The interaction of perfluoro-polyether lubricant with hydrogenated carbon

The incorporation of a limited amount of hydrogen in the amorphous carbon (a-C:H) overcoat improves the CSS durability of thin film media lubricated with perfluoropolyether (PFPE). A mechanism is proposed to explain this phenomenon. With increasing H content in C, the likely bonding sites for the lubricant such as the carboxyl end groups and dangling bonds decrease in the carbon films. Mobility of the lubricant measured by two different techniques was found to increase with increasing H. The improved interface durability is attributed to the enhanced lubricant mobility on hydrogenated carbon.