Tribology issues of contact and proximity recording technology

Summary form only given. We discuss tribology issues of the head/disk interface for proximity and contact recording situations. We begin by first reviewing different approaches toward contact recording and then discuss key elements of proximity recording technology from the viewpoint of tribology, concentrating on the head/disk interface for tripad sliders and sub-ambient-pressure tripad sliders. Experimental results are then discussed for the acoustic emission at the slider/disk interface of proximity recording tripad sliders, and a numerical model for the calculation of the contact location as a function of velocity is presented. Recent investigations using phase-demodulated interferometry are then presented to analyze details of the transition of a proximity recording slider from sliding to flying. Finally, stiction of laser-textured disks and proximity recording sliders is discussed, and a model is presented for the dependence of stiction on humidity.