The tribology of flexible magnetic recording media

The tribology of magnetic recording systems is different to conventional tribology in many important aspects and an understanding of this branch of the science is still in its infancy. The particulate flexible recording media is essentially a system of a complex filled polymer in contact with a hard (ceramic, glass, ferrite) surface. The system is further complicated by the flexible nature of one of its components, With the newer metal evaporated media, the variables associated with the complex matrix of the magnetic film are fewer, but such systems introduce their own unique set of problems. A review is presented of the basic laws of friction, lubrication, heat flow, contact and wear as they apply to flexible media/head contacts. From this review, the surface and subsurface parameters having the most influence on the future development of media and systems are identified.