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An Improved Nanotribological System for Hard Disk Drives

Xuan Li and James Economy. Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1304 W Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801

A new family of aliphatic polyester lubricants has been developed for use in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) specifically for hard disk drives that operate at high spindle speeds (>15000rpm). Our program was initiated to address current problems with spin-off of the perfluoroether (PFPE) lubricants. The new polyester lubricant appears to alleviate spin-off problems and at the same time improves the chemical and thermal stability. This new system provides a low cost alternative to PFPE along with improved adhesion to the substrates. In addition, it displays a much lower viscosity which may be of importance to stiction related problems. The synthetic route is readily scalable in case additional interest emerges in other areas including small motors.