In hard disk drives that utilize load/unload technology, the slider loads onto the disk from hundreds of microns away before the slider settles into the designed flying height. Due to the forces acting on the slider after the transition from the unloaded state to the fully loaded state, the resulting flying height of the slider may be about two orders of magnitude higher than the intended nominal flying height. Under certain circumstances, the slider may never reach the nominal flying height required for proper operation of the magnetic recording process. In this paper, the existence of multiple flying heights is demonstrated and verified both by experimentation and simulation. The effect of some of the critical parameters is also identified by both methods. We show that necessary care must be taken to avoid unwanted loading sequences where the system may be unable to store or retrieve data.
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April 2004
Technical Papers
Load/Unload Systems With Multiple Flying Height States
M. Suk,
M. Suk
Storage Technology Division, International Business Machines, 5600 Cottle Road, San Jose, CA 95193
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O. Ruiz,
O. Ruiz
Storage Technology Division, International Business Machines, 5600 Cottle Road, San Jose, CA 95193
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D. Gillis
D. Gillis
Storage Technology Division, International Business Machines, 5600 Cottle Road, San Jose, CA 95193
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M. Suk
Storage Technology Division, International Business Machines, 5600 Cottle Road, San Jose, CA 95193
O. Ruiz
Storage Technology Division, International Business Machines, 5600 Cottle Road, San Jose, CA 95193
D. Gillis
Storage Technology Division, International Business Machines, 5600 Cottle Road, San Jose, CA 95193
Contributed by the Tribology Division for publication in the ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY. Manuscript received by the Tribology Division March 13, 2002; revised manuscript received October 8, 2002. Associate Editor: C.-P. R. Ku.
J. Tribol. Apr 2004, 126(2): 367-371 (5 pages)
Published Online: April 19, 2004
Article history
Received:
March 13, 2002
Revised:
October 8, 2002
Online:
April 19, 2004
Citation
Suk , M., Ruiz , O., and Gillis, D. (April 19, 2004). "Load/Unload Systems With Multiple Flying Height States ." ASME. J. Tribol. April 2004; 126(2): 367–371. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1576426
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