Uniformity quantification of lubricant layer on magnetic recording media

Uniformity quantification of very thin PFPE (perfluoro-polyether) lubricant layers on thin film magnetic recording media is investigated using AR-ESCA. It is clarified that (1)of several non-uniform lube layer models, the ISLAND model ( with the lubricant coverage ratio on the SiO2top-layer surface defined as θ ) matches the experimental AR-ESCA data best. (2) Measured θ increases somewhat linearly with increases in lube layer average thickness,d̄. (3)Coverage, θ, is closely related to media surface mechanical properties.