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The Evolution of Thin Film Magnetic Media and Its Contribution to the Recent Growth in Information Technology

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The Evolution of Thin Film Magnetic Media and Its Contribution to the Recent Growth in Information Technology The Evolution of Thin Film Magnetic Media and Its Contribution to the Recent Growth in Information Technology My Personal Experiences In Founding Komag Inc. By Tu Chen © 2013 Tu Chen. All rights reserved This book is dedicated to My wife Pi-Fang (Nancy) and my sons, Glenn and John 2 Table of Contents Foreword …………………………………………………………………………… 5 Preface ……………………………………………………………………………… 7 Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………….. 14 Chapter 1………………………………………………………………………….. 17 How I Got Started Chapter 2…………………………………………………………………………... 25 My Career after obtaining my Ph.D. (1967-1971) Chapter 3…………………………………………………………………………... 31 Joining Xerox PARC Chapter 4…………………………………………………………………………... 44 Low Cost Disk Memory (LCDM) Project at PARC Chapter 5…………………………………………………………………..……..... 84 Leaving PARC and Founding Komag Inc. Chapter 6…………………………………………………………………………. 105 Getting Komag Started Chapter 7…………………………………………………………………............. 138 Manufacturing Ramp Chapter 8…………………………………………………………………………. 152 Komag Offshore Operations, Business Partners and Substrate Technology, Lubricant and Overcoat Improvements Chapter 9…………………………………………………………………………. 172 Foray into the Head Business: Dastek and Headway Chapter 10……………………………………………………………………….. 183 Competition with Oriented Media Chapter 11……………………………………………………………………….. 200 Seeds of Industry Chaos Starting in 1997 and Exit from Komag 3 Chapter 12…………………….....................................................................…….. 215 Perpendicular Media Chapter 13………………………………………………………………………. 224 Final Thoughts Note from Tom Yamashita……………………………………………………… 228 Index ……………………………………………………………………………... 231 List of Figures (sources)…………………………………………………………. 241 4 Foreword Tu Chen was born in Taiwan in 1935 during the Japanese occupation of the island. He came to United States in 1961 to attend the University of Minnesota, where he obtained a doctorate in materials science & engineering. He started his career at IBM in Endicott, NY, followed by several years at Northrop, the defense contractor, in Los Angeles, CA. In 1971, he made the crucial decision to join the famed Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in Palo Alto, CA to work on the development of various magnetic recording materials. Those were exciting times at Xerox PARC, where key components of today’s computing technology were being developed. Key innovations such as the graphical user interface (GUI), object oriented programming, the Ethernet, and laser printers were all being developed at PARC. These were all parts of the famous effort at Xerox to develop the next generation of computers for the “office of the future” which was to become the basis of the personal computer revolution that came later. The important role which PARC played in the early development of the personal computer (PC) and associated technology is well- documented. The story of Steve Jobs’s fateful visit to PARC in 1979 and how this lead to the eventual development of the Macintosh Computer at Apple Inc. is the stuff of Silicon Valley legend. The Ethernet technology that was the basis of 3Com Corporation, and the software development that led to Adobe Systems Inc., both had their beginnings at Xerox PARC as well. Less well-known is the role that Tu Chen played at PARC in the development of magnetic thin film media and disks. Magnetic thin films are a key component of all hard disk drives being manufactured today. Development of small and inexpensive hard disk drives that store ever larger amount of data is one of the key contributing factors to the success of personal computers and it is the key engine that now drives the success of the Internet. It is what allows vast amounts of information to be available to everyone for practically no cost to the user. This book is Tu Chen’s recounting of the early development of thin film media, and it is also the story of how hard disk drive technology evolved to become so ubiquitous today. By founding Komag Inc. in 1983, he was able to commercialize hard disk media based on sputtered magnetic thin film technology. Disks were sold to many emerging hard disk drive companies that were getting their start in the early 1980s. Hard disk drives and their ability to inexpensively store huge amounts of data, and making it rapidly available to the user were the key contributions that drove the computer technology revolution. 