Dynamics of Read/Write Head Positioning in Both Flying-Height and Off-Track Directions

This paper presents a simulation study on the coupling effects of air bearing dynamics and suspension vibrations due to slider-disk contact or disk waviness. A simulator is developed to include the interactions between the air bearing, the slider-suspension assembly and slider-disk contact by considering the suspension, slider and air bearing as a whole system. From the simulation, the dynamic motion of read/write head in both flying-height (FH) and off-track directions, even on-track direction, can be obtained. It is helpful to characterize dynamics of head positioning and understand the interactions between the head disk interface (HDI) components. In addition, the effects of contact intensity, surface roughness, skew, and disk waviness on the read/write head positioning in both FH and off-track directions are investigated. The mechanisms of these factors´ effects on the dynamic stability of read/write head positioning in both FH and off-track directions are also discussed in the paper.