

Standards Development: International standards are now available online for easy access, with fivenew IDEMA standards developed and approved in 2000.

Education: The number of class topics was increased to eleven. The Association awarded $40,000in university fellowships for advanced study pertaining to our industry, which now brings the totalamount of fellowships awarded to date to an impressive $200,000. See page 40 for a look back atprevious IDEMA fellows.

INSIGHT Magazine: The worldwide circulation of this award-winning publication increased to over23,000 industry professionals. Advertising revenues—used primarily to defray printing and mailingcosts—have also increased by 42 percent since 1998.

Website: This growing IDEMA service now has 135 pages and, in addition to Association eventlistings, includes back issues of INSIGHT, IDEMA standards, and an industry calendar. In the monthbefore DISKCON USA, over 60,000 hits were recorded, with online registration for U.S. IDEMAevents reaching 82 percent. The online IDEMA Member Directory, which now gives members theability (via password) to update their own listings, ensures that company information is keptcurrent and accurate. See page 26 for an important message regarding the directory.

Dinner Meetings: Over 1,500 people attended the Quarterly Dinner Meetings in 2000. Guestspeakers included industry luminaries Todd Bakar of Chase H&Q, John Gannon of Quantum Corp.,Michael Ruettgers of EMC Corp., and (for the first time) an internationally renowned panel ofexperts who debated the future of magnetic recording. Michael Brown of Quantum Corp. was theguest speaker at the DISKCON USA Keynote Dinner, which was attended by 500 people.

Membership: The number of U.S. corporate members, which included 55 new members, wasdown—from 520 in 1999, to 448 in 2000. This was due to consolidations, as well as other forcesaffecting the industry.

continued on page 5

4 INSIGHT • March/April 2001

Board of Directors—U.S.John Kurtzweil—IDEMA Chair Read-Rite Corporation

Mark Geenen—IDEMA Vice ChairTRENDFOCUS, Inc.

Michael A. Russak, Ph.D. —IDEMA Treasurer HMT Technology Corporation

Osmund “Oz” Fundingsland —IDEMA SecretaryOSF International

Larry Eischen—IDEMA President

Ed Grochowski, Ph.D. —IDEMA Executive Board IBM Almaden Research Center

Donald J. Perettie, Ph.D. —IDEMA Executive Board ADMAT International

James N. Porter—IDEMA ExecutiveBoard DISK/TREND, Inc.

Pantelis S. Alexopoulos, Ph.D. Maxtor Corporation

Edward H. Braun Veeco Instruments, Inc.

Wayne M. Fortun Hutchinson Technology, Inc.

William “Bill“ Harry Exclusive Design Company (EDC)

Brian Nixon Quantum Corporation

Norman H. Pond Intevac, Inc.

Barry Rossum Acorn Technology

John F. Schaefer Phase Metrics, Inc.

Tsuneo Suganuma Hitachi, Ltd.

Management Committee—Asia-Pacific

Jim Chirico—ChairSeagate Technology

K.Y. Phua—Vice Chair (acting)IDEMA Asia-Pacific

Gary Davis—Membership ChairDavis Consultants Asia

S.C. Lee—Singapore AdvisoryChairMaxtor Peripherals (S) Pte. Ltd.

C.T. Low—Education ChairHalo Data Devices Pte. Ltd.

Peter Maguire—PhilippinesAdvisory ChairLighthouse Worlwide Solutions Pte. Ltd.

Pornchai Piemsomboon, Ph.D.—Thailand Advisory ChairSeagate Technology

Henry "Hank" Pselos—Events ChairXyratex Pte. Ltd.

William Tan—Standards ChairMegatech Electronics Pte. Ltd.

INSIGHT EditorJeri Burdick, [email protected]

Creative DirectorChris Carrig, [email protected]

Communications CommitteeWayne M. Fortun—ChairHutchinson TechnologyWilliam “Bill” Harry, ExclusiveDesign Company (EDC)Don Mounce, The Gem CityEngineering CompanyLarry Eischen, IDEMAJay Kimmal, Komag, Inc. Donald Perettie, ADMAT Int’l.

ArticlesArticle contributions arewelcome and are subject toediting by IDEMA.

AdvertisingAd space is available for theMay/June issue; ad close isApril 3, with materials due April10, 2001. Editorial calendarand advertising rates availableonline at www.idema.org.

SubscriptionINSIGHT is produced bimonthly.For your free subscription (U.S.only), register online atwww.idema.org.

INSIGHT is a free, bimonthly association magazine, published byIDEMA (the Trade Association for the Data Storage Industry). The goalof INSIGHT is to inform IDEMAmembers and industry professionalsworldwide about emerging technolo-gies, upcoming IDEMA and industrytrade events, as well as standardsdevelopment and educational oppor-tunities. INSIGHT is an internationalpublication read by more than23,000 engineers, scientists, andtechnical managers involved in theselection and purchase of materials,equipment, supplies, and productsused in the development and manu-facture of data storage devices.

© Copyright 2001 IDEMA. All rightsreserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced without thewritten permission of IDEMA. IDEMAand DISKCON are registeredtrademarks of the International DiskDrive Equipment and MaterialsAssociation. Other product names orbrands used in this publication arefor identification purposes only andmay be trademarks of their respectivecompanies.

IDEMA Staff—U.S.Barbara Alvarez, CMPTradeshow Manager408.492.1436Sally Bryant, Ed.D.Director, Education408.330.8106Jeri BurdickINSIGHT Editor/TechnicalWriter408.330.8107Christine CarrigCreative Director/Webmaster408.330.8110Larry EischenPresident408.330.8101Trudy GressleyFinance/Office Manager408.330.8105Lisa HoodAdministrative Coordinator408.330.8103Aisling MaloneTradeshow Assistant408.492.1436Beth McCulloughTradeshow Coordinator408.492.1436Kristen MontanProgram Manager, Standards408.330.8109Adoracion YanogacioAdministrative Assistant408.330.8100

IDEMA Staff—Asia-PacificWendy AngTraining ExecutiveSok-Yin HongAdministrative ExecutiveK.Y. PhuaManaging Director65.226.3412

IDEMA Staff—JapanNaoko MiuraEditor/SeminarsTeizo TaraoExecutive Director81.3.3539.7071Akiko YamamotoFinance/Standards

Board of Directors—JapanTsuneo Suganuma—ChairHitachi, Ltd.

Akira Kakehi—Vice ChairFujitsu, Ltd.

Hiromi Kamimura—Vice Chair Toshiba Corporation

Hideki Harada—AuditorHTA

Teizo Tarao—Executive DirectorIDEMA Japan

Kunio HatanakaKobe Steel, Ltd.

Yuichi HyakusokuMediken, Inc.

Youichi InoAnelva Corporation

Shun KanekoIomega Japan Corp.

Noboru KubokawaInstitute of Information Technology, Ltd.

Mikio MatsuzakiTDK Corporation

Tadashi ShinoharaHitachi Metals, Ltd.

Isao SuzukiHoya Corporation

Takaaki TakashimaIBM Japan, Ltd.

Akira TeradaAlps Electric Co., Ltd.

Tetsuo TsuruHitachi Electronics Engineering Co.,Ltd.

Haruo UraiNEC Corporation

Joel R. Weiss, Ph.D.Seagate Recording Media Group

Hideaki YamazakiSpider Systems of Japan, Inc.

IDEMA—U.S.3255 Scott BoulevardSuite 2-102Santa Clara, CA 95054-3013USAPhone: 408.330.8100Fax: 408.492.1425

IDEMA—Asia-PacificWorld Trade Centre1 Maritime Square, Suite 10-29Singapore 099253Republic of SingaporePhone: 65.278.9522Fax: 65.278.8762

IDEMA—JapanWataru Building, 6th Floor2-11-9, Nishi ShinbashiMinato-ku, Tokyo 105-0003JapanPhone: 81.3.3539.7071Fax: 81.3.3539.7072


In the previous issue of INSIGHT we asked our readers to send us their suggestions for a slogan (or tagline), which we plan to print on the front cover of the magazine—offering a coupon for $200 (goodtowards future IDEMA events) for the best suggestion. We’ve only gotten a few responses so far, sowe’ve decided to extend our offer until the end of March. If you have any “valid” suggestions, and youwould like the opportunity to win $200 (good towards any U.S. IDEMA event), then send them to me byMarch 31.

Jeri BurdickINSIGHT Editor IDEMA3255 Scott Blvd., Suite 2-102 • Santa Clara, CA 95054-3013tel 408.330.8107 • fax 408.492.1425 • e-mail [email protected]

Here are some suggestions so far:

1. INSIGHT—for the data-storage professional

2. INSIGHT—to data storage [trends, technologies, products]

3. INSIGHT—data storage and beyond

4. INSIGHT—a road map to data storage

5. INSIGHT—640K (of computer memory) ought to be enough for anybody

6. INSIGHT—data storage... infinity, and beyond

Jeri Burdick

continued from page 3Asia-Pacific: IDEMA services were expanded beyond Singapore and Malaysia, with inaugural events held in Bangkok(Thailand), Manila (Philippines), Hong Kong, and Shenzhen (China). The tradeshow portion of DISKCON Asia-Pacificincluded 50 booths in upgraded exhibit space. This conference and tradeshow is now the preeminent storage industryevent in that region.

Japan: Over 15,000 people attended DISKCON Japan, with the associated International Disk Forum technical conferencedrawing one of its largest audiences ever. The Quarterly Seminars in Tokyo, similar to technical symposia andconferences held elsewhere in the IDEMA world, helped to keep employees of our Japanese members up to date. See page 42 for an activity update from our new executive director of IDEMA Japan, Teizo Tarao.

2000 proved to be a very busy year for IDEMA. We now begin 2001, which also happens to be the 15th anniversary ofthe Association, so I encourage you to attend DISKCON USA (in September) and help us celebrate this very importantmilestone (not to mention the fact that the price of a megabyte of disk storage is now being sold for less than apenny)! Who would have imagined, back in 1986, the progress that this industry would realize by the year 2001?


Statistical Summary Selected Data Storage StocksCHASE H&Q Hambrecht and Quist LLC

Shares Stock Calendar Year Price/Earnings Market Cal 2000 MarketOut. Price Earnings Per Share Ratio Cap Revs. Cap/

Industry Sector Company (MM) 1/31/00 1999A 2000A 2001E 2000 2001 ($MM) ($MM) 99 Revs

Disk Drives Maxtor 121.5 7.59 (0.82) 0.34 0.50 22.3x 15.2x 922 2,733 0.3Quantum 76.3 11.31 (1.06) 0.11 NA NM NA 863 3,465 0.2Western Digital 171.2 5.28 (3.45) (0.71) (0.25) NM NM 904 1,995 0.5

Components Hutchinson Tech. 25.2 16.25 0.02 (0.81) (0.56) NM NM 409 441 0.9Komag 110.0 1.59 (1.95) (0.85) (0.76) NM NM 175 296 0.6Read-Rite 110.1 10.56 (4.11) (1.23) 0.50 NM 21.1x 1,163 650 1.8

Capital Intevac 11.9 5.34 (0.98) (0.83) (0.28) NM NM 63 41 1.5Equipment Veeco Instruments ** 24.5 37.89 1.45 0.85 2.40 44.6x 15.8x 930 280 3.3

Removable Iomega 270.6 4.13 0.12 0.40 0.48 10.3x 8.6x 1,118 1,530 0.7Average: 6.4x 5.1x 0.8

**No official H&Q coverage; First-call estimates. When referenced, “A”= actual; “E”= estimate.

Navigating 2001 May be Tricky, butSurvivors will Thrive…Eventually (we hope!)John Donovan, TRENDFOCUS, Inc.

major reason for the recent situation, but weoffer the following possibilities as to why,perhaps, the near-term outlook has becomequite cloudy.

Possibility No. 1: Back in the earlier stages of2000, PC demand and sell-through was robust.The major reason for this was due to thecontinued “price wars” from 1999. Priceerosion was markedly slower late in CQ3’00and CQ4’00, confirming once again thatdemand is in fact, elastic. We now findourselves saddled with a demand problem.

Possibility No. 2: TRENDFOCUS has longbeen saying that processor speeds and HDDcapacities were being delivered much fasterthan end-users could ever appreciate. Webelieve this is coming home to roost. Our inves-tigation into slower corporate sales points

2000—what a year! Thankfully it is over, andwe can now focus our attention on 2001, andanother period of…um…well…growth, in unitterms, anyway. What I hope to accomplish inthis short article, is to briefly answer allquestions relative to what will happen in 2001,so that nobody will be surprised come January2002.

PC demand in 2000 could be labeled as“good early, and not good later.” As harddata became available, it was apparent thatCQ4’00 PC sales fell well below expectations.In the United States, both the consumer andcorporate sectors slowed faster—and deeper—than anticipated, and the nagging question is,why? Simply put, the PC suppliers are allasking the same question, having been caughtoff-guard by the suddenness and depth of thesag in demand. There may in fact be one


The desktop market is in the midst of a chaotic stretch. Continuedcomponent issues (pre-amps, read channels, and certainmagnetic recording heads, etc.) will act as a gating item andshould allow the supply/demand scenarios to favor HDDsuppliers. Additionally, with the Maxtor/Quantum merger due forcompletion in the coming months, desktop drive shipments for thenew combined entity will undoubtedly be less than today’s currentlevels (today, these two companies are shipping 13–14 milliondesktop drives per quarter). Lastly, as companies migrateproduction over to 30 and 40 gigabyte-per-platter offerings,yields will once again hold down overall production. So…HDDsuppliers need not engage in crazy pricing tactics,as supply/demand scenarios should be favorablefor much of 2001.

