Trace amounts of organic and inorganic contaminants of hard disk components
are extremely difficult to detect by current methods. Common techniques, such
as inspection with optical microscopes will not show any of the contamination
that is affect the products. CRAIC
Technologies, Inc, a global leader in application-focused microanalysis
solutions, has developed instruments and software that enable hard disk manufactures
to rapidly detect contamination.
The QDI 2010™ microspectrophotometer, from CRAIC Technologies, is configured
so that it can be used to both locate and identify the sources of contaminants.
This is done by combining both ultraviolet microscopy spectral imaging with
the analytical capabilities of UV-visible-NIR microspectroscopy. The CRAIC Technologies
QDI 2010™ microspectrophotometer features these capabilities in a single,
easy-to-use, cost effective instrument.
Many organic and inorganic contaminants found in hard disk drives absorb light
in the ultraviolet region but are invisible to the naked eye. This means that
standard optical microscopy will not be able to detect these contaminants nor
is it capable of analyzing them. While other techniques are available, they
require extensive sample preparation and can damage the sample.
By utilizing ultraviolet micro-imaging of the QDI 2010™, the user is
able to quickly, easily and non-destructively locate many contaminants. UV microspectroscopy
can then be performed with the QDI 2010™ to measure the electronic spectral
characteristics of the contaminant in order to identify it. The spectra can
also be used to further improve the clarity of the image of the contaminants
by determining the wavelength of maximum absorbance.
By combining both techniques in the QDI 2010™ microspectrophotometer,
the user is easily able to locate and identify contaminant materials in hard
disk drive components such as read-write heads. The QDI 2010™ microspectrophotometer
is the first system ever to combine both UV microscopy and microspectroscopy
in a single tool. It can also be upgraded to enable ultraviolet, visible and
near infrared reflectance, transmittance and fluorescence microscopy and microspectroscopy.