Effect of humidity on stiction and friction of the head/disk interface

The effect of humidity on the frictional behavior of the head/disk interface is investigated. Experimental results show that stiction and friction are strongly affected by humidity, surface roughness, the presence of a lubricant film on the disk surface, and dwell time. Ellipsometric measurements indicate that the adsorbed water film on a disk surface grows nonlinearly with humidity, suggesting that the films are a major factor in causing stiction at high humidity.>