Enterprise SegmentCQ4’00 shipments totaled 6.5 million, but exceeded truedemand, due to channel stuffing by one or two suppliers in thequarter. Early indications would point to potentially dangerouslevels of enterprise drives in the channel—we will be monitoringthis closely. For 2000, enterprise shipments totaled 22.2 million,virtually identical to 1999 levels. Our current outlook into 2001calls for enterprise shipments of nearly 26 million drives, but thiswill depend heavily on the level of channel troubles entering the

continued on page 11

squarely at the fact that upgrade cycles have slowed. In talks withPC suppliers to the corporate segment, the major reason forcorporate weakness is apparently the lack of need to upgradeexisting PCs for normal office duties. In other words. The vastmajority of corporate PC-user tasks are amply satisfied withmature PC technology, and there is little on the operating systemor software horizon to change that fact. Moreover, other productslike DVDs (digital video discs) captured the dollars of Americanconsumers during the past holiday season, particularly in light ofthe lack of a compelling reason to buy a(nother) PC.

Possibility No. 3: The slowing U.S. economy has no doubtplayed a part in all this. Corporations are “battening down thehatches,” in anticipation of slower growth in 2001, andconsumer confidence has been declining. This along with thestruggling Japanese economy has had a negative impact on PCsales.

Coming into 2001, there is growing evidence that PC inventoriesare at “sky-high” levels. This has forced PC suppliers to re-evaluate at least the first half of 2001. Gateway accelerated theannouncement of its quarterly results, and were openly nervousabout recovery any time before the latter stages of 2001—norwere they vigorously defending the calls that 2H’01 would bemuch better. Additionally, H-P also announced that demandremained poor—citing the economy—offering a rather dismaloutlook for 2001. We will have to wait for Compaq, IBM, andApple to report, before we can get a clearer picture on PCinventories.

So what does this all mean for the HDD segment of the market?The inventory troubles of the PC sector are the main concern, asit presents an odd (but familiar) problem for the HDD suppliers.Whatever inventory HDD suppliers are holding tends to beweighted more towards 30 gigabytes and above, while thedrives resident in PCs sitting in inventory are more weightedtowards 10 and 20 gigabytes. Our thoughts on the three majorHDD market segments are as follows:

Desktop SegmentCQ4’00 shipments totaled 37.5 million, essentially flat from the37.6 million in CQ3’00. We think that the various componentissues plaguing the industry during the latter stages of 2000served as a gating element and actually prevented a massiveoverbuild of drives, thus leaving HDD inventories in relativelygood shape. More simply stated, if PC sales were at normallevels in CQ4’00 and distribution channel (PC) inventory was atseasonal levels, current HDD inventory would not be of anyconcern. For all of 2000, total 3.5-inch shipments were just over169 million, up from the 150 million shipments in 1999 (desktop3.5-inch shipments were at 147 million for the year, comparedwith 130 million shipments in 1999). Our initial outlook for 2001has been reduced modestly to roughly 160 million desktopdrives.


A New Spin on Suspension WindageMichael W. Davis, Hutchinson Technology Inc.—Advanced Technology Development Group

A continued trend for greater areal density and fasterdata transfer rates for hard disk drives (HDDs) placesmore demand on suspension windage performance. Oneway to increase areal density is to increase the numberof tracks per inch (TPI), which requires a reduction intrack mis-registration (TMR). The suspension’s contribu-tion to off-track due to windage excitation must staywithin the carefully allotted amount of this ever-tightening TMR budget. One approach to increase thedata transfer rate and reduce latency is to increase thedisk revolutions per minute (RPM). Higher disk RPMcan negatively impact suspension-windage performancedue to increased wind energy. For example, if you spintwo identical drives at different RPM, the higher RPMdrive is going to create a greater amount of wind energydue to increased disk velocity, and therefore, higherTMR. To satisfy the continuing trends of HDDs, tighterTMR budgets will require suspensions that exhibit lessoff-track due to windage, when exposed to increasedlevels of windage energy due to increasing disk speeds.

Interactions that determine the suspension’s windagedriven off-track can be generalized into three separatevariables: (1) source energy, (2) energy extraction, and(3) transfer function (see Figure 1).

Windage off-track occurs due to source energy that origi-nates from fast spinning disks. Turbulent effects of theE-Block and other drive features also contribute tosource energy. In terms of windage, the ideal case is tohave disks spinning as slow as possible, thus creatingminimal turbulence. The second variable is the suspen-sion’s efficiency to extract energy from the source.Different suspension designs extract different amounts ofenergy from a given source, depending on part length,surface area, rail height, headlift feature, etc. The idealsituation would be a suspension with 0 percent efficiencyfor extracting wind energy. This way the suspensionwould not be susceptible to windage driven off-track, nomatter how much source energy is present in the system.The third and final variable is the suspension’s transferfunction. After a certain amount of wind energy isabsorbed into the suspension, the transfer functiondictates how it translates to slider off-track. For all sus-pension modes, the transfer function dictates a givenratio of output-per-input. The ideal goal is to haveoutput minimized as much as possible, by having theratio as close to zero as possible.

These three separate variables determine the magnitudeof the suspension’s windage off-track. Optimization ofthese variables needs to be included with all of the othercritical drive factors. By including windage issues in theoptimization of performance tradeoffs, the end resultshould be a disk drive with the best possible balance ofperformance.

Dealing with Source EnergyThere is a great deal of engineering effort going intodesigning suspensions that minimize energy extractionand the transfer function to combat windage effects.Some examples include shorter parts with less surfacearea to extract less energy, higher frequency beams toreduce slider off-track due to the frequency component,and better windage notch control. This article focuses onthe third variable of potential improvement, and thesource energy and how it impacts suspension excitation.By modifying hard-drive construction and operation, it ispossible to reduce the source energy and subsequentnegative effects on suspension performance.

One way to describe the magnitude and influence ofsource energy is with the Bernoulli Equation (see Figure2). Assume that for any given system, off-track is relatedto dynamic pressure.

Fluid density and fluid velocity are the two primaryfactors, with velocity having a squared effect. For a givensuspension, an increase in dynamic pressure will result inan increase in windage off-track (an increase in sourceenergy with all else remaining constant).

Figure 1. Interactions that determine suspension windagedriven off-track.



CDS Analytical(CDS Analytical, Inc.Ñn/a)



Standard Flow versus Reverse FlowIn today’s disk drives, media rotates in a direction suchthat the media passes beneath the E-Block first. As airflows with the spinning media, the airflow encounters theE-Block first, with suspensions and sliders located down-stream of this obstruction. In the “between-diskcondition,” it is easy to visualize the affects, (see Figure3A). First, the suspension is located in the E-Block’swake—any turbulent flow generated by the E-Block canpropagate downstream and strike the suspension.Second, the E-Block acts as a funnel, directing moreairflow toward the restricted gate where the suspension islocated. According to the conservation of mass flow, asthe cross-sectional area of the flow region becomesrestricted, the fluid density and/or the velocity mustincrease to account for the smaller cross-sectional area.Increases in these values increase the magnitude of thedynamic pressure acting on the suspension, thus addingto the windage-induced suspension off-track.

If the disks are rotated in the opposite direction, and theslider is rotated 180 degrees to allow for air-bearingflight, it is easy to visualize how airflow over the suspen-sion would be much different (see Figure 3B). In thiscondition, referred to as reverse flow, the first item themedia passes beneath is the slider and suspension, withthe E-Block now on the downstream side. The suspen-sion is located upstream of any turbulent effects of theE-Block, which no longer channels air towards the sus-pension. In this arrangement, suspensions are located in amore laminar and lower-velocity region than in thestandard-flow condition. When comparing standard-flowto reverse-flow conditions, lab tests have shown resultsranging from a 7 percent to a 49 percent reduction inexcitation.

Reverse Flow with Downstream Air DamsFurther reduction in suspension-windage excitation canbe achieved with the addition of “downstream airdams,” which build from the reduced level of sourceenergy that reverse flow offers. These downstream airdams work by reducing the velocity of the air in theregion where the suspension is located (see Figure 4).

The dams work by creating a zone with higher-pressure(lower velocity) air around the suspension. Oncoming airsenses the higher pressure and diverts its flow around thepocket. Although this causes fluid density to increase, areduction in velocity causes an overall reduction in

dynamic pressure. Lab test results confirm additionalimprovements on some 11-millimeter-length suspensions,when used with reverse flow. Longer suspensions haveshown limited success because they require larger damsto stagnate a larger pocket of air. Downstream-damdesign is a feature that would need to be balanced withother drive factors, such as ID/OD clearance issues,mass, and power consumption.

General PerformanceFrequency responses from two typical test setups areshown in Figure 5.

Once the frequency response is obtained, cumulativepower (1 sigma off-track) can be calculated for standardflow and reverse flow. Figure 6 shows measured resultsfor several different suspensions where the media size,revolutions per minute, and track location was varied.The first set of values indicates the measured, cumulative1 sigma off-track, with the second set of values indicat-ing improvements (in percentage of reduction) overstandard-flow conditions.

Figure 2. Magnitude and influence of source energy.

Figure 4. Reverse flow with downstream air dams.

Figure 3. Standard- and reverse-flow conditions.

continued from page 8


year. Noteworthy, is the slow-down in demand within theenterprise sector, which is dueto corporations slashing ITbudgets. This factor couldhave dramatic—andnegative—implications on thestate of server demand overthe next six to twelve months.

Mobile SegmentThis segment (2.5-inch,primarily) has had its share ofstrange activity over the pastyear and looks to be readyingfor an adjustment over thenext two quarters (at least). InCQ4’00, 2.5-inch shipmentstopped 7.7 million, puttingyearly totals at over 30 millionunits. The most troublingaspect of this 30-millionnumber, is that mobile PCshipments were more than 2 million below this level,begging the question: “justwhere did all these drivesgo?” We have been investi-gating this matter for the pasttwo quarters and havereached the conclusion thatnotebook PC inventory isdangerously high, andadjustments will beforthcoming. While othersegments of the market in factincorporate 2.5-inch HDDs(for example, LCD desktopofferings, fax machines, copymachines, auto navigationdevices, and gaming devices),this cumulative demand doeslittle to minimize the over-shipment situation.

In summary, preliminary datasuggests that shipment levels ofboth PCs and HDDs willincrease in 2001, but nothingnear historic levels. While wedon’t necessarily buy in to thenotion that PC saturation hasoccurred, slower upgradecycles and lack of a priceinducement IS keeping PCbuyers on the sidelines, atleast through the first half ofthe year. We do expect thatthis will begin to change sometime in the latter part of 2001though, eventually creatingpull-through for HDDsuppliers. ●

Table 1. Summary 2000 (HDDs)continued from page 7CQ1'00 CQ2'00 CQ3'00 CQ4'00 Total 2000 Actuals Actuals Actuals Actuals Actuals

3.5 inch 41,497 40,147 43,629 43,944 169,217-2.4% -3.3% 8.7% 0.7% 11.7%

2.5 inch 7,248 7,312 7,778 7,716 30,05411.0% 0.9% 6.4% -0.8% 22.3%

≤ 1.8 inches 18 21 26 33 9812.5% 16.7% 23.8% 26.9% 81.8%

Removable 125 79 75 66 345-45.7% -36.8% -5.1% -12.0% -56.1%

Total Units 48,888 47,559 51,508 51,759 199,714-4.0% -2.7% 8.3% 0.5% 14.5%

Figure 1. FY2000 Actuals (Market Share)

John Donovan is vicepresident at TRENDFOCUS,Inc., with nearly ten years of experience in the HDDand recording headindustries. Prior to joiningTRENDFOCUS in 1996, Mr. Donovan worked forApplied MagneticsCorporation and forQuantum Corporation,where he was Director ofMarket Intelligence.

TRENDFOCUS conductsprimary research, engagingin ongoing relationships withboth suppliers and customersof storage devices andcomponents. Virtually allsuppliers of HDDs, heads,media, and substratesprovide TRENDFOCUS

with detailed shipment dataeach quarter, allowing themto carefully cross checksupply, demand, and avail-ability of drives andcomponents. TRENDFOCUStravels the globe on anongoing basis, in efforts toprovide clients with the latestand most accurate marketintelligence informationcovering the data storagemarkets.

Totals: 199,714


Figure 7. Example showingwhere reverse-flow condition

produces lower totalvariation for first torsion

energy across a given Z-Height range.

The second section ofFigure 6 measures resultsfor 14.5-millimeter sus-pensions, beginning with atraditional thin-beamdesign (3430 TSA), whichperformed well in reverseflow for a large-media,slow-RPM application.The next 14.5-millimetersuspension is an actuatedsuspension (5130 TSA). Inall cases, reverse flowoffered some improvementover standard flow.

In addition to a reductionin windage off-track at thenominal suspension-offsetheight, reverse flow alsoimproves the robustness ofsuspensions to stack-uptolerances. Due to areduced level of inputenergy, suspensions showless absolute windagechange with changes tostack-up Z-Heights.Figure 7 shows anexample where thereverse-flow conditionproduces lower totalvariation for first torsionenergy across a given Z-Height range. This is truefor off-track bendingmodes as well.

