Application of diamond-like carbon films for anti-abrasion and low friction properties of VCR head drums

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on video cassette recorder (VCR) head drums to improve the tribological properties between the head drum and VCR tape. The DLC films of 1+/-0.1 mu m thick were deposited by high frequency plasma enhanced CVD method using pure methane. The performances of the DLC coated head drums were tested for 1000 h in VHS type VCR using a scheduled operation mode variation and under ambient condition. It was observed that the DLC coatings on VCR head drums prevent surface damages caused by the VCR tape. The wear rate of VCR heads was also reduced by factor of about 50%. This behavior is discussed in terms of the effect of DLC coatings in protecting the magnetic layer of VCR tape. Depending on the deposition condition, the surface contamination behavior by Fe oxide particles of VCR tape is significantly changed.