Flying Height Modulation Due to Disk Waviness of Sub-5 nm Flying Height Air Bearing Sliders

2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (4) ◽  
pp. 762-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian H. Thornton ◽  
A. Nayak ◽  
D. B. Bogy
Keyword(s):  
Disk Drive ◽  
Flying Height ◽  
Mode Shapes ◽  
Air Bearing ◽  
Bearing Surface ◽  
Dynamic Effects ◽  
Complex Phase ◽  
Edge Response ◽  
Percent Decrease ◽  
Geometric Effects

Two new air bearing slider designs are presented for storage densities greater than 100 Gb/in2 in hard disk drive (HDD) applications. Their dynamic frequencies and mode shapes are characterized, and they are used to study the flying height modulation (FHM) over wavy disks due to geometric effects as opposed to dynamic effects. It is found that low pitch designs experience large FHM at wavelengths on the order of the length of the sliders to one-eighth the length of the sliders due to a complex phase shift in the sliders trailing edge response as compared to the disk waviness. FHM due to disk waviness wavelengths from 2 mm to 0.16 mm was found to be a function of the sliders’ attitude (pitch angle) and the air bearing surface (ABS) geometry (pressure distribution over the ABS). The results presented suggest that the pitch should be greater than 100 μrad for the ABS designs presented and attention needs to be focused on the ABS design and disk morphology to avoid unacceptable FHM. An ABS design was introduced to reiterate the findings on geometric FHM showing an 83 percent decrease in geometric FHM. The FHM due to geometric effects of the slider designs studied in this paper could possibly be predicted by the disk morphology alone.

Lubricant Flow and Accumulation on the Air Bearing Surface of a Hard Disk Drive

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Rodriguez-Mendez ◽  
David B. Bogy
Keyword(s):  
Thin Layer ◽  
Hard Disk Drive ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Hard Disk ◽  
Disk Drive ◽  
Flying Height ◽  
Air Bearing ◽  
Bearing Surface ◽  
Lubricant Flow ◽  
Disk Spacing

During normal operations of a hard disk drive (HDD), a slider flies over the surface of a spinning disk lifted by a thin layer of air. The disk surface is coated by a molecularly-thin layer of lubricant to protect it against corrosion and reduce wear on the read/write head. The flying height of the slider should be as small as possible in order to achieve higher recording densities. In current HDDs the head-to-disk spacing is on the order of 1–3 nm [1]. At this ultra-low spacing lubricant from the disk often transfers to the slider’s air bearing surface (ABS) forming a thin film that imposes a significant degradation on its performance. Problems such as head instabilities, flying stiction, disk lubricant depletion and increase in head-disk spacing occur when lubricant is present on the ABS [2]. To avoid this condition, modern sliders should be able to remove the lubricant from the ABS as fast as possible. Hence, it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of the lubricant flow process and its driving forces.

An Optimization Method for Design of Subambient Pressure Shaped Rail Sliders

1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 575-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong-Hoon Choi ◽  
Tae-Sik Kang
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Flying Height ◽  
Air Bearing ◽  
Bearing Surface ◽  
Programming Technique ◽  
Design Synthesis ◽  
Method Of Feasible Directions ◽  
Design Variables ◽  
Simulation Results

This study proposes a design methodology for determining configurations of subamient pressure shaped rail sliders by using a nonlinear programming technique in order to meet the desired flying characteristics over the entire recording band. The desired flying characteristics considered in this study are to minimize the variation in flying height from a target value, to keep the pitch angle within a suitable range, and to ensure that the outside rail flies lower than the inside rail even with the roll distribution due to manufacturing process. The design variables selected are recess depth, geometry of the air bearing surface, and pivot location in the transverse direction of the slider. The method of feasible directions in Automated Design Synthesis (ADS) is utilized to automatically find the optimum design variables which simultaneously meet all the desired flying characteristics. To validate the suggested design methodology, a computer program is developed and applied to a 30 percent/15 nm twin rail slider and a 30 percent/15 nm tri-rail slider. Simulation results for both sliders demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed design methodology by showing that the flying characteristics of the optimally designed sliders are enhanced in comparison with those of the initial ones.

Air Bearing Pushback in Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaomin Xiong ◽  
Robert Smith ◽  
Chanh Nguyen ◽  
Youfeng Zhang ◽  
Yeoungchin Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Recording ◽  
Hard Disk Drives ◽  
Hard Disk ◽  
Disk Drive ◽  
Flying Height ◽  
Air Bearing ◽  
Magnetic Media ◽  
Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording ◽  
Height Control ◽  
Different Dimensions

Abstract The air bearing surface is critical to the spacing control in current hard disk drives (HDDs). Thermal protrusions, including thermal flying height control (TFC) and writer coil protrusion, drive the reader/writer elements closer to the magnetic media. The spacing control actuation efficiency depends on the air bearing push back response after the TFC or writer protrudes. In the next generation hard disk drive technology, heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), laser induced protrusions further complicate the spacing control. The laser induced protrusions, such as the localized NFT protrusion and a wider change of the crown and camber, have very different dimensions and transient characteristics than the traditional TFC and writer protrusion. The dimension of the NFT protrusion is relatively smaller, and the transient is much faster than the TFC protrusion. However, it is found that the NFT protrusion is large enough to generate an air bearing push back effect, which changes the read and write spacing when the laser is powered on. To accurately control spacing in HAMR, this push back effect has to be taken into account.