Test ProcedureAll tests were conductedin HTI’s development laband consisted of a singlesuspension and slider thatwere glued to an arm tosimulate an E-Block arm.The arm was slotted sothat the actuator lengthcould be adjusted. Theactuator assembly wasthen attached to the teststand, which had a rota-tional stage to adjust tracklocation. The test standwas set up so that theactuator was between twodisks, with disk spacingdetermined by the disk-spacer thickness. Thespindle motor was air-


Figure 8. Test procedure.

bearing equipped and thedisks were not shrouded,as a true disk drive wouldbe. The “pivot-to-pivot”length was also adjustable,so actual drive dimensionscould be replicated on thetest stand (see Figure 8).

ConclusionsTest-stand data has shownthat reverse flow offerspotential reductions inwindage-induced suspen-sion off-track. The loweramount of input energy isalso seen as a benefit interms of off-track robust-ness to product variation.Additional enhancementsto windage excitation maybe possible with theaddition of downstreamair dams. Performancetesting of reverse flow in atrue drive environmentwill be completed in thenear future. HTI looksforward to working withother IDEMA members tohelp develop industrystandards for testingwindage. ●

The first section in Figure6 measures results for 11-millimeter suspensions,beginning with a high-per-formance, multi-piece TSAsuspension. Although itshows improvement in thereverse-flow condition, theaddition of dams at the65-millimeter formatcause an increase inwindage excitation. Thenext 11-millimeter suspen-sion is a 4230 TSA, with apartial-etched radius. Thefinal 11-millimeter suspen-sion is a traditionalthin-beam suspension,exhibiting the greatestimprovement overstandard flow, while theaddition of downstreamdams improves it evenfurther.

Figure 5. Frequency responsesfrom two typical test setups.

Michael W. Davis has been with Hutchinson Technology Inc.(HTI) since 1997, initially as a Product Design Engineer andcurrently as a Senior Engineer in the Advanced TechnologyDevelopment Group. He has a BS degree in mechanicalengineering from Iowa State University. Activities includewindage test-stand-correlation studies and suspension-designoptimization for windage reduction.

Figure 6. Measured results for several different suspensions,where the media size, RPM, and track location was varied.


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Companies featuredin this issue:

Agere Systems (formerlyLucent TechnologiesMicroelectronics Group)

CBL Data RecoveryTechnologies Inc.

CommuniCorp

IEEE & Komag, Inc.

Komag, Inc.

Roush Anatrol

Strasbaugh & LamResearch Corporation

Graduate School ofInternational Relationsand Pacific Studies(IR/PS), UCSD

Lucent Microelectronics spinoff selectsa name: Agere SystemsLucent announced that the Microelectronics spinoffhas selected Agere Systems as its new name. Thecompany, which is the former MicroelectronicsGroup of Lucent Technologies, is the world leaderin semiconductors for communications applica-tions and is comprised of two major divisions:integrated circuits and optoelectronic components.Lucent announced its intention on July 20 to spinoff its Microelectronics Group and plans an initialpublic offering for up to 20 percent of the newcompany, intending to spin off the remainingshares in a tax-free distribution. The IPO shouldtake place by the end of the first calendar quarterof 2001—the spin off should be completed by thesummer of 2001. The name Agere (pronounceda-GEAR) has its roots in the Latin verb “ago,”which means ”to lead, to drive, to act,” which isalso consistent with the aspirations of the newcompany. “Although we considered hundreds ofnames, we kept coming back to Agere, becauseof its meaning,” said John Dickson, president andCEO-designate for Agere Systems. “We added‘Systems’ to the name to reflect our goal ofproviding communications systems solutions to ourcustomers.” For more information about AgereSystems, contact Samantha Baxter (908-508-8225) or Lori Higa (408-980-3860).

CBL Data Technologies invited to joinTeam Canada trade missionCBL Data Recovery Technologies Inc. of Toronto, aleading provider of data-recovery services, wasinvited to join Prime Minister Jean Chrétien whenhe recently led the Team Canada trade mission toBeijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong (February9–18, 2001). CBL president Bill Margeson joinedthe official delegation, comprised of provincialpremiers and territorial leaders and more than300 business people and young entrepreneurs,heads of educational institutions and municipali-ties. “This trade mission will demonstrate to otherCanadian business people that opportunities doexist in overseas markets,” stated Margeson.Under the direction of Dr. Ye Hong, DeputyDirector, Information Security Division of the StateInformation Center, the CBL lab is strategicallyand geographically placed to fulfill the need as atime/cost-sensitive and reliable provider of data-recovery services in the new dynamic Asianmarketplace. “Our goal during the 10-day trade

mission was to meet representatives of Chinesebusinesses to exchange information and examineeconomic trends, and reforms in each country,”adds Margeson. “We expect to better understandwhat additional opportunities exist as we build ourpresence in Asia.” CBL’s laboratory in China maybe reached at 86-10-68557058, or online atwww.cbltech.com.cn.

FREE directory for companies planningto locate in the United KingdomCompanies thinking of setting up an office, plant,or R&D facility in the United Kingdom can nowrequest a free annual directory written especially tohelp them locate there successfully. The 2001edition of ”Invest in the UK” is available fromindependent publishers, CommuniCorp. The factsand information are presented in a full-color, high-quality magazine, packed with useful details andcontacts to help make informed decisions. Ofspecial value to U.S. companies, it explains whereto locate to in order to gain the best marketingadvantage for their type of business. Theinformation is factual and detailed on all aspects oflocating in the UK—finding premises, hiring aworkforce, applying for governments grants, reachthe markets throughout Europe, setting up abusiness in the UK, raising capital, calculating UKtax liability, and more. Single copies of the 2001edition of ”Invest in the UK” are available free toany U.S. company seriously considering a moveinto the European market. Send an e-mail to thePublisher for a free copy—Mike Goodwin,Publisher, ”Invest in the UK,” CommuniCorp([email protected]) or visit themonline at www.Invest-in-the-UK.com.

Pioneer of hard-drive technologyreceives IEEE Johnson awardThe Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,Inc. presented Dr. Tu Chen—pioneer of hard-drivetechnology, founder of Komag, Inc., and co-founder of Headway Technologies, Inc.—with the2001 IEEE Reynold B. Johnson Information StorageAward. The award recognizes Dr. Chen forleadership in the advancement of thin-filmmaterials, tools, and processes used for magneticinformation disks, and their commercialization asproducts. He received the award on January 10, atthe IEEE Eighth Joint Magnetism & MagneticMaterials-INTERMAG Conference in San Antonio,Texas. Dr. Chen pioneered the synthesis ofisotropic, high-coercivity magnetic films utilizing anambient temperature sputtering process. He led thedevelopment of a sputtering system capable ofmass production, the necessary substratetechnology, and a key process to apply carbonovercoat and lubrication that overcame difficulttribological problems encountered by the disk-drive

industry. This work led directly to the commercialization ofthin-film magnetic recording media, and subsequently,enormous strides in data-storage capacity. The IEEE is theworld’s largest technical professional society serving theinterests of members in the information and electrotechnologycommunities worldwide. For additional information about theIEEE, visit them online at www.ieee.org.

Komag names Mike Russak presidentKomag, Incorporated, the largest independent producer ofmedia for disk drives, announced that Dr. Michael A Russakhas been named president and chief technical officer and willcontinue reporting to Komag CEO T.H. Tan. “Mike’s promotionis a confirmation of the importance Komag places ontechnology. Our technology team combines the strongcapabilities of both Komag’s and HMT’s technology groups.We have made considerable progress toward achieving asustainable cost structure, but technological differentiation isthe foundation of our business. As the largest independentprovider of media technologies in the world, we arecommitted to maintaining a vibrant technology team in theU.S. where most of our customers are headquartered,” saidMr. Tan. Prior to his promotion, Dr. Russak was executive vicepresident, chief technology officer of the company. He joinedthe company as a result of the recently completed mergerbetween Komag and HMT. Dr. Russak joined HMT as vicepresident of research and development in August 1993 andwas promoted to executive vice president and chief technicalofficer in 1998. From October 1985 to November 1992, hewas a manager at the Research Division of IBM. He thentransferred to IBM’s Storage Products Division in San Jose,California in 1992. Dr. Russak holds a B.S. in ceramicengineering and a Ph.D. in materials science from RutgersUniversity. For more information about Komag, visit themonline at www.komag.com.

Roush Anatrol opens 30,000-square-footproduct laboratory and engineering centerLivonia-based Roush Anatrol has begun expanding into theirnew 30,000-square-foot noise, vibration and harness (NVH)product laboratory and engineering center. Locatedimmediately adjacent to Roush Anatrol’s testing facility, the labwill enhance the company’s existing engineering, rapidprototyping, and pre-manufacturing capabilities. The newproduct lab will house more than 30 NVH and designengineers in addition to a complete product lab, twocomponent test rooms, and several quiet rooms—a $3 millioninvestment over the next 18 months. “We are looking forwardto putting our new building and its resources to work,” saidproduct development manager Paul Macioce. “The newproduct laboratory enhances our ability to provide quickdesign, rapid prototyping, and in many cases providemanufacturing services for our customers.” For moreinformation, contact Mark Winters at 248-258-2333.

Strasbaugh completes strategic agreementwith Lam Research CorporationStrasbaugh and Lam Research Corporation announced thecompletion of a strategic agreement. Under the terms of the

agreement, Lam will purchase a portfolio of chemicalmechanical planarization (CMP) intellectual rights fromStrasbaugh. Lam will also draw on Strasbaugh’s engineeringcapabilities in a variety of projects. Additionally, Lam receivesa minority interest in Strasbaugh and gains a seat on thecompany’s Board of Directors. Lam’s expenditures under theagreement total $14 million. The transaction augmentsStrasbaugh’s capacity to develop its precision polishing andgrinding systems and to support its installed base within thetelecommunications, optical, and semiconductor industries.founded in 1948, Strasbaugh has been a leading provider ofCMP, wafer polishing, and backgrinding systems and solutionsfor over 15 years. For more information, contact Strasbaugh at805-541-6424, or visit them online at www.strasbaugh.com.Lam Research Corporation is a leading supplier of front-endwafer processing equipment and services to the worldwidesemiconductor and manufacturing industry. For moreinformation, visit Lam Research online at www.lamrc.com.

New book by UCSD experts studies Americandominance of the global data storage industryTwo researchers from University of California, San Diego(UCSD), David G. McKendrick and Stephan Haggard havejoined with Richard F. Doner, a Professor at Emory University,to co-author a new book examining the United States’dominance of the global hard disk drive (HDD) industry.Published by Stanford University Press, “From Silicon Valley toSingapore: Location and Competitive Advantage in the HardDisk Drive Industry” examines an industry that has beencrucial to the rapid spread of personal computers and theInternet. In their research, McKendrick, Doner, and Haggardfind that the United States’ continued success in the HDDindustry was due to effective globalization: the decision of newAmerican start-up companies to split the location of HDD R&Dand manufacturing. Fundamental research and productdevelopment remained in the United States, primarilyCalifornia, but manufacturing migrated to Singapore, Thailandand Malaysia. McKendrick, Doner and Haggard also examinethe intersection of location, policy and politics in globalcompetition. They find that firms were not simply motivated byaccess to cheap labor, but increasingly exploited technicalcapabilities and business-government partnerships in SoutheastAsia to their advantage. The new book has drawn favorablereviews from leaders in the HDD industry and academics alike.The CEO of Seagate Technology, Steve Luczo, calls the book“a thought-provoking examination of the factors that haveinfluenced the disk drive industry’s global growth andevolution.” William Barnett, professor at Stanford University’sGraduate School of Business, says From Silicon Valley toSingapore is “an important book [and] required reading forstudents of industrial and corporate evolution.” Established in1986, UCSD’s Graduate School of International Relations andPacific Studies (IR/PS) is the University of California’s onlyprofessional school of international affairs and the onlygraduate school in the United States to focus exclusively on thePacific Rim. More information on the graduate program andits faculty can be found online at www.irps.ucsd.edu. If you areinterested in receiving the book, contact Paula Cichocka at858-534-1465 or [email protected].



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Seagate Ad(Seagate Recording Media

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Analysts’ Assessment 2001: New Storage Markets and TechnologiesMay 23The Westin Hotel—Santa Clara, CAAnalyst Program: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.Hosted Reception: 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Meet the industry’s top market analysts face to face, for an open and thought-provokingdiscussion on the challenges facing storage manufacturers today and in the future.Limited to 150 attendees, this exclusive event offers executives and marketing managers an opportunity to learn the analysts’ perspectives about the global storage market andindustry trends, focusing on new storage markets and technologies.

This half-day event also features an extended Q&A session, where attendees will have an opportunity to ask key questions about growth opportunities and near-term applica-tions in the area of new storage markets and technologies. The day will conclude with anhors d’oeuvre reception.

Nowhere else will you have an opportunity to meet and interact with leading industryanalysts, than at this exclusive event. Hear market perspectives first-hand, and get theanswers to your most critical storage questions face to face. Register online atwww.idema.org to attend.

Speakers(as of 2/9/01):

John DonovanVice President,TRENDFOCUS, Inc.

John MonroeChief Analyst, Rigid DiskDrives, Dataquest

John DeanDirector, Equity Research,Salomon Smith Barney

William RessEditor/Publisher, Data StoreReview


DISK/SUBSTRATES COMMITTEENo activity to report.*

Lube Thickness & Control Start/Stop(CSS) Testing SubcommitteeNo activity to report.*

Disk Magnetics SubcommitteeNext Meeting: TBD*The subcommittee has successfully balloted the DiskMagnetometer Test Method. This test method willnow be included in the IDEMA Standards Binder. The Standard, D21-00, is available on the IDEMAWebsite in the Reference Documents Section. Thesubcommittee is also in the process of coordinatinga joint project with the National Institute ofStandards and Technology (NIST). The project isnow in the planning stage. IDEMA will work withmembers to solicit input and funding.

