Nano-Wear and Friction of Magnetic Recording Hard Disk by Contact Start/Stop Test

Nano-wear and friction of carbon overcoated laser-textured and mechanically-textured computer hard disk were characterised after contact start/stop (CSS) wear test. Various analytical and mechanical testing techniques were employed to study the changes in topography, roughness, chemical elements, mechanical properties and friction characteristics of the coating arising from the contact start/stop wear test These techniques include: the atomic force microscopy (AFM), the continuous nano-indentation test, the nano-scratch test, the time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS) and the auger electron spectroscopy (AES). It was shown that the surface roughness of the laser-textured (LT) bump and mechanically textured (MT) Bone was reduced approximately am and 7nm, respectively, after the CSS wear test. The elastic modulus and hardness values increased after the CSS test, indicating straining hardening of the top coating layer, A critical load was also identified fer adhesion failure between the magnetic layer and the Ni-P layer, The TOF-SIMS analysis also revealed some reduction in the intensity of C and $C_2$$F_59$, confirming the wear of lubricant elements on the coating surface.