5 Like many key innovators in Silicon Valley, Tu Chen is first and foremost a superb scientist. However, it is his skill in applying this talent to the creation of a product and commercializing it that sets him apart from most scientists. Those that have encountered Tu Chen even casually have quickly appreciated his intense competitiveness and sometimes fierce temperament. Nothing that Tu Chen ever undertook was done half-heartedly. Everything was done with intense passion and energy, and obsessive attention to detail. In addition, willingness to take risks and face immense obstacles is another trait that he possesses. These are also the traits that characterize successful entrepreneurs and they are prerequisites for achieving success in Silicon Valley, or for that matter, in any major venture. Most new technology is very difficult to develop. Commercializing it is even harder. This process however, is repeated many times in Silicon Valley’s start-up companies. Some of them have achieved immense success, while many were destined to fail and quickly disappear. Those that plan to undertake such an adventure for the first time would be well- advised to learn from an experienced veteran. Tu Chen’s story is well worth reading, to understand how he overcame so many obstacles in life and formed a successful start-up company. In the process, he made a significant impact on the advancement of magnetic recording technology and on the computer and information technology revolution that is taking place now. Tom Yamashita August 2013 6 Preface In our current fast-paced lifestyle, it may be useful to take a moment to reflect on just how much our daily lives have changed in recent years with respect to how we access and interact with various forms of information. The computers that we have at work and at home, along with all the mobile devices, from smart cell phones to the new iPads, are now all interconnected and give us access to a vast storehouse of information through the Internet. All manner of information can be searched through the Internet using a service such as Google, and made instantly available for viewing. All matters of commerce, such as shopping, selling and banking, are now conducted on-line on the web. The Internet has lived up to its initial promise of transforming our lives and it is continuing to evolve still. Social networks such as Facebook have also sprung up recently so that we can create communities of friends and acquaintances that are connected all the time and share all manner of information in real time. It is obvious that these technologies are changing our lives in a profound way. Even our economic, social and political landscapes are being affected. The connectivity and access to information is radically transforming the world, and the old order is being replaced by something new and different. We will not know the full effect of this revolution that is taking place before our own eyes for many more years. Thanks to this new technology, information has become truly much more democratic. A much greater fraction of the people on Earth now have access to information that was not available because of cost or due to political machinations of tyrants and dictators. I believe that one of the key factors underlying this revolution is that information has become very inexpensive to store and access. The old dictatorships that managed to control its populations through the control of information are now hard pressed to contain them. The floodgates have been opened up and it will be difficult to stand in the way of the information flow that is now pouring out. The key components of this revolution are quite visible and obvious. It all started with the PC revolution via which powerful computing capability was made available to the masses. Networking of these PCs to each other may have been the next big thing. Then the World Wide Web made the network more pervasive and available. Easy access to all manner of information became possible through software innovations such as HTML and the web browser. Yahoo and Google search engines made access to information much easier and faster. Access to these capabilities now through ever-smarter cell phones and pad-based devices are driving the next revolution in connectivity and access to information. Vast amounts of money are being invested in these new technologies, and creating huge new businesses in return. It is interesting to note that one of the most valuable businesses in the world today is Apple Inc. at a market capitalization of $400 billion, vying for top position with Exxon-Mobil. Apple hit a valuation of over $600 billion in October 2012, and if Apple was a country, its valuation would have ranked 19th by GDP, higher than Switzerland or 7 Saudi Arabia (Reference P-1). The fact that Facebook achieved the astronomical valuation of $100 billion at its initial public offering signifies the important fundamental change that is taking place in our commerce today. It is truly a revolution that is taking place in the way the world operates. It is clear that the financial world understands the value and the promise that this new technology brings to the table. Some very large number of bytes Megabytes = 106 bytes Gigabytes = 109 bytes Terabytes = 1012 bytes Petabytes = 1015 bytes Exabytes = 1018 bytes Zettabytes = 1021 bytes Yottabytes = 1024 bytes Less obvious is the technology that underpins this current revolution in information technology. This technology is data storage, much of it based on magnetic recording technology. All the information that we use has to be stored somewhere and made available nearly instantly. Also, a considerable amount of such information is being provided practically for free. Google for example, is said to have now many exabyte of storage (1018 bytes or million terabytes), and a million servers to access it.
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