Optical Inspection SubcommitteeNo activity to report.*

EMITTED SHOCK AND VIBRATION(ESAV) COMMITTEENext Meeting: March 13, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.The purpose of the ESAV committee is to create astandard that describes a reproducible and reliableprocedures for measuring and describing the shockand vibration energy emitted by a storage device,and transmitted to the housing supporting thedevice. The committee has been testing drives andI/O devices to normalize and define these shocksand vibrations—some of this work focuses onstructural transmission through a chassis system. Itcovers accelerance measurements (whereaccelerance is defined as Acceleration/Force)

made on the system, and the results frommaking changes to the chassis. This is aninteresting update on testing using differentseek rates; results confirm that the emitted

shock and vibration scales linearly withchanges in seeks per second on a drive.The committee expects to have a documentdraft by mid-year 2001.

Check the IDEMA Website at www.idema.org forupcoming standards meetings, agendas anddirections. All meetings are held at the IDEMA office,3255 Scott Blvd., Ste. 2-102, Santa Clara, CA (unlessotherwise indicated).

StandardsManager, Kristen Montan408.330.8109

ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH & SAFETY(EHS) COMMITTEENo activity to report.*

Energy Efficiency SubcommitteeNo activity to report.*

ESD COMMITTEENext Meeting: April 19, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.The purpose of the ESD committee is to establishESD standards unique to HDD and not covered byother standards organizations.The committee isconcentrating on standards related to ionizationand packaging, as well as developing a glossaryof terms. Updated information will be posted onthe IDEMA Website when available.

HDD RELIABILITY COMMITTEENo activity to report.*

HEADS COMMITTEENext Meeting: TBD*The committee, after international discussion on theFemto Bond Pad Location and re-discussion of theFemto Head Pinout and Polarity Convention, is re-balloting both standards. Check the IDEMAWebsite for the ballot results. Please complete theIDEMA online Standards Survey* to let us knowwhat standards are needed in this area.

MICROCONTAMINATION COMMITTEENext Meeting: TBD*The committee recently balloted a standard onOutgassing Analysis for Running Drives by GC-MS, which passed the committee vote and is nowin the procedural review process. Once it passesprocedural review it will become part of theIDEMA Standards Binder. Please complete theIDEMA online Standards Survey* to let us knowwhat standards are needed in this area.

Lab Correlation SubcommitteeNo activity to report.*

Cleanroom ContaminationSubcommitteeNo activity to report.*


IDEMA Meeting: Emitted Shock and Vibration CommitteeMarch 13, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

IDEMA Meeting: ESD CommitteeApril 19, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

ESD Extravaganza Tabletop ExhibitionApril 17, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.April 18, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.The Westin Hotel—Santa Clara, CA

ESDiscovery Tutorial, presented by the Silicon Valley EOS/ESD SocietyApril 17, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.The Westin Hotel—Santa Clara, CA

IDEMA Symposium: Understanding ESD in Magnetic RecordingApril 18, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.The Westin Hotel—Santa Clara, CA

Analysts’ AssessmentMay 23, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.The Westin Hotel—Santa Clara, CA

IDEMA Symposium: Advanced Head Interface TechnologyJune 13, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.Radisson Hotel South & Plaza Tower—Bloomington, MN

IDEMA Midwest Invitational Golf TournamentJune 14, 10:40 a.m. to NoonTartan Park Golf Course—Lake Elmo, MN

upupcoming meetings& symposia

LONG DATA BLOCK SIZE COMMITTEENext Meeting: TBD*The purpose of this committee is to explore interest in generatinga new standard for disk drives in which the historical 512-byterecord size would be expanded. The committee has decided thatthe industry, from a technical standpoint, needs to increase thedata block size. At this point, the question is, what should theincrease actually be? The first step the committee decided to takewas to determine at what point will increasing areal density beovercome by ECC, or when does adding areal density becomeinefficient and reach diminishing returns? The second step was todecide what the implementation plan for the industry should be,and the third step was to identify any problems that individualcompanies see in regards to implementation within theircompany. The committee has been discussing the question ofefficiency as it relates to ECC, with committee members runningindividual tests and having ongoing discussions about the resultsand implications. Updated information will be posted on theIDEMA Website when available.

Advanced Head Interface Technology SymposiumJune 13Radisson Hotel South & Plaza Tower—Bloomington, MN8 a.m. to 5 p.m.If your drive is making funny noises and your data retention is gettingshaky, maybe you need to have your head examined! The advanced headand disk technology to be presented at this symposium will show youhow to reduce your head aches. New suspension techologies such asmicroactuators, as well as drive mechanical improvements, will help keepyour head from wandering. Advanced head sensor and disk technologycan really boost your memory (good thing). And in case you can’tremember where you put your last data, take a closer look at yourdisk—leading tribologists suggest that improving the head and mediuminterface can help you avoid crashes.

IDEMA Midwest Invitational Golf Tournament June 14Tartan Park Golf Course—Lake Elmo, MNTee times: 10:40 a.m. to NoonBox lunch providedJoin IDEMA for a round of championship golf at the IDEMA MidwestInvitational Golf Tournament, held in conjunction with the Advanced HeadInterface Technology Symposium on June 13. Enjoy a full day of golf(scramble format) on 3M’s beautiful 18-hole course, and test your skill byentering one or more of the golf challenges—such as the longest driveand putt, and closest to the pin. Afterwards, relax with friends at theawards banquet, where prizes and trophies will be presented to the topthree teams and contest winners.

IDEMA® corporate membership is one of the most valuable tools inyour storage industry tackle box.

With high-tech lures like on-line banner advertisingand custom promotions, you are sure to get some solid hits.You are licensed to advertise in INSIGHT, anaward-winning association magazine. High-visibility adpositioning gets customers hooked on yourcorporate message—It’s up to you to reel ‘em in.And as a corporate member, your employees areentitled to discounts on technical education classes,symposia proceedings, conference sessions andmore!

From creative target marketing to professionaldevelopment opportunities, IDEMA corporatemembership offers you valuable savings on theservices you want and need to succeed in the datastorage industry. Apply for corporate membershiptoday. Contact the IDEMA office at 408.330.8100to order a membership packet, or visit the IDEMAWebsite at www.idema.org to review full memberbenefits and to complete an online application.

Fish or Cut Bait.Join or renew your IDEMA corporate membership today.

3255 Scott Blvd., Suite 2-102, Santa Clara, CA 95054 • tel 408.330.8100 • fax 408.492.1425 • www.idema.org

IDEMA and DISKCON are registered trademarks of the International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association. 2.20.01

View Engineering Ad(View Engineering, Inc.Ñ

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Don’t get BURNED by electrostatic discharge (ESD)! With supersensitiveGMR heads becoming the norm in high-performance drives, conventionalapproaches to managing ESD are proving insufficient. Attend ESDExtravaganza 2001, the world’s largest event dedicated to ESD inmagnetic recording, and learn from the industry’s leading innovatorsabout this SCORCHING issue.

ESD ExtravaganzaApril 17 & 18The Westin Hotel—Santa Clara, CA

April 17, 8 a.m to 7 p.m.April 18, 8 a.m to 6 p.m.ESD Exhibition and ExploratoriumESD Exhibition and Exploratorium only: $20ESD Exhibition (including meals) and Exploratorium: $50

Discover cutting-edge solutions for grounding ESD in data storage environments by exploring thetabletop exhibition. Visit the ESD Exploratorium to participate in hands-on ESD experiments.

April 17, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.ESDiscovery 2001 Presented by the Silicon Valley EOS/ESD SocietyBefore 4/13: ESD member $295 nonmember $355After 4/13: ESD member $350 nonmember $395This full-day ESD tutorial, featuring key industry professionals as instructors, offers data storageengineers basic and advanced tracks.

For full event details and to register for this event online, visit www.siva.org.

April 18, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.Symposium: Understanding ESD in Magnetic Recording Presented by IDEMA

Before 4/13: IDEMA member $145 nonmember $195After 4/13: IDEMA member $175 nonmember $245Leading ESD experts will explore new alternatives for identifying ESD protection and control ofMR/GMR heads, head and drive testing, tunneling MR (TMR) devices, controls in cleanrooms,HDD design considerations, and ESD damage to media. Speakers will examine the newest toolsto enhance productivity without posing an ESD risk.

Speakers (as of 2/15/01)Larry Webb, Hutchinson Technology—ESD Shunting during Electrical TestingLeo G. Henry, ESD/TLP Consultant—ESD Testing: From ICs to MR HeadsOh-Hun Kwon, Saint-Gobain Ceramics & Plastics, Inc.—ESD Dissipative Ceramics forDemanding Static Control

For a complete list of exhibitors and to register online, visit the IDEMA Website atwww.idema.org.

Don’t get BURNED by electrodischarg

Don’t get BURNED by electrodischarg

Where to StayIDEMA has reserved a blockof rooms at The Westin Hotel(1.800.WESTIN.1) in SantaClara, CA, at the rate of$229/room. Discount onroom rates are onlyavailable if reservations aremade at least 30 days priorto the event; be sure tomention that you areattending an IDEMA event atthe time you make yourreservation.


EXHIBITORS(as of 2/9/01)BF Goodrich Static Control CoorsTek Credence Technologies, Inc.Gibo Kodama Chairs Goex Integral Solutions Int’l. Monroe Electronics, Inc. Novx Corporation Prent Corporation Prostat Corporation Semtronics TDI International, Inc.

IT’S NOT TOO LATE!Do you have an innovative productor service solution to ESD?Showcase your company’s state-of-the-art ESD equipment at this year’sevent. The exhibit fee is $990 pertable. Visit www.idema.org to viewthe exhibition floor and exhibitorlocations. Make your tabletopselection online, or contact theIDEMA show group at408.492.1436 for moreinformation.

Increase your company’svisibility at the ESDExtravaganza! Sponsoring part of this well-attended event is a great way to besure that the ESD Extravaganzaattendees remember your companyand its products and services.Contact the IDEMA show group at408.492.1436 for moreinformation.

ostatic ge!ostatic ge!


May 24, 2001The Westin Hotel—Santa Clara, CAno-host cocktails: 6 p.m.dinner: 7 p.m.

individual: member $60 nonmember $70 table of 10: member $550 nonmember $700

IDEMA would like tothank J.P. MorganChase H&Q forsponsoring the IDEMAQuarterly DinnerMeeting, held February15 at The Westin Hotel.

INTERACTIVE FORMAT!IDEMA has assembled a panel of data storage executives that will, in a Q&A format, examinesome of the challenges that face the HDD industry. The audience will interact directly with thepanelists, submitting questions for them to address. You may submit your questions when youregister in advance for the dinner, or upon your arrival the evening of the event. A moderator(Mark Geenen, TRENDFOCUS, Inc.) will organize all of the questions submitted and present themto the panel for discussion. This interactive format will create an exciting and interesting forumwherein the tough questions get tackled “live,” and in real time.

Register online at www.idema.org

IDEMA has reserved a block of rooms at The Westin Hotel (1.800.WESTIN.1) in Santa Clara, CA,at the rate of $229/room. Discount on room rates are only available if reservations are made atleast 30 days prior to the event; be sure to mention that you are attending an IDEMA event at thetime you make your reservation.

CONGRATULATIONS to Alberto Aldana, fromION Systems, the lucky winner of a $200 coupon,good towards any future IDEMA event!

In our last issue of INSIGHT (pages 18 & 33) we announced that anyonewho registered for both the Novel Storage Technologies & ApplicationsSymposium on February 14 AND the Quarterly Dinner Meeting onFebruary 15 would be entered into a drawing for the chance to win a$200 coupon, good towards any future IDEMA event.

On February 20, Alberto Aldana’s name was chosen asthe lucky winner of the $200 coupon—we congratulatehim on his good fortune!

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Director ofServices, Debbie Lee408.330.8108

Attention Corporate MembersUpdate company information online for the 2002 IDEMA MemberDirectory—Deadline May 31, 2001 IDEMA now offers corporate members an online Company Information Update Formon the IDEMA Website at www.idema.org. Corporate members are encouraged to usethe new form to refresh their company’s information, which will be published verbatimin the annual IDEMA Member Directory of Products & Services for the Disk DriveIndustry.

To update your corporate information online, from the navigation bar click on:• Membership • Member Directory• Update Directory List

Corporate information entered on the Update Form is automatically entered into a database;therefore, there is no re-entering of information and the likelihood of typos and other errorsis significantly reduced. Corporate member information must be updated by May 31 inorder to be included in the 2002 directory, which will be published in September.

Don’t forget about advertising opportunities available in the 2002 IDEMA Member Directory(see page 32 for details, or contact the IDEMA office at 408.330.8100 to request a 2001Media Kit.

It is with both excitement and sadness that I announce my resignationfrom IDEMA...

February 15th is my last day at IDEMA. I have worked with the association for overeight years and have had the privilege of meeting and working with many

wonderful people during that time.

I have been offered an exciting new opportunity and I have decided to pursueit. Ronnie Lott (former San Francisco 49er and Hall-of-Famer) has asked me to

serve as executive director of his charity, All Stars Helping Kids. I feel bothhonored and very fortunate to be given this opportunity to be part of an organi-

zation, whose mission is to make a difference by helping underprivileged kids, andto be working with such a sincere, kind, and charitable person such as Ronnie Lott.

