The work shows that environmental risks associated with various mechanisms of leakage of chemical warfare agents (CWA) into the environment at small temperature variations are probable in the conditions of storage, transportation and destruction of the CWA-filled munitions. A considerable degree of integrity loss in munitions becomes possible during heating to several tens of degrees higher than the storing temperature due to the plastic deformation of the casing. Heating to higher temperatures leads to a complete loss of integrity by means of the destruction of the shell parts. Relevant computation formulas for the quantitative assessment of the consequences of the thermal effect are given in the present contribution.

One of the fundamental requirements for reliable critical dimension measurement with a scanning probe microscope is stability of the stylus against flexing and against erosion. We report on the wear of an etched optical fiber when scanned across a variety of surfaces. The optical fiber probe tip was used in a novel scanning probe microscope employing a balance beam force sensor.

To measure the angle of a wall, the probe of a stylus profiler must be able to reach the wall. Sample tilting substantially expands the range of wall angles accessible to a profiler. Tilting also allows flared probe tip characterizers to be used more efficiently. The balance beam force sensor used for this work was designed to permit significant sample tilting.

We report the XPS characterization of perfluorinated polyether (PFPE) samples used as lubricants for magnetic disk drive heads. Survey and high resolution C, O, and F spectra were obtained for eight different polyether formulations using a monochromatic AlKα source. Sample charging was evident in the samples, and was minimized throughout by the use of thin films of the samples and data collection under a metallic screen.

Accurate measurement of carbon overcoat thickness and nitrogen concentration is critical to the quality and information density of magnetic media. The carbon overcoat layer protects the magnetic material that stores information on the hard disk from oxidation and abrasion. During the past five years the carbon protective layer on magnetic hard disks has become thinner and more complex. Typical coatings can be less than 15 nm (150 Å) thick and can consist of diamond-like carbon (DLC), hydrogenated carbon (a-HC) or nitrogenated carbon (CN x). The CN x coatings can contain up to 30 atomic percent nitrogen (see " Best bets in protective overcoats for hard disks, " Data Storage, June '98, p. 47). CN x coatings are typically 6 to 8 nm thick and need to be controlled to within less than ±0.1 nm, 1σ. Next-generation disks will have even thinner carbon overcoats since the information density on magnetic media can be increased significantly by reducing the thickness of the carbon overcoat layer and, therefore, the head fly height. To obtain the desired material properties in the overcoat, the nitrogen concentration is normally between 10 and 15 atomic percent with a desired control of less than ±1.0 atomic percent, 1s. Characterizing the thickness and composition of these films is a challenge for conventional x-ray, optical, or mechanical methods. The techniques used for thickness measurements on CN x films include ellipsometry and Auger analysis, and in principle, both of these methods can measure both thickness and nitrogen content. Ellipsometry becomes less repeatable below about 5 nm film thicknesses and conventional Auger analysis is time-consuming. TEM cross-sectioning is an alternative for thickness measurement but is expensive and time-consuming. Surface/Interface, Inc. has developed a new technique that can simultaneously measure the nitrogen content and thickness of carbon protective layers using Auger and backscattered electron spectroscopy. Electron spec-troscopy is especially suited for measuring the thickness of ultra-thin films. A further advantage is that the Auger electron spectrum can be used for elemental analysis. 1 The analysis method is incorporated into the TFA 1000 thin film analysis tool specifically developed for inline production process monitoring of magnetic hard disks from 64 to 95 mm in diameter. This Class-10-compliant tool can be operated by production technicians and occupies a footprint of less than 7 ft. 2 (0.65 m 2). In beta-site tests, the system was used to make measurements on samples drawn from production lots. The …