This project addresses the wear protective nature of a surface material deposited on a rigid magnetic disk used in computer systems. Information is stored on the disk by a read/write magnetic coil built into a slider which rides on a thin air film next to the rotating disk. Higher density of information requires smaller separation distance. Decreasing the distance increases the likelihood of contact and wear. This research assesses the wear properties of amorphous carbon which is sputtered on plated nickel-cobalt or sputtered cobalt-chrome. The mechanism of wear is studied and crack propagation at the magnetic film/overcoat interface is analyzed.
