Self-assembled monolayers as lubricants for magnetic disk drives

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are an attractive alternative to perfluoropolyether (PFPE) lubricants because they have a strong adsorption to a solid surface and have the potential to overcome the limitations of PFPE, such as thermodynamic instability, nonuniformity, and spin off. In this paper, we describe the possibility of SAMs as lubricants (or as a component of a lubricant system) for magnetic disk drives. We also discuss a strongly bonded hydrocarbon film deposited on an amorphous carbon film using a vacuum vapor deposition technique.