Dynamic Studies on Lube-Surfing Recording

This paper studies the full processes of touchdown, lube-surfing, and takeoff of thermal flying-height control sliders by simulation. It is observed that for a conventional slider, the lube-surfing process is not stable, and the slider may transfer to the full flying state or be in the solid contact with the disk. While for the spherical pad design, a stable lube-surfing state is achieved. It is taken into account that the spherical pad can further reduce the short-range forces, which play crucial roles in lube-surfing recording. The requirement and budget for the lube-surfing recording are discussed.