Lubricant for magnetic recording disks.

摘要

A thin film magnetic recording disk is described having a bifunctional lubricant system (14) (also called a mixed phase or mobile/immobile lubricant system). The lubricant system comprises a first immobile or bonded lubricant layer whose molecules (20) are bonded to the surface of a magnetic recording layer, or in the alternative are bonded to the surface of a carbon based layer (13) that overlies and protects the magnetic recording layer. The molecules (22) of a second mobile or unbonded lubricant layer adhere to the molecules of the bonded lubricant layer by virtue of a similar molecular backbone construction. The bonded lubricant layer preferably comprises a thermally bonded layer of a chemically active, monofunctionalized, perfluoropolypropylene (PFPP) ether. The chemically active end group(s) of the PFPP ether molecules bond to the underlying layer. The mobile lubricant is selected to provide molecules having chemically inactive end groups, but having a backbone that is identical to, or substantially similar to, the backbone of the molecules within the immobile lubricant layer. As a result, the mobile lubricant molecules preferentially adhere to the backbone of the immobile lubricant molecules in a generally mobile fashion, to thereby form a bifunctional disk lubricant system. <IMAGE>