Enhanced tribological performance of rigid disk by using chemically bonded lubricant

Recent trends in magnetic recordings show higher recording density and faster data transfer rates through lower flying height (less than 4 u") and higher spindle rotation (up to 5400 rpm). Satisfying this technical demand of lower flying height means that the surface of the rigid magnetic disk using Al/NiP substrate must become smoother. Also, the use of alternative substrates such as glass or ceramics should be considered because of their smoothness. The trade-offs is to manufacture a disk that is smooth enough to have good magnetic performance but does not sacrifice the stiction performance. Several types of perfluoropolyether lubricants have been successfully used in thin film magnetic media applications. It is believed that disk lubricants on either smooth disk surfaces or higher inertia disk surfaces should be bonded to some degree to the overcoat materials throughout the lifetime operation of a drive. Lack of lubricant on the disk surface during a drive operation leads to early catastrophic head/disk crashes. The use of "Z-Disoc" reactive lubricant as bonded lubricant on particulate disks shows a tremendous benefit in preventing lubricant spin off from relatively smooth surfaces, which demonstrated long-term head/disk durability.