Title: Flying height calibration with bump disk

Authors: Yansheng Ma, Bo Liu

Addresses: Spintronics, Media and Interface Division, Data Storage Institute, 5, Engineering Drive 1, 117608 Singapore. ' Spintronics, Media and Interface Division, Data Storage Institute, 5, Engineering Drive 1, 117608 Singapore

Abstract: It is a big challenge to determine ultralow slider Flying Height (FH) accurately. The standard bump disk method is probably a reliable and acceptable method. The accuracy of the bump disk method on FH calibration depends on two key factors. One is the detection of the occurrence of slider–bump contact. The other is the understanding of the complicated slider–bump interaction process and the possible disturbance of the bumps on the slider flying performance. In this paper, the research work aiming to resolve these two key issues is reviewed. Key parameters that limit the accuracy of the bump disk method are discussed. Possible strategies to further improve the accuracy of the method are proposed.

Keywords: slider–bump contact; slider flying height; acoustic emission; piezoelectric transducers; experimental study; simulation; hard disk drives; HDDs; bump disk.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPD.2008.017471

International Journal of Product Development, 2008 Vol.5 No.3/4, pp.378 - 389

Published online: 11 Mar 2008 *

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