TuA-2-3 Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Hydrocarbon Transfer Mechanism at the Head-Disk Interface

Abstract

In hard disk drives, hydrocarbon oils are used to lubricate the disk spindle and the actuator pivot. During disk drive usage, oil molecules can escape, resulting in contamination of the head-disk interface. In this study, experimental investigation and molecular dynamics simulations are used to study hydrocarbon contamination at the head-disk interface in hard disk drives. A "two-step" transfer mechanism is assumed: Hydrocarbon molecules first condense onto the disk surface from the vapor phase, and then transfer to the slider surface in the absence of head-disk contacts. Experimental results and molecular dynamics simulations verify the assumed transfer mechanism.