Experimental Investigation of Hydrocarbon Contamination at the Head-Disk Interface

YW Seo and A Ovcharenko and D Bilich and FE Talke, TRIBOLOGY LETTERS, 65, 54 (2017).

DOI: 10.1007/s11249-017-0835-7

Hydrocarbon oil contamination of the head-disk interface is investigated. Optical surface analysis, atomic force microscopy, and contact angle measurements are used to study the adsorption characteristics of hydrocarbon contaminants on the disk surface. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microcopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry are used to investigate hydrocarbon contamination at the head-disk interface. Temperature and time were found to significantly influence hydrocarbon contamination. The results agree well with molecular dynamics simulation studies.

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