Gaseous wear products from lubricated thin film disks

Degradation products of perfluoropolyether lubricants were observed during friction tests on thin film magnetic recording disks using a mass spectrometer. The friction tests were conducted in high vacuum using thin-film read/write heads as sliders. Fomblin Z-dol and Krytox 143AX were used as lubricants. The removal rates observed are significant compared to the lubricant film thickness used. The data suggest that the degradation reaction is activated by low-energy electrons produced at the tribological interface.<
>