I am very grateful to IDEMA, and its Board of Directors, for allowing me to work and to growwithin the association over the years. Without their trust and their willingness to let me developinto different positions during my employment, I would not have been prepared nor qualified totake this new position. Mark Geenen hired me in 1993 and immediately began to throw everythinghe possibly could my way—to see how much I could actually handle and what my strengthswere. In the beginning, my position was as Administrative Assistant/Office Manager, and IDEMAhad only two other employees. I was responsible for everything IDEMA did, with the exception ofworking on publications. My position eventually evolved into Project Manager, Program Manager,and most recently, Director of Services. Over the years, I have been involved with everythingfrom standards, to event planning, to membership services, and therefore, take great pride in theknowledge that I have played a part in getting IDEMA to where it is today.

I will continue working with the IDEMA staff on the DISKCON USA charity golf tournament inSeptember, and I hope to keep in touch with many of you during that time of the year. Isincerely hope our paths will cross again in the years to come, especially when it relates to yourcompanies’ charitable commitments—volunteers are always needed and always welcome! Thankyou for your support and for your kindness. Best regards, Debbie Lee

“To me, Debbie is virtually synonymous with IDEMA. She was a fixture at every function, and was thebest-known of all the IDEMA staff. Debbie has done virtually everything for the organization, giving herheart and soul, and I don’t know where IDEMA would be today without her. I wish her the best of luck andlook forward to continuing our work together on the DISKCON USA charity golf tournament.” —Mark Geenen, TRENDFOCUS, Inc.


Taking advantage of the affordable advertising that IDEMAprovides for its members is one way that member companiescan stretch their advertising dollar, while supporting the datastorage industry and their trade association.

INSIGHT Magazine: INSIGHT is the award-winning associationmagazine published bimonthly by IDEMA (the Trade Associationfor the Data Storage Industry). The goal of INSIGHT is to informIDEMA members and industry professionals worldwide aboutemerging technologies, upcoming IDEMA & industry tradeevents, as well as standards development and educationalopportunities.

IDEMA member companies receive a substantial discount onadvertising rates for INSIGHT. A full-page, four-color ad placedin INSIGHT is around 47 percent less than a full-page ad inother industry (for-profit) magazines. As a nonprofitassociation, IDEMA can offer these low prices on a cost-recovery basis, where other magazines must charge a higherrate in order to show a profit. Advertisers are cross-marketedon the IDEMA Website, with external hotlinks to their corporatewebsite during the issue period (two months) at no additionalcharge. IDEMA also offers frequency discounts and bonusprograms. To find out how to get the visibility you want at thebest prices in town, see INSIGHT Advertising Information on theIDEMA Website.

Website: Increase awareness within the data storage communityby showcasing your company and its products or services witha banner ad on the IDEMA Website. Prominently displayed onthe navigation bar, IDEMA banners allow advertisers togenerate interest about their company with their targetaudience. For maximum impact, banners are limited to two perpage, and animation can be added (two rotation cycles only) tocommunicate multiple messages or to display several keyproducts. To find out more about IDEMA banner ads, see WebAdvertising Opportunities on the IDEMA Website.

IDEMA Member Directory: The IDEMA Member Directory is theonly international publication that lists the ”Who’s Who” in thedata storage industry. The directory, hailed as one of theindustry’s leading resource tools, is the preferred source ofinformation on companies in the data storage industry and is anideal publication to communicate your company’s corporateand product messages. As an annual publication, the directoryis devoted exclusively to IDEMA members.

The online IDEMA Member Directory is a searchable databasethat is available 24 hours a day/7 days a week. IDEMA membersare given a password (issued to their corporate contact)allowing them to go online and make changes to their listing(whenever necessary), ensuring that the online directoryremains current and up-to-date. Members are encouraged torefresh their online company information by May 31, as it is

this information that will be used for the 2002 directory publishedin September (see Attention Corporate Members on page 26 forfurther information). Any questions about passwords or makingchanges online should be directed to Trudy Gressley at 408-330-8105. See page 32 for details regarding advertising in the 2002IDEMA Member Directory.

DISKCON USA Show Guide: Only exhibiting companies are eligibleto advertise in the 2001 DISKCON USA Show Guide, which will bedistributed at the show as attendees arrive. This valuable showpublication also provides post-show marketing value as a greatdesk reference book. The Show Guide contains an alpha listing ofall exhibitors, product descriptions, conference information, and aproduct finder index. Promote your company and enhance yourproduct listing by reserving your ad space today! Early birddiscounts may apply to ads that are placed by April 15. Foradditional information, contact the IDEMA show group at 408-492-1436.

Disk Drive World Map Calendar: Promote your company byincluding your corporate logo and headquarters on this popularIDEMA map/calendar, which is a colorful poster illustrating thedata storage industry. This promotional opportunity is offeredexclusively to IDEMA corporate members and must be ordered byApril 17—for more information, see page 33.

Copies of the 2001 map/calendar are available at $6/each and maybe ordered online.

Promotional & Sponsorship Opportunities: Put your companyname in front of the key decision makers in the data storageindustry by purchasing a promotion or corporate sponsorship.Promotions range from custom advertising to event banner ads.Sponsorships include prize donations, proceedings, event breaks &lunches, etc. Companies that purchase a promotion or sponsorshipare also recognized in INSIGHT Magazine, on the IDEMA Website,and depending on venue, at the event.

IDEMA can customize any opportunity in order to work withinyour marketing budget. For a full list of opportunities and to learnmore about these affordable, high-impact services, contact theIDEMA show group at 408.492.1436.

All of these affordable advertising benefits are yours only if yourIDEMA membership is current. If you haven’t paid your member-ship dues (a second invoice was mailed on January 12), Iencourage you to do so now so that you can begin taking fulladvantage of the many benefits afforded only to IDEMA members.

To find out more about the IDEMA advertising opportunities,please visit the IDEMA Website at www.idema.org or call usdirectly at 408-330-8100. Don’t miss out on the opportunity topromote your company at a reasonable cost and show yoursupport for IDEMA and the data storage industry.

IDEMA Member Benefit Focus: Advertising Opportunities

28 INSIGHT • March/April 200128INSIGHT • March/April 2001

Foamex Asia, Wilshire Contamination ControlDivision Corporate Contact: Nancy Minkus5861 Edison PlaceCarlsbad, CA 92008 USAPhone: 760-929-6950Fax: 760-929-6959 Website: [email protected] Summary: Manufacturer of polyurethane-basedcleanroom products (wipes, swabs, scrubpads, masks, rollersand sponges).

DyChromCorporate Contact: Frank Tao473 Sapena Court, #8Santa Clara, CA 95054 USAPhone: 408-988-7611Fax: 408-988-4536E-mail: [email protected]: www.dychrom.comProduct Summary: Specializes in the advancing field of gaschromatography and liquid chromatography, offeringproducts based on scope, latitude and range.

OBDUCATCorporate Contact: Kare Lindahl1250 Oakmead Parkway, #210Sunnyvale, CA 94086USA

Phone: 408-730-2608Fax: 408-746-3630 E-mail: [email protected]: www.obducat.comProduct Summary: E-beam exposure equipment for rotatingmedia.

PPT VISION, Inc.Corporate Contact: Chuck Bourn12988 Valley View RoadEden Prairie, MN 55344 USA Phone: 952-996-9500Fax: 952-996-9501 E-mail: [email protected]: www.pptvision.comProduct Summary: Designs, manufactures, markets, andintegrates machine vision-based automated inspection systemsfor the disk drive, electronics and semiconductor industries.

profilesIndividual Members

Scott Bailey Norgren2820 Abel CourtModesto, CA 95358 USA Phone: 209-576-2909 Fax: 209-576-1136

Teo Hong B.J. Industries Pte. Ltd.29, First Lko Yang Road Singapore 629736 Republic of Singapore Phone: 011-65-266-2188 Fax: 011-65-261-3142 E-mail: [email protected] Product Summary: Manufacturer of precision CNCcomponents, stamping, and coil winding.

Dave ParikhPittiglio Rabin Todd & McGrath (PRTM) 1503 Grant Road, Suite 200Mountain View, CA 94040 USAPhone: 650-967-2900Fax: 650-967-6367 E-mail: [email protected]

Paul PetachMicro-ASI1445 MacArthur DriveCarrollton, TX 75007 USAPhone: 214-587-6662 Fax: 972-512-1933 E-mail: [email protected]

Alan Nagy16850 Gallop Drive Morgan Hill, CA 95037 USAPhone: 408-782-9595 Fax: 408-782-9595 E-mail: [email protected]

profilesnew member


March/April 2001

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Event information listed istaken from the IDEMA onlinecalendar—available to thegeneral public for addingcalendar events. Visitwww.idema.org and click onIndustry Events in thenavigation bar. You can add as many events as youwish, along with a briefdescription and referencingURL. Contact Chris Carrig([email protected]) foradditional information.

March 12 IDEMA Symposium: AReview of Advanced DiskDrive TechnologyAmari Airport Hotel—Bangkok, Thailand8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. This technical conferencefeatures some of the world’sleading experts intechnology and productdesign, manufacturingsolutions, and new productapplications and businesstrends. Contact: Sok-Yin [email protected] +65-278-9522

March 14 & 15DISKCON Asia-PacificWestin Stamford Hotel,Raffles City ConferenceCentre—Singapore This year’s focus will be onproduction issues in the datastorage industry and futuretechnologies. Contact: IDEMA Asia-Pacific [email protected] +65-226-3412

March 31 Call for Papers (Abstractsdue): Special Session onSignal Processing forStorage, to be presented atthe GLOBECOM 2001Conference held on Nov.25–29 in San Antonio, TXContact: Aleksandar Kavcic,Professor of ElectricalEngineering—HarvardUniversity [email protected]

March 31 Last chance for early birddiscount: for ads placed inthe 2002 IDEMA MemberDirectory (see page 32 fordetails).

April 10 & 11Regional Meeting:Optoelectronics, Photonicsand ImagingRochester, NYOPTO-Northeast willprovide a comprehensiveoverview of the growth andimportance of critical optic-related technologies.

April 16–20 Spring Meeting: MaterialsResearch SocietySan Francisco, CA Contact: 724-779-3003 Exhibit Info: 724-779-8312

April 17Last chance to reserve spaceon the IDEMA 2002 DiskDrive World Map Calendar(see page 33 for details).

April 17 & 184th Annual ESDExtravaganza The Westin Hotel—SantaClara, CA Don’t get BURNED byelectrostatic discharge! Withsupersensitive GMR headsbecoming the norm inhigh-performance drives,conventional approaches tomanaging ESD are provinginsufficient. Attend ESDExtravaganza 2001, theworld’s largest eventdedicated to ESD inmagnetic recording, andlearn from the industry’sleading innovators aboutthis SCORCHING issue.Register online atwww.idema.org.Contact: Kristen Montan [email protected] 408-330-8109

April 18–20DISKCON Japan/OpticalDisc Production (ODP) Tokyo Big Sight—Tokyo,Japan Contact: IDEMA Japan+81-3-3539-7071

April 19 & 20International Disk Forum(presented in conjunctionwith DISKCON Japan/ODP)Tokyo Big Sight—Tokyo,Japan Contact: IDEMA Japan+81-3-3539-7071

April 22–25Topical Meeting 2001:Optical Data StorageSanta Fe, NMTopics: optical systems,materials, disc mastering,and components.Presentations: Next-generation DVD-ROMstorage, phase changerecording, and magneto-optics.

April 28Last chance to reserve adspace in 2002 IDEMAMember Directory (see page32 for details).


May/June/July 2001 Events May 1IIST Symposium: NetworkedStorage: A top-down andbottoms-up look atnetworked storage. Santa Clara University—Santa Clara, CA8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. This one-day symposiumwill feature talks by industryexperts who will focus onkey technology develop-ments required in todayand tomorrow’s networkedstorage systems. Contact: Al Hoagland [email protected] 408-554-4032

May 23 IDEMA Analysts’Assessment 2001: NewStorage Markets andTechnologiesThe Westin Hotel—Santa,Clara, CA Analyst Program:

1 p.m. to 5 p.m.Hosted Reception:

5 p.m. to 6 p.m.Meet the industry’s topmarket analysts face toface, for an open andthought-provoking dis-cussion on the challengesfacing storage manufactur-ers today and in the future.Contact: Kristen Montan [email protected] 408-330-8109

May 23 & 24IDC StorageVision Forum San Jose Fairmont Hotel—SanJose, CA The IDC StorageVisionForum will explore thecritical issues facing the

storage industry.Comprehensive data will bepresented on CD-RW, HDD,network-attached storage,storage area networks,SSPs, and more.

May 24IDEMA Quarterly DinnerMeetingThe Westin Hotel—SantaClara, CA Featuring a panel of datastorage executives.Register online atwww.idema.org.

May 31Deadline for updatingcompany information onlinefor the 2002 IDEMAMember Directory (see page26 for details).

