Electroless Plating of Amorphous Nickel Alloys and Their Application in Thin film Hard Disks

The basic principles involved in the electroless plating of Ni-allloys and their application in computer magnetic thin film hard disks were reviewed. Electroless Ni-plating is an autocatalytic metal coating process which is a proven technology applicable to mechanical, petrochemical, and electronics industries. Electroless Ni-deposit provides a finished part with an unifrom, hard, wear-resistant, pore-free, and highly corrosion resistant surface. In addition, NiP undercoat satisfies an critical requirement that it be capable of being polished to a very high finish. In thin film disk application, the high-phosphorus Ni-deposit showed nonmagnetic, exceptionally pore-free, and superior corrosion resistance. It is highly expected that electroless plating of nickel alloys is a cost-effective alternative to surface modification method, providing various benefits, mainly due to the combination of their physical properties. The background of effective use of NiP-deposit in thin film hard disk is discussed in the present article.