Tribocurrent and its application in study of slider-lubricant interaction

Tribocurrent phenomenon is one of important effects associated with intermittent slider disk interaction. By simulating the interaction with a conductive AFM probe and measuring the induced current simultaneously using a conductive AFM (c-AFM), some critical points, which divide the probe sample interaction into probe-disk, probe-lubricant and non-contact, can be observed. Similar phenomena were also observed when flying a TFC slider over a specially prepared disk. This proposed technique might be applied to ascertain the dynamic interaction exactly between the slider and the lubricant, which would be the critical issue for accurately studying of “fly- and lubricant-contact recording” approaches in which the slider will be in continuous contact with the lubricant.