June 11IDEMA Technical EducationClass—Disk Drive Basics8 a.m. to NoonRadisson Hotel South &Plaza Tower—Bloomington,MN Contact: Dr. Sally Bryant [email protected] 408-330-8106

June 11IDEMA Technical EducationClass—Introduction to DiskDrive Interfaces1 p.m. to 5 p.m.Radisson Hotel South &Plaza Tower—Bloomington,MN Contact: Dr. Sally Bryant [email protected] 408-330-8106

June 12IDEMA Technical EducationClass—Storage Networks(SAN) Basics8 a.m. to NoonRadisson Hotel South &Plaza Tower—Bloomington,MN Contact: Dr. Sally Bryant [email protected] 408-330-8106

June 12IDEMA Technical EducationClass—Head-DiskInterface1 p.m. to 5 p.m.Radisson Hotel South &Plaza Tower—Bloomington,MN Contact: Dr. Sally Bryant [email protected] 408-330-8106

June 13IDEMA Symposium:Advanced Head InterfaceTechnologyRadisson Hotel South &Plaza Tower—Bloomington,MN Subjects covered: heads,suspensions (flex andwireless), microactuation,and disk interfacetechnologies. Contact: Kristen Montan [email protected] 408-330-8109

June 14IDEMA Technical EducationClass—Data Storage: TheCutting Edge

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.Radisson Hotel South &Plaza Tower—Bloomington,MN Contact: Dr. Sally Bryant [email protected] 408-330-8106

June 14IDEMA Midwest InvitationalGolf TournamentTee times:

10:45 a.m. to NoonTartan Park Golf Course—Lake Elmo, MN A golf tournament is alsoplanned in conjunction withthe June 13 symposium. Contact: Kristen Montan [email protected] 408-330-8109

June 27–29ASME Symposium: 12thAnnual Symposium onInformation Storage andProcessing Systems Santa Clara, CAConference will focus onrecent research results ondisk drives, tape drives,optical drives, printers, andcamera technology. Contact: Mike Suk [email protected] 408-256-6435

July 19IDEMA Quarterly DinnerMeetingThe Westin Hotel—SantaClara, CA Featuring Howard Elias,senior vice president andGM, Compaq BusinessCritical Server Group Register online atwww.idema.org.


DyChrom Ad(DyChromÑwww.dychrom.com)


Renew your membership or join IDEMA todayand take advantage of the affordable and high-impact promotional advertising opportunitiesavailable exclusively to members.

Place your ad insertion order NOW for the 2002 IDEMA Member Directory. Receive anearly bird discount of 20 percent for orders placed by March 31.

The IDEMA Member Directory is the only international publication that lists the “Who’s Who” in thedata storage industry. The directory, hailed as one of the industry’s leading resource tools, is thepreferred source of information on companies in the data storage industry and is an ideal publicationto communicate your company’s corporate and product messages. As an annual publication, thedirectory is devoted exclusively to IDEMA members and features member company addresses,phone/fax numbers, e-mail/website addresses, company information, and key contact names. Alsoincluded are listings and key contact names of university, association, and individual IDEMA members.The directory is used by storage professionals worldwide on a year-round basis to identify potentialcustomers, determine product suppliers, as well as to search for corporate contact information. Asearchable database of IDEMA members is also available on the IDEMA Website at www.idema.org.

The directory lists more than 700 storage equipment and drive manufacturers worldwide and features adata storage glossary of terms, a geographic listing of corporate members, as well as a product indexand matrix. This popular IDEMA publication is used as a desk reference by executives, buyers, salesexecutives, engineers, and other data storage professionals involved in the purchase of materials,equipment, supplies, products, and services used in the manufacture of data storage devices. Thisvaluable publication is FREE to all corporate and employee members and is also distributed freelyduring DISKCON® tradeshows, technical symposia, and quarterly dinner meetings—non-IDEMAmembers may purchase copies for $25 each.

Promote your company in the only directory that lists the key players in the data storage industry.Submit your insertion order with payment online (www.idema.org/member/mem_dirad.html) by April28 to reserve your ad space—submit the order before March 31 and receive an early bird discount of20 percent. Ad materials are due by May 5. Contact the IDEMA office (phone 408-330-8100 • fax408-492-1425) to request an IDEMA Member Directory Insertion Order form.

Rates & Sizes (measured in inches)Early Bird Discount Standard

Ad Size Specs (before March 31) (after March 31)Full page 7 x 10 $2,000.00 $2,500.00*Half page (horizontal only) 7 x 4.75 1,200.00 1,500.00Corporate logo 2 x 1 400.00 500.00

All advertisements and logos will be printed in black ink only—artwork must be supplied for 1-colorprinting. Publication trim size is 8-3/8 x 10-7/8 inches.

IDEMA reserves the right to refuse any ad material which does not follow generaladvertising standards and formatting guidelines. All prices are net.

*Special Bonus: Purchase a full-page ad in the July/August (DISKCON USAPreview) issue of INSIGHT and receive a $100 discount. Purchase full-pageads in both the July/August (DISKCON USA Preview) and September/Octoberissues and receive a $200 discount.


Promote your company by including your corporate logo andheadquarters on the popular IDEMA Disk Drive World Map Calendar,a colorful poster illustrating the data storage industry. Thispromotional opportunity is exclusively offered to IDEMA corporatemembers, and provides worldwide exposure to your company’scorporate image.

The IDEMA Disk Drive World Map Calendar can help you promoteyour company and foster goodwill with your customers andemployees. Give the IDEMA calendar to your customers, include it inyour direct-mail campaigns, frame it and decorate your receptionarea, or use it as an employee incentive.

The IDEMA Disk Drive World Map Calendar is the most cost-effectivemarketing tool available to data storage companies today. For only$595, less than $2 a day, you get your company logo and an artist’srendition of your facility printed on the calendar, and you receive 30FREE copies. The calendar also includes a foil-stamped borderfeaturing the “Who’s Who” of the worldwide data storage industry—IDEMA corporate members.

The calendar is targeted for release in September and will bedistributed (one copy each) to the IDEMA worldwide corporate andindividual members. And, to maximize exposure for participatingcompanies, the IDEMA Disk Drive World Map Calendar will beavailable for purchase at the IDEMA Gift Shop during DISKCON USA2001, as well as on the IDEMA Website yearlong, at www.idema.org.

Take advantage of this international promotional opportunity today!Place your order online at www.idema.org by April 17. Space islimited, so reserve your space now! If you have any questions orwould like to learn how you can incorporate the IDEMA Disk DriveWorld Map Calendar into your marketing program, contact the IDEMAoffice at 408.330.8100.

Promote your company allyear with the IDEMA 2002Disk Drive World MapCalendar

This is the second half of a 2-part series, wherein Part 1was published in the January/February 2001 issue ofINSIGHT. If you missed that issue, you may downloadan electronic copy (in PDF format) from the IDEMAWebsite at www.idema.org (INSIGHT/Back Issues—pdffiles).

Weibull Analysis

The Weibull distribution is one of the more useful densityfunctions for the analysis of reliability data. It can beused on very small data sets and has the flexibility to bewidely applicable to many reliability problems.

The Weibull probability density function is generallydefined as follows:

However, the Weibull cumulative distribution functioncan be manipulated to yield a more useful relationship:

The function is now in the form y = mx + b, the equationfor a straight line. The left-hand term is the dependentvariable y, ln(t) is the independent variable x, β is theslope m, and –βlnθ is the y-intercept b.

The fatigue-ductility and rolling flex test data wascollected at fixed frequencies and the specimens werecycled to failure. Thus, either time-to-failure or cycles-to-failure data can be used for t. Since we are generallymore interested in the number of cycles a flex circuit canendure before failure, cycles-to-failure data was used inthe Weibull calculations.

Fatigue-ductility testing of the unsupported copper foilswas conducted using a 0.375-in mandrel. This mandrelsize was chosen because it gives a relative strain in thetransition zone from elastic deformation to plastic defor-mation. In this region, both terms of the Coffin-Mansonequation contribute to the fatigue performance of thecopper foil, and any strong bias for either foil type (RAversus electroplated) should be at a minimum.

f (t)= exp , t > δβ(t — δ) t — δβ −1

θ θβ ( )β


Characterization of Electrodeposited Copperfor Dynamic Flex Applications (Part 2)Charlie Hayes, Sheldahl Research & Development Group

Figure 3 shows a composite Weibull plot of the threeprototype copper foils and the RA foil control. All fourplots have β > 1, which is consistent with a fatiguefailure. The variable quality of the line fit plots is notice-able in this composite graph. The tails of the Prototype 3and RA copper plots seem to suggest that δ ≠ 0. Withoutthe influence of the two highest cycles-to-failure points(highest ln(t) values), the RA copper plot would have a βcloser to the β values of the Prototype 1 and 2 plots. ThePrototype 3 plot seems to contain separate distributionsthat would yield similar β values. Explanations for thisbehavior are not readily apparent.

Figure 3 does seem to show what appear to be differ-ences in performance of the four copper foils. Subtledifferences in the positions of the plots are likely due tothe slight variation in relative strains (see Table 2).However, the relative position of the copper foil Weibullplots with respect to each other is consistent with therelative position of their Coffin-Manson plots, at leastfor Weibull data collected over a 0.375-in mandrel.

Figure 3. Fatigue-Ductility of Copper Foil (Weibull Plots,0.375-in Mandrel).

1n 1n = β1n(t ) Ð β1nθ1

1ÐF(t ) ( )continued on page 36

%∆ε/2Copper Thickness 0.375-in Mandrel

Prototype 1 15.7 µ 0.165%



RA Copper 17.0 µ 0.178%

Table 2. Average Copper Foil Thickness

and as active participants in the datastorage industry, you should too. 2001 marks a significantmilestone—the 15th anniversary of both IDEMA and the DISKCONtradeshow. Join us in our celebration by exhibiting, featuring arecent technology or launching a brand new product at DISKCON USA.

No other industry event in the world offers more promotional, networking

and exhibition opportunities than this annual event. Increase your company

visibility, showcase your newest products, and demonstrate products over a

dynamic two-day event. Reserve your booth space today, contact the IDEMA

show group at: 408.492.1436 or [email protected].

The tradeshow and all technical programs will be held at the San Jose

Convention Center—San Jose, CA. Both the Mark Geenen Technology for

Youth Charity Golf Tournament and the Keynote Dinner will be held at other

locations. Visit the IDEMA Website at www.idema.org for up-to-date event

details.

IDEMA is celebrating…

3255 Scott Blvd. Suite 2-102, Santa Clara, CA 95054 • phone 408.492.1436 • fax 408.492.9749 • www.idema.org

IDEMA and DISKCON are registered trademarks of the International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association. 2.21.01

Schedule of events:Education Classes, Sept. 17—21

Charity Golf Tournament, Sept. 17

Standards Workshops, Sept. 17 & 18

Keynote Dinner, Sept. 18

Technical Conference, Sept. 18—20

Exhibition, Sept. 19 & 20

Welcome Reception, Sept. 19


Figure 5. Rolling Flex of Copper Test Circuits (Weibull Plots,0.125-in Plate Gap).

pletely through the trace, creating an open circuit.Alternatively, numerous cracks will reduce the effectiveconductor width, creating high enough resistance tocause the circuit to fail without an actual open circuitbeing created.

For a given relative strain, fatigue-ductility testing isbelieved to be more aggressive than rolling flex testing.This is because fatigue-ductility testing is a bi-directionalor reversible flex, while rolling flex testing is uni-direc-tional. Figure 5 shows Weibull plots of the rolling flextest data. The plots for Prototypes 1 and 2 and the RAcopper have reasonable line fits and β values consistentwith fatigue failures. The RA copper β is nearly identicalto the RA copper β from the fatigue-ductility Weibullplot; the β values for Prototypes 1 and 2 are closer to theβ values for their corresponding foils than they are to theβ values from their fatigue-ductility plots.

The RA copper plot in Figure 5 is shifted to highercycles-to-failure (higher ln(t) values) compared to itsfatigue-ductility plot. This is consistent with the beliefthat rolling flex testing is a less aggressive fatigue test.The cycles-to-failure of Prototypes 1 and 2 are verynearly the same in fatigue-ductility and rolling flextesting, a contradiction to the above statement. Again,this may indicate a strong influence exerted by the circuitconstruction on fatigue performance of the copper.

The plot of Prototype 3 is very unusual. A β < 1 suggestsinfant mortality, which would seem to imply inadequateor defective materials. However, the adhesive andcoverlay used in the construction of all three prototypeswas from the same lot of materials. In addition, all threeprototypes were laminated in the same press run. Anexplanation for the anomalous behavior of Prototype 3in the rolling flex testing is not readily apparent.

The failure mode for all circuits in the rolling flex testwas catastrophic separation of the test circuit into twoparts. All failures were accompanied by some delamina-tion of the coverlay. The prototype circuit buildsgenerally exhibited more coverlay delamination and moresevere copper fracturing than the RA copper circuits. Infact, the copper traces on the RA copper circuit failuredid not show cracks on either side of the coverlay delam-ination boundary. The only crack appears to be thecatastrophic failure line. In addition, the delaminationboundary appears cleaner, with virtually no visibleadhesive residue left behind. It is not known what signifi-cance these observations may have.

Figure 4 shows Weibull plots for fatigue-ductility testingof the Rogers rolling flex test circuits. The line fits for allfour plots are much better than those observed for theunsupported foils. The values for the shape parametersare all greater than 1, which should be expected forfatigue failures. The plot for the adhesive-based, RAcopper circuits has a β value similar to the RA copperfoil plot. The plots of the three prototype circuit buildshave higher β values than their corresponding foil plots.This suggests that the range of cycles-to-failure for theprototype circuits is narrower than the range for the RAcopper circuits. It also seems to suggest that the circuitconstruction may be exerting an influence on the failure.

