The effect of slider surface texture on flyability and lubricant migration under near contact conditions

Magnetron sputtering and ion beam sputtering were used to texture the air-bearing surface of magnetic recording sliders. Flying height measurements and Laser-Doppler interferometry were used to compare the ‘flyability’ of textured and untextured sliders. Lubricant redistribution on the disk surface caused by slider/disk interactions was investigated using scanning ellipsometry (Surface Reflectance Analyzer (SRA)). The results show that slider surface texture causes only small changes in the flying height of sliders but reduces slider in-plane and out-of-plane vibrations. Textured sliders were found to cause less lubricant depletion on the disk surface than untextured sliders under ‘near contact’ conditions.