Durability and failure mechanisms of digital tapes in a rotary tape drive

Abstract

The durability and failure mechanism of digital metal-evaporated (ME) and digital metal particulate (MP) tapes were investigated. Shuttle and pause mode tests were performed at ambient and different environmental conditions using a modified digital camcorder as a wear tester. Physical and chemical analyses of worn surfaces were conducted to study failure mechanisms. Digital ME tape exhibited higher overall durability than digital MP tape and Hi-8 ME tape without a diamond-like carbon (DLC) overcoat in the study. The performance of digital ME tape was sensitive to temperature and relative humidity. In the pause test, digital ME tape demonstrated highest durability under hot and moderate humidity conditions and lowest durability under cold and dry conditions. The reasons for high durability for digital ME tape compared with digital MP tape and Hi-8 ME tape without a DLC overcoat lie in lubricant selection, controlled surface topography and DLC coating. With the correct combinations of these three parameters, the durability of ME tape is vastly improved.