Slider/Disk Interaction During the Landing Process

Abstract

In rigid disk drives, slider/disk interface (SDI) wear should ideally occur only during the start/stop (S/S) process. Good S/S wear performance is crucial, but often difficult to achieve. This is due in part to a lack of understanding of slider/disk interaction during the S/S process. The intent of this study is to provide a thorough theoretical model to aid in our understanding of the slider/disk interaction during the landing process. In contrast to assessments in the literature, this model includes more rigorous surface characterization, the statistical nature of summit interaction, and the nonlinear rarefaction effects in the modified Reynolds equation. In this paper, we present results of a baseline slider/disk configuration, together with a crown sensitivity study.