Analysis of Pressure Distribution on Head Disk Air Bearing Slider Involved Van der Waals Force

2013 ◽  
Vol 419 ◽  
pp. 111-116
Author(s):  
Hong Rui Ao ◽  
Ming Dong ◽  
Xi Chao Wang ◽  
Hong Yuan Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Distribution ◽  
Van Der Waals ◽  
Disk Drive ◽  
Van Der Waals Force ◽  
Flying Height ◽  
Force Model ◽  
Air Bearing ◽  
Analysis Process ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Bearing Force

This paper focuses on the pressure distribution on the surface of slider in hard disk drive when its flying height is in nanoscale. The gas rarefaction effect and van der Waals force are involved in the analysis process. Here the air bearing force model is based on F-K model and we establish the equation of van der Waals force between the head and disk. Using the finite element method, the modified Reynolds equation and the van der Waals force were obtained. The air bearing force on slider before and after the van der Waals force involved were compared. The results illustrate that the effect of van der Waals force on the air bearing force is different according to the slider shapes and flying heights. As a result, van der Waals force plays an important role when the flying height of slider is below 10 nm.

Simulating the Air Bearing Flying Height in a Humid Environment

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuyu Zhang ◽  
Brian Strom ◽  
Sungchang Lee ◽  
George Tyndall
Keyword(s):  
Hard Disk Drives ◽  
Hard Disk ◽  
Disk Drive ◽  
Flying Height ◽  
Test Cases ◽  
Air Bearing ◽  
Humid Environment ◽  
Bearing Design ◽  
Flying Attitude ◽  
Saturation Vapor

For a hard disk drive operating in a humid environment, the water vapor in the slider’s air bearing is typically compressed beyond its saturation vapor pressure, causing the vapor to condense. Consequently, the air bearing pressure decreases and the slider’s flying attitude adjusts to balance the forces from the suspension. A method for calculating this air bearing response to humid air is presented. Using one particular air bearing design as an example, several test cases are analyzed to illustrate the air bearing response for various temperatures and humidity levels. The calculated flying heights agree with those measured in commercial hard disk drives.

The Double Dimple Magnetic Recording Head Suspension and Its Effect on Fly Height Variability

1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-271
Author(s):  
J. C. Harrison ◽  
K. P. Hanrahan
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Flying Height ◽  
Air Bearing ◽  
Bearing Surface ◽  
Percent Reduction ◽  
Recording Head ◽  
Head Gimbal Assembly ◽  
Magnetic Recording Head ◽  
Fly Height

A gimbal forming modificaton is presented which, when implemented, leads to significant reduction in air bearing surface (ABS) static attitude and flying height variability within head-gimbal assembly (HGA) populations. The modification requires no additional parts or steps in the manufacture of the suspension assembly. An experimental test of the concept is described, along with the procedure on which it is based. The resulting reduction in product variability is obtained without measurement of (or tailoring to) the initial conditions of the constitutive parts of each HGA. A ≈ 50 percent reduction in static attitude variability, and a ≈ 33 percent reduction in flying variability, was experimentally shown to result from the adoption of the Double Dimple design concept, in all flying degrees of freedom.

Bifurcation Analysis of the Load/Unload Systems With Multiple Flying Height States

2006 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 665-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pyung Hwang ◽  
Polina V. Khan
Keyword(s):  
Disk Drive ◽  
Stability Diagram ◽  
Numerical Continuation ◽  
Continuation Methods ◽  
Flying Height ◽  
Air Bearing ◽  
Bearing Force ◽  
Characteristic Values ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Relationship

The load/unload behavior of the hard disk drive slider is studied in terms of the air bearing static characteristics. The application of numerical continuation methods to calculate spacing diagrams is proposed. The algorithm that detects multiple flying height states and fold points is developed. The relationship between suspension force x-offset and critical preload is found for femto size sliders. The second fold corresponding to the critical preload for unloading is found in the negative air bearing force area. The range of x-offsets and preloads where bi-stable phenomenon exists is depicted on the stability diagram. The perturbation method is used to check the dynamic system characteristic values near the fold points and to determine the stability of the solution branches. The present procedure can be employed to study the multiple flying height states in the terms of any other pair of parameters besides the preload and x-offset.

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