Effect of media overcoat on van der Waals interaction at the head-disk interface

A multilayer Lifshitz calculation of van der Waals interactions at the magnetic storage head-disk interface is presented. The calculation of the Hamaker function for model multilayer film stacks that incorporate different media overcoat materials is obtained. These functions allow the comparison of interfacial forces when the media is coated with diamondlike carbon, with and without the inclusion of hydrogen and annealing, and SiNx overcoat films. A significant difference, similar to 30%, in the magnitude of the interfacial force with the different overcoats is calculated. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.