Slider–Lubricant Interaction and Corresponding Tribocurrent

Abstract

The tribo-current phenomenon is one of the important effects associated with intermittent slider-disk interaction. By the experiment to simulate interaction with a conductive probe and measure the induced current simultaneously using a conductive atomic force microscopy, some critical points, which divide the probe-sample interaction into probe-disk, probe-lubricant, and noncontact, can be observed. Similar phenomena were also observed when flying a thermal flying-height control slider over a specially prepared disk. This proposed technique might be applied to ascertain the dynamic interaction exactly between the slider and the lubricant, which would be the critical issue for accurate studying of ldquofly- and lubricant-contact recordingrdquo approaches in which the slider will be in continuous contact with the lubricant.