The position of the prototype circuit plots relative to theRA copper circuit plot is not consistent with the relativepositions of the foil plots. Specifically, while thePrototype 3 foil yielded similar fatigue-ductility perfor-mance to the RA copper foil, the Prototype 3 test circuitsdid not match the performance of the RA coppercircuits. This seems to reinforce the idea that the circuitconstruction is influencing the fatigue-ductility perfor-mance of the copper.

Fatigue-ductility failure for the prototype and RA copperstarts with series of cracks developing as the copperfatigues. Eventually, at least one crack propagates com-

Figure 4. Fatigue-Ductility of Copper Test Circuits (WeibullPlots, 0.125-in Mandrel).



Conclusions and RecommendationsEvidence has been presented that shows that electrode-posited copper from a standard production PCB bath hasfatigue performance comparable to rolled-annealedcopper in low-strain/high-cycle, dynamic flex applica-tions. This is not wholly unexpected, as electroplatedPCB copper tends to have higher tensile strength thanrolled-annealed copper. According to the Coffin-Mansonrelationship, tensile strength is the dominant factor inlow-strain/high-cycle fatigue performance.

There is some evidence that the seed plate from theadditive C chemistry may be exerting a positive influenceon the high-strain/low-cycle fatigue performance of thePrototype 3 copper foil. This influence does not appearto carry over into the dynamic flex range. However,where all three prototype copper foils exhibit similar per-formance in fatigue-ductility testing, the influence of theseed plate on the overall fatigue performance of a coppercircuit is an area requiring further investigation.

The Weibull analysis of fatigue-ductility data fromtesting copper circuits gave predictable results. Thefailure mode observed was consistent with the generallyaccepted theory of copper circuit fatigue failures. Itwould be interesting to apply the Coffin-Manson rela-tionship to test circuits. However, the time required tocollect sufficient data in the dynamic range is prohibitiveat 1 Hz. Efforts to speed up collection of this data willbe undertaken.

The rolling flex test data is somewhat suspect. Theanomalous behavior of Prototype 3 remains unexplained.The catastrophic nature of the failures is anotherconcern, bringing into question the circuit constructionas well as the test method itself. It is not well understoodhow the mechanical performances of the base film,coverlay, and adhesive behave in a high-strain, rollingflex test. It would be desirable to expand this type oftesting to different relative strains (gap widths) and testcircuit orientation (coverlay on the outside of the radius).Even at 20 Hz, the rolling flex test suffers from excessivedata collection times at gap widths in the dynamic strainregion.

Additional testing should be performed to expand thedata set already collected. It would be interesting toknow how easy it is to manipulate copper-deposit prop-erties in production and thus affect mechanicalperformance. It would also be beneficial to understandhow the copper-deposit properties vary over time as aproduction plating bath ages. Concurrently, the impactof circuit materials (material properties, circuit thickness,boundary adhesion, etc.) on overall dynamic flex perfor-mance needs to be better understood. Along with this isa need to understand how dynamic flex performance isaffected during circuit manufacturing, principally thelamination process. ●

References

Avery, D., “Copper Foil for Flexible Circuits,” Circuit World,Vol. 14, No. 2, 1988.

Dodson, B., Weibull Analysis, ASQ Quality Press, Milwaukee,1994.

Engelmaier, W. and A. Wagner, “Fatigue Behavior and DuctilityDetermination for Rolled Annealed Copper Foil and FlexCircuits on Kapton,” Circuit World, Vol. 14, No. 2, 1988.

Engelmaier, W., “Fatigue Behavior of Flex Cables and Circuits,”Electronic Packaging and Production, February 1979.

Engelmaier, W., “A New Ductility and Flexural Fatigue TestMethod for Copper Foil and Flexible Printed Wiring,” 21stAnnual IPC Meeting, April 1978.

Fisher, G.L., etal, “Measuring PTH Copper Ductility, Part 1,”PC Fab, October 1986.

Fisher, G.L., etal, “Measuring PTH Copper Ductility, Part 2,”PC Fab, November 1986.

Fjelstad, J., “In-House Mechanical Testing of Copper PlatingDeposits,” IPC-TP-366, April 1981.

Lloyd, D.K. and M. Lipow, Reliability: Management, Methods,and Mathematics, 2nd Ed., ASQ Quality Press, Milwaukee,1984.

Merchant, H.D., etal, “Characterization of Damage during FlexFatigue of 18 µm Copper Foil,” IPC National Conference onFlex Circuits, May 1997.

Merchant, H.D., etal, “Mechanical Fatigue of Thin CopperFoil,” Journal of Electronic Materials, Vol. 2, No. 9, 1999.

Merchant, H.D., etal, “Fatigue Life Statistics for 18µm FoilBased Flexible Circuits,” FLEXCON ’98, September 1998.

Merchant, H.D., etal, “18 µm Electrodeposited Copper Foil forFlex Fatigue Applications,” Circuit World, August 1998.

Merchant, H.D., etal, “Flex Fatigue of Adhesiveless CopperPlateup on Polyimide,” FLEXCON ’96, October 1996.

Safranek, W.H., The Properties of Electrodeposited Metals andAlloys, 2nd Ed., American Electroplaters and Surface FinishersSociety, Orlando 1986.

Weil, R., “The Structures of Electrodeposits and the Propertiesthat Depend on Them,” Annual. Review of Material Science,19:165–82, 1989.

Charlie Hayes is principal engineer for Plating Technology atSheldahl Research & Development Group. Prior to Sheldahl, hewas plating process engineer for multilayer chip packagingsubstrates at Johnson Matthy Semiconductor, plating processengineer for multi-layer and MCM-L PCBs at ACSISTAssociates, and in plating process control for high-layer militaryPCBs at CTS Corporation. Charlie holds BS and MS degrees inChemistry from the University of Minnesota at Duluth.



The computer data that seems solid and reliable when you seeit on a monitor or hardcopy printout really exists only asminute, electrical impulses, crammed tightly on tape, diskettes,or hard drives. Depending on how the data is stored, it willcontinue to exist until the medium is destroyed, scrambled by a virus, or is overwritten by other information. In other words,a physical event, which subsequently prevents you fromaccessing your data. Data-recovery companies work to reversethat process, any way they can.

There is no single method to retrieve data. In fact, it isextremely rare to apply a solution more than once. To avoiddamage from repeated scanning, a skilled data-recoverycompany will find a way to duplicate client data, even if it must be done bit by bit.

Hard disk drives store data on metal-oxide platters spinning asfast as 10,000 RPM (revolutions per minute), while an actuatorarm reads and writes magnetic charges one-millionth of an inchabove the surface. Though any contact can—and does—destroydata, a great deal of information can still be harvested fromphysically damaged media. Because manufacturers of storagemedia, such as hard disk drives, are constantly striving tocompress more data onto smaller surfaces, a data-recoveryspecialist must have a cleanroom environment in which to work, in order to avoid any dust or dirt that will cause muchmore damage to delicate magnetic media.

Data recovery requires not only specialized equipment, but alsospecialized people, with the advanced skills and the creativity to apply them in both unique and demanding situations.

Only an emergency will show if your backup systemsactually workTo keep your information systems operational and safe fromdata loss, regular backups are important, but backups alone canonly do half the job. Never verifying your ability to restoredata from a backup is like filling a fire extinguisher with fireretardant, but then never pulling the trigger. Until you actuallypull the trigger, you really don’t know—maybe it will work, andmaybe it won’t. Only an emergency situation will show if yourbackup systems actually work, and by that time, it’s usually toolate to correct a failure.

Regularly scheduled fire drills to practice restoring informationfrom backups are a necessity, not a frill. If you currently haveno drill system, or your backup system is outdated and perhapsa bit rusty, then it might be only fair to notify everyone

involved that no-excuse exercises are on the way. It soundseasy, but can be a tall order because of the many things thatcan go wrong, all along the chain of events needed to performa complete backup-and-restore procedure. No matter how theyare sold to the team, there is no point in conducting fire drills,unless there is no tolerance for excuses.

A fire drill should not be an invitation to a finger-pointingsession, but rather be a way to proactively identify the nuts and bolts that need tightening—before any problems becomerealized. Nor should they become a regularly schedulednuisance.

In today’s fast-paced environment, staffing, software applica-tions, hardware, and even procedures can change very quickly, which means that something that worked effectively last month may not work as effectively this month. The onlyway to be absolutely safe is to adopt a zero-tolerance level for excuses, and to conduct ongoing and regularly scheduledfire drills—repeated again and again, if necessary—until theyare consistently done right, each and every time, without fail(and ultimately...without “failure”).●

Bill Margeson is president and co-founder of CBL DataRecovery Technologies, Inc. Margeson, who owned apackaging machinery business before he said NAFTA killed theindustry in Canada, spotted the business opportunity andteamed up with Zhengong Chang, a computer industryspecialist who emigrated from China 20 years ago. CBL DataRecovery is a niche player in a growing market that’sdominated by big companies like IBM, which provide datastorage, management, and backup solutions.

INSIGHT Magazine welcomes letters from ourreaders. Our first Business Perspective article“Diversification in the Workplace—Aging of theAmerican Worker,” by Christine Carrig receivedseveral positive responses.

“I enjoyed reading the article ‘Aging of the American Worker’ inthe January/February 2001 issue of INSIGHT. Unfortunately, Ms.Carrig is ‘preaching in the desert.’ My experience is typical ofwhat ‘senior workers’ go through every day in Silicon Valley.After early retirement from IBM (30 years in the San Jose plant),and four years as Associate Dean of Engineering at MarquetteUniversity (Milwaukee, WI), I came back to the Bay Area in mid-1998, with no intentions of slowing down. Over the next twoyears, hundreds of letters to Silicon Valley companies and endlesstalks with friends and former colleagues resulted in exactly ZEROinterviews (not even informal ones). If it hadn’t been for my part-

Bill Margeson, CBL Data Recovery Technologies, Inc.

The Science Behind Data Recovery


Advertiser IndexVeeco Instruments—www.veeco.com/nexus inside front coverCBL Data Recovery Technologies, Inc.—www.cbltech.com page 7CDS Analytical, Inc. page 9Morning Planet—www.DataStoreX.com page 13Phase Metrics, Inc.—www.phasemetrics.com page 16Seagate Recording Media Operations—www.seagate.com page 17View Engineering, Inc.—www.vieweng.com page 21Read-Write Corporation—www.readwrite.com page 25DyChrom—www.dychrom.com page 31

IDEMA is now acceptingabstracts for articles to be published in INSIGHT.Contributed articlesshould address topics ofinterest to IDEMAmembers and/or theircustomers. Authorsinterested in submittingan abstract for consider-ation may contactINSIGHT editor Jeri Burdick [email protected], orvisit www.idema.org toreview author guidelinesand submission require-ments.

time teaching at SJSU, I would have gone nuts! It’s ironic that onemay be considered fit to form a new generation of engineers, butnot to actually practice engineering after a certain age—regardless of skills and experience (or perhaps because of them).

“Fortunately, I had another opportunity in academia for a job thatfit me to a ‘T.’ But I had to move to Pittsburgh to take it—with allof the traumas associated with moving cross-country. I amthoroughly enjoying my current job, which will probably last untilI'm REALLY ready to retire to my San Jose house. But I mustconfess that I don’t feel terribly sorry for the Silicon Valley industrywhen they cry about their lack of ‘qualified’ workers—lobbyingFederal and State government to keep increasing the H1-Bquotas. Have they attended the numerous ‘job fairs’ withhundreds (or thousands) of professionals looking for jobs, manyof them middle-aged or approaching senior-citizen status? Theones that do will not even consider a one-week/on-the-jobtraining for new employees. If they don’t have the EXACTrequired experience, they’re not interested. And, if they don’t lookready to put in 80-hour work weeks and spend most of theirnights in the office, then not even the exact experience will getthem the job.

“In 1999, I attended local (San Jose) hearings from committeemembers of the National Academies for a study that resulted inthe report Building a Workforce for the Information Economy(National Academy Press, 2000). There were a good number oftestimonials presented to the committee on the plight of olderworkers, however, few (if any) were taken into account in the finalreport. If anything, the result was to give the green light toincrease the number of H1-B ‘temporary’ workers. What makesthis very frustrating is that both Democrats and Republicans havebeen bamboozled into believing the necessity of opening thegates to foreign workers, unfortunately, at the expense of U.S.residents.

“Enough for now—please excuse my venting of some pent-upfrustration. Articles like Ms. Carrig’s, and others that have recentlyappeared in the Tech Journal paint a realistic picture of thesituation—it’s just that nobody cares.”—Horacio M.

“Thank you for the excellent article on using the wisdom and skillsof older workers, by Ms Carrig. She should be complimented ontaking a courageous stand that the ‘over-the-hill at 35+ crowd’will mock. An even greater failing in the business community (onthis subject), is waiting to have a talent-and-skill shortage beforerecognizing the immense value of years of experience and thewisdom of more senior employees.

“I press the business community to realize one of the great hiddenmessages in the dotcom and online company business debacle weare living through. It could have been largely avoided if thosecompanies had a balance of the young, energetic, ready-fire-aimtypes, and several older, wiser mentors who could counselappropriate caution.”—Angelo F.


Director ofEducation,Sally Bryant,Ed.D.408.330.8106

Today’s fast-paced storage industry requires employees to have current knowledge

of industry products and their technologies. To help you keep current, IDEMA

offers high-quality technical education classes worldwide, on-site and at

IDEMA in Santa Clara, CA. These affordable, comprehensive classes offer

storage professionals the technical information needed to keep pace in

today’s dynamic disk drive industry. To learn more about the IDEMA

Education Program or to schedule an on-site class, contact Sally Bryant

at 408.330.8106 or [email protected].

