Effects of substrate texture on the tribology of the thin film magnetic rigid disk

The influence of surface roughness in determining the tribological behavior of thin film magnetic rigid disks has been investigated. Electroless Ni-P was deposited on Al substrates which were polished and textured circumferentially. An in-line dc magnetron sputtering system was used to deposit magnetic and carbon layers on these 65 mm substrates. Various texturing tapes and different texturing parameters were utilized to obtain different surface roughness values. Roughness measurements were made with Wyco and Tencor surface profilers. Measurements of stiction/friction and accelerated wear tests were studied on disks with different surface roughness. The relationships between various texturing parameters and crossing ratio are also discussed. The analysis of coefficient of friction vs. cycles of revolutions is described. On a nine legs experiment without dry buffing step, none showed any better accelerated wear test characteristics than the other. To characterize the surface texture of an area more completely, a statistical analysis software package called Statgraphics was used in this thesis. Statgraphics shows that two texturing factors, oscillation frequency and disk rotational speed are significant in changing surface morphology.