Optimization of Proximity Recording Air Bearing Sliders in Magnetic Hard Disk Drives

Abstract

The object of this paper will be to optimize the contact stiffness (CS) of an existing proximity recording air bearing surface (ABS). The CS is a measure of the slider’s increase in contact force with increase in slider/disk interference. By minimizing this, the amount of force transmitted through the slider at the interface is minimized. This should, in turn, minimize the amount of wear, improving the tribological performance. Comparisons of the pre- and post-optimized slider have been made. In combination with research that demonstrates the ability of the CS parameter to predict tribological behavior (Hu et al., ASME J. Tribol., 120 , pp. 272–279) this paper demonstrates the feasibility of numerical optimization of the tribological behavior of proximity recording air bearing sliders. [S0742-4787(00)03201-X]