Assessment of surface damage mechanisms of head/disk interface using CSS and drag tests

This work focuses on the mechanism of surface damage at the head/disk interface of a hard disk drive (HDD) during contact. Tribological experiments were performed using a contact-start-stop (CSS) tester as well as a drag tester. The results of both CSS and drag tests showed that the surface damage of the slider surface occurred by abrasive wear and adhesion. Wear particles tend to pile up along the front edges and the boundary of the air bearing surface of the slider. As for the disk surface, evidence of mild burnishing wear could be found, and its surface roughness decreased with increasing number of contact cycles. It is anticipated that the results of this work will serve as the basis for developing schemes for improving reliability in the head/disk system that experiences significant contact