Thermal management in heat assisted magnetic recording

A laser on slider system assuming a custom sized laser constructed using commercially available processes is modeled. Since the air-bearing surface (ABS) acts as one of the main paths for heat removal from the head, correctly capturing the thermal transport of this interface is essential to accurate modeling of the head temperature rise. Therefore, a thermal characterization spin stand that allows characterization of this interface have been built and employed. A conventional hard drive slider was subjected to thermal load from an infrared laser. The laser is focused through a glass medium (when present) and onto the air-bearing surface of the slider. The optical power absorbed and its effect on magnetic recording temperature were determined by measuring the reflectivity of each target location on the ABS while the thermally induced change in the magnetoresistance of the read element was simultaneously collected. As the laser spot was translated to different locations on the ABS, a thermal "map" of the slider that has been normalized to unit absorbed optical power was constructed.