Applications for the 2001–2002 IDEMA Fellowship Program available online!

Applications are now available for the 2001–2002IDEMA Fellowship Program. The Fellowships areawarded to the top three graduate studentsworking on an area of study within the magneticrecording, data storage, or information storagetechnology. Applicants are evaluated on therelevance of their research to the advancement ofscience or technology in the field of data storage.These fellowships are designed to benefit theindustry and IDEMA members by encouragingresearch in this field. Research papers from the topthree students are presented at the UniversityForum Luncheon, held during the week ofDISKCON USA in September, and are availableonline to IDEMA members. Applications areavailable online at www.idema.org, or you maycall Sally Bryant at 408-330-8106 for furtherinformation.

A Look Back at Previous IDEMA Fellows

To date, IDEMA has awarded $200,000 infellowships over the past five years. A survey ofprevious IDEMA fellowship winners indicates that itwas money well invested, as the following updatewill show.

Fellowship recipients in 1996: 1st-place winnerEric Champion (UCSD) is currently working atSeagate Technology on recording system modelingand magnetic recording design. 2nd-place winnerMin Xiao (Carnegie Mellon University), whoseresearch was on the characterization of recordingread heads, is now at IBM Almaden ResearchCenter working in the recording media group as aResearch Staff member. 3rd-place winner AlbrechtJander (Washington University in St. Louis) iscurrently working at NIST.

Fellowship recipients in 1997: 1st-place winnerBruce Wilson (Stanford University), whose researchwas on applications of signal processing foradvanced magnetic recording, is presently working atIBM Almaden Research Center. 2nd-place winnerYingjian Chen (Carnegie Mellon University), whoseresearch focused on barium ferrite thin-film recordingmedia, is currently working for Read-RiteCorporation. 3rd-place winner Stefan Weissner(UCSD) will complete his degree this summer atUCSD, where he is studying numerical and experi-mental investigations of sliders. Stefan is planning toenter the disk drive industry upon completion.

Fellowship recipients in 1998: 1st-place winner TomRegan (Stanford University), who received hisfellowship for research conducted on the applicationof magnetic dichroism techniques to exchangeanisotropy, was recently hired by KLA-Tencor. 2nd-place winner Wei Yang (Carnegie Mellon University),after completing his work on co-alloy anisotropydetermination by epitaxial uni-crystal films, is nowpursuing a Ph.D. from the Stanford School ofBusiness. 3rd-place winner Bernard Knigge (UCSD),whose research was on the tribology and acousticemission analysis of laser textured disks using picoand nano sliders, is currently working at IBMAlmaden Research Center.

Fellowship recipients in 1999: 1st-place winnerShingo Tamaru (Carnegie Mellon University) continueshis research on a high-speed Kerr effect magneto-optic system for recording head dynamicsmeasurement. 2nd-place winner Yun Li (StanfordUniversity) is working on epitaxial growth ofatomically flat tunneling junction. 3rd-place winnerHany J. Gross (University of California, Berkeley) isresearching the dynamics of suspension-slider-air-bearing systems.


upup coming classes

IDEMA technical classes are coming toMinnesota. Save the date!In conjunction with the Advanced Head InterfaceTechnology Symposium held in Minnesota on June 13,IDEMA is also offering three days of technical classes onJune 11, 12, and 14. Classes will include KnowledgeTek’sData Storage: The Cutting Edge, which focuses on currentand future challenges to the data storage industry.KnowledgeTek’s specialized experts continually updatethis course to include the latest technologies and markettrends. This class sold out quickly last time, so you shouldregister early to ensure your space. For full class descrip-tions and to register online, visit www.idema.org. Spaceis limited—early registration will ensure that you have aplace!

Monday, June 118 a.m. to 12 p.m., Disk Drive Basics1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Introduction to Disk Drive Interfaces

Tuesday, June 128 a.m. to 12 p.m., Storage Networks (SAN) Basics1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Head-Disk Interface

Thursday, June 148 p.m. to 5 p.m., Data Storage: The Cutting Edge

Fellowship recipients in 2000: 1st-place winner Nianxiang Sun(Stanford University) is continuing his work on high-saturationmagnetization Fe-Co-N thin films for applications in inductivewrite heads. 2nd-place winner Hongwei Song (Carnegie MellonUniversity) is working on iterative equalization and decoding forhigh-density data storage. 3rd-place winner Baekho Heo(University of Washington) is continuing his research as well,focusing on flow-induced disk vibration of HDD.

IDEMA salutes these fellowship recipients, along with the contri-butions they’ve made to the computer storage industry. IDEMAfellowships are proving to be a very successful long-terminvestment, especially since the research generated by thesefellowships is providing valuable information relevant to thefuture of magnetic information storage devices. IDEMAfellowships provide an excellent way for students to acquirefinancial support for their research projects. In addition, IDEMAfellowships also offer increased visibility for the student’s researchby giving them an opportunity to publish their findings withinINSIGHT (the industry’s award-winning publication), as well asgiving them numerous opportunities to network with industrypeers.

To register, call Lisa Hood at 408-330-8103, orvisit the IDEMA technical education sectiononline at www.idema.org. Cost for each class is$195 for IDEMA members and $230 fornonmembers.

REGISTRATION DISCOUNTRegister 10 people for any of these classesand the tenth person attends FREE!IDEMA also offers in-house training, available on-site atyour company location. In-house training benefits yourcompany in a number of ways. It maximizes the time youremployees spend in training since it eliminates studenttravel time and expense and also allows you to train morepeople at one time, which is very cost-effective. For moreinformation about in-house training, or to schedule an on-site class now, contact Sally Bryant at 408-330-8106 orby e-mail at [email protected]. Visit the IDEMA Websiteat www.idema.org for a full schedule of classes and moredetailed class descriptions.

“The IDEMA fellowship was quite helpful in pursuing ourresearch, which was investigating exchange anisotropy with x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and XAS microscopy. Itwas not easy to find support for applying an unfamiliar andexperimental technique (the XAS stuff) to samples that wereoptimized for study by that technique, and not for theirperformance in magnetic hard drives. To put it bluntly, thefellowship came when we really needed the money.

“Now, a few years later, we can say that the investment of theIDEMA fellowship was a success. Because it is clear that theXAS-based techniques are going to provide a lot of informationthat: (1) will be relevant to future magnetic information storagedevices, and (2) is difficult or impossible to get by traditional‘magnetics experimentation’ methods.

“My thesis work definitely helps in my new position at KLA-Tencor (I am an applications engineer for their E-beamwafer-inspection tool), where my knowledge of photon-in/electron-out issues has been transferred to thiselectrons-in/electrons-out tool.”

—Tom Regan1998 IDEMA Fellow (1st-place winner)


IDEMA Japan, established in 1993 with 29corporate members, has grown in 2001 to serve125 corporate members and 18 individualmembers. To better serve our growingmembership, IDEMA Japan has expanded andimproved its service offerings. An update of theAssociation’s activities in Japan is as follows.

In 2001, IDEMA Japan is proud to present thefollowing tradeshows and member services:

DISKCON Japan/Optical Disc Production (ODP) &the International Disk Forum: Scheduled for April18–20 at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, Japan. ODPwill feature exhibits on signal processing, rawmaterials, production systems, printing andpackaging software, player, drive and media, aswell as other related technologies and productsfor optical discs and replications. During 2000, 137companies (occupying 375 booths) exhibited atDISKCON Japan, which was attended by over15,000 data storage professionals. TheInternational Disk Forum, held in conjunction withDISKCON Japan on April 19–20, is a technologyand market-trend conference (equipped withsimultaneous interpretation) featuring sevensessions. A tentative list of these sessions,including the speakers and topics scheduled, isprovided on the next page.

Quarterly Seminars: In addition to theInternational Disk Forum, IDEMA Japan alsopresents Quarterly Seminars, held in January, Julyand October. During 2000, these seminarsaveraged an attendance of between 100 and 150.

Technical Education: Each month, IDEMA Japanoffers a class on Hard Disk Drive Basics (held inthe IDEMA Japan conference room), whichaverages approximately 20 participants. IDEMAJapan is also working on plans to offer otherclasses, such as Introduction to GMR Technology,Understanding Thin-Film Head Manufacturing,and Introduction to PRML.

International Standards Committees: IDEMA Japanhas an active standards program as well, withsubcommittee meetings on disk, head, test, andcontamination control held each month.

Furthermore, during the past year, IDEMA Japanpublished a reference document titled“Terminology Dictionary for Information Storage,”which contains approximately 1,700 terms anddefinitions. IDEMA Japan is now working on asupplement to this document, currently scheduledfor release some time around April of 2001.

IDEMA Japan News: IDEMA Japan News is abimonthly technical newsletter that is producedby IDEMA Japan and published in Japanese(kanji). IDEMA Japan News reports on the latestdata storage issues in the Japanese markets andis read by more than 3,000 data storage profes-sionals.

Teizo Tarao first joined Fujitsu, where he servedin the engineering of magnetic tape and flexiblemagnetic disks. He concurrently served as Japan’sdelegate for ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 11 (FlexibleMagnetic Media) and as Planning Manager forIDEMA Japan. In 1994, Tarao-san joined JapanElectrical Safety & Environment TechnologyLaboratories, working on the evaluation of aphotovoltaic power-generator inverter for gridconnections. In 1998, he joined IndustrialProperty Corporation Center as patent searcheron magnetic media, until his return to IDEMAJapan in 2001 as new Executive Director(replacing Tatsuo Sugiura). You may contactTarao-san by phone (81.3.3539.7071) or email([email protected]).

IDEMA JapanTeizo Tarao, IDEMA Japan Executive Director


Thursday, April 1910:00–10:10 Tsuneo Suganuma—Chair, IDEMA Japan & SeniorChief Engineer (Division Technology), Hitachi, Ltd., Data Storage& Retrieval Systems DivisionWelcome

10:10–11:00 Keynote Speech

Session 1. Storage Market Trend

Prediction in quickly moving environment for a new millennium.

11:00–11:25 John Donovan, Vice President, TRENDFOCUS, Inc.

11:25–11:50 Noboru Kubokawa, Chief Analyst, Institute ofInformation Technology Ltd.

11:50–12:15 Simon Harvey, Understanding & Solutions

12:15–12:40 John Monroe, Chief Analyst, Rigid Disk Drives,Dataquest

Session 2. Disk Media Technology

13:40–14:10 Fujitsu Ltd.

14:10–14:40 Naoki Watanabe, Manager of Process Engineering,Anelva Corporation, 3rd Equipment Business Promotion Division

14:40–15:10 Hitachi

15:10–15:30 BREAK

Session 3. Measurement Technology

15:30–16:00 Norm Gitis, President, Center for Tribology Inc.The Measurement of Ultra-Thin Overcoats on Heads and Disks

16:00–16:30 Guzik Technical Enterprises

16:30–17:00 Henry Patland, President, Integral Solutions Int’l.Quasi static testing, an ultimate solution for cost-effectivequality verification and ESD testing

18:00–20:00 RECEPTION AT DAIICHI HOTEL TOKYO (Shimbashi)

The International Disk Forum—Tentative Program Schedule (as of 1/26/01)April 19 & 20, 2001Tokyo Big Sight—Tokyo, Japan

Held in conjunction with the DISKCON Japan/Optical Disc Production (ODP) tradeshow.

Friday, April 20Session 4. Beyond PC Applications (New Markets for MultimediaApplication)

10:00–10:30 Jiro Kajino, Director (AVC Product DevelopmentCenter), AVC Company, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.AV/IT Network and Storage Media

10:30–11:00 Scott Stetzer, AV Applications Director, Quantum Corporation Digital Video Editing: A discussion on disk storage use in HDTVmovie making

11:00–11:30 Kazuhiko Fujiie, General Manager (Optical DiscDepartment), Sony Corporation Home Network Company,Gigabyte Laboratory

11:30–12:00 Akira Takahashi, Chief Technical Research Fellow(Optical Disc Development Center), Sharp Corporation,Production Technology Development GroupSmall Size High-Density Magneto Optical Disc

Session 5. Special Speech from Academy

12:40–13:20 Mitsuo Takahashi, Professor, Reitaku University Effective use of PCs for average users: A survey of PC applica-tions based on usual day’s needs

Session 6. Advanced Drive Technologies—Next-GenerationStorage (challenge for miniaturization and higher density)

13:20–13:50 Dave Davies, Chief Technical Officer, DataPlay, Inc.

14:20–14:50 Steven Lambert, Quantum Corporation (Milpitas, CA)Progress on drive integration of perpendicular recording

14:50–15:20 Takashi Yamazaki, IBM Storage Planning, STD Fujisawa

The Smallest Hard Disk Drive (IBM 1GB Microdrive™)

15:20–15:30 BREAK

Session 7. Head Technology

15:30–16:00 Tsutomu Tawa , Senior Engineer (Design Dept. 2),Hitachi, Ltd., Electronic Systems Operation InstrumentsApplication of EB Direct Writing Technology for Magnetic Head

16:00–16:30 Satoru Araki, TDK Advanced Read Head Technologies

16:30–17:00 Mark Re, Senior Vice President (R&D), Read-RiteCorporationFor updated information, visit the IDEMA

Japan Website at www.idema.gr.jp.

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