Abstract
Direct visualization method for molecularly thin lubricant films on magnetic disks is presented. Visualization of a molecularly thin film is an extremely useful technique for the investigation of replenishment and retention of thin lubricant films. Ellipsometry can provide thickness and refractive index of a molecularly thin film. We demonstrated ellipsometric microscopy using a white light source could provide improvement of signal to noise ratio of images. However, measurement of absolute thickness of films has not been established, although the relative thickness can be obtained by intensity of images. In this report, method for measuring the absolute thickness of films has been presented.
