New Lubricant Could Improve Hard Drives
Associated Press/Globe and Mail | September 9, 2004 | Matthew Fordahl
SAN JOSE, Calif. A newly developed lubricant could improve the performance, capacity and longevity of hard drives used widely in computers, music players, video recorders and other devices, researchers say.
Lubricant coats and protects the polished disc surface that spins thousands of times per minute as data are magnetically recorded, retrieved and erased on the drive by a head that flies back and forth dozens of times per second.
But today's standard lubricant, called perfluoropolyethers, is reaching its limits as disc drives spin faster and hold more data. In some cases, centrifugal forces are causing the lubricant to ripple. In others, the material flies off the spinning disk.
The new lubricant, called sterically hindered polyester, is based on inexpensive and abundant materials. It acts like a solid material when it's cast in very thin films and has very good adhesive properties, said its creator, Wei Xiao, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois.
"Solving the problem forced us to make a completely new kind of polyester," said James Economy, a University of Illinois professor of material science and engineering.
Besides hard drives, the polyester also could find use in other applications, such as mining and even automobile engines.
Samples of the new material have been sent to the industry-sponsored Center for Magnetic Recording Research for real-world testing. Ms. Xiao reported her findings last month an American Chemical Society meeting.
Associated Press/Globe and Mail | September 9, 2004 | Matthew Fordahl
SAN JOSE, Calif. A newly developed lubricant could improve the performance, capacity and longevity of hard drives used widely in computers, music players, video recorders and other devices, researchers say.
Lubricant coats and protects the polished disc surface that spins thousands of times per minute as data are magnetically recorded, retrieved and erased on the drive by a head that flies back and forth dozens of times per second.
But today's standard lubricant, called perfluoropolyethers, is reaching its limits as disc drives spin faster and hold more data. In some cases, centrifugal forces are causing the lubricant to ripple. In others, the material flies off the spinning disk.
The new lubricant, called sterically hindered polyester, is based on inexpensive and abundant materials. It acts like a solid material when it's cast in very thin films and has very good adhesive properties, said its creator, Wei Xiao, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois.
"Solving the problem forced us to make a completely new kind of polyester," said James Economy, a University of Illinois professor of material science and engineering.
Besides hard drives, the polyester also could find use in other applications, such as mining and even automobile engines.
Samples of the new material have been sent to the industry-sponsored Center for Magnetic Recording Research for real-world testing. Ms. Xiao reported her findings last month an American Chemical Society meeting.
