Effect of Particulate Contamination on Pole Tip Recession in a Linear Tape Drive

Three-body abrasion is the cause of differential wear in magnetic tape heads resulting in recession of the magnetic poles with respect to the head substrate; this is called pole tip recession (PTR). The increasing head--tape spacing caused by PTR results in a lower write density, so the recession must be minimized. The three-body particles that may interact with the head--tape interface can originate from the operating environment (contaminant particles) and from the interface itself (debris particles). The effect of airborne particulate contaminants trapped at the head--tape interface (particle concentration, size, and hardness), which results in three-body abrasion, on PTR growth is studied experimentally. PTR increases with increases in any of the following: particle concentration, size, and hardness. Analytical modeling supports the experimental results. Possible mechanisms responsible for the observed behavior are discussed.     

A study of three-body particle generation and subsequent pole tip recession in linear tape recording heads

The Pole Tip Recession (PTR) and transferred material (stain) are major causes of magnetic spacing losses in magnetic recording system. The recorded signal amplitude is only independent of the data being read if the spacing is zero. Thus, the level and more specifically the variation in head media spacing with device life must be a minimum to maximise signal output and minimised errors. It was the purpose of this research to isolate and identify the mechanisms responsible for pole tip recession using the Linear Tape Open format as an experimental platform, but the results have implications for any head where the tape-bearing surface is Al₂O₃/TiC (AlTiC).All experiments were conducted within a matrix of pressure and humidity, which encompassed the system operating extremes. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to analyse the surface topography of the heads and monitor the development of PTR after 100, 1000 and 5000 passes of tape. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) was employed to analyse the chemical changes on the surface of the heads after 5000 passes of tape and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) was used to identify the chemical changes that occurred at the head surfaces. Optical Microscopy