Detection of the Asperity Contact Between Sliding Surfaces by Monitoring the Excitation of Resonant Oscillation Using the Fiber Wobbling Method

In the head disk interface (HDI) of a magnetic recording system, lubrication caused by a monolayer thick lubricant film is necessary to achieve stable relative motion between a magnetic disk and a magnetic head. Viscoelastic properties of lubricant films should be clarified for improvement of lubrication performance, however, measurement methods have not been established yet. In this study, we present a new method precisely detecting the starting point of asperity contact of sliding solid surfaces in order to measure viscoelastic properties of the molecularly thin lubricant film on the magnetic disk.