In-situ stabilization of composite lubricant/additive films on thin film media

Abstract

A method of in situ stabilizing a composite lubricant in order to reduce or subtantially eliminate phase separation of the components of the composite lubricant, comprising sequential steps of: (a) providing a substrate including a surface; (b) applying a thin layer or film of the composite lubricant to the substrate surface, the composite lubricant comprising at least two lubricant components which are normally mutually immiscible; and (c) treating the thin layer or film of composite lubricant solely with UV radiation for an interval sufficient to reduce or substantially eliminate phase separation of the at least two normally mutually immiscible lubricant components. Embodiments of the invention include magnetic and magneto-optical (MO) media including stabilized composite lubricant layers formed in situ according to the inventive process.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.