Novel Methods for Real-Time Observation of Molecularly Thin Lubricant Films by Ellipsometric Microscopy: Application to Dewetting Observation

Methods based on ellipsometric microscopy were discussed for real-time observation of molecularly thin lubricant on magnetic disks and vertical-objective ellipsometric microscopy was applied to the observation of dewetting of the lubricant. The observation revealed that the dewetting patterns in the early stage are strongly correlated with the signs of disjoining pressure and its derivative with respect to the film thickness. Conversely, our findings suggest that the tendency of the disjoining pressure can be estimated by analyzing the dewetting patterns in the early stage.