TRANSPARENT PIN WEAR TEST ON THIN-FILM MAGNETIC DISK

Pin-on-disk wear tests on thin-film magnetic disks were performed using transparent materials. Quartz glass (QG), transparent zirconia (TZ), sapphire (SA), and synthesized diamond (DI) were used as pin materials. In addition to friction, sliding condition and pin wear were continuously monitored with video camera. Simultaneous friction measurement and video monitoring showed that friction dropped when wear debris intruded between pin and disk surfaces. Pin wear, from the measured diameter of wear scar on spherical pins, increased in the order of DI, SA, QG, and TZ. This order of pin wear does not coincide with that of the pin bulk hardness. Disk lifetime increased in the order of TZ, QG, SA, and DI, and the smaller the pin wear, the longer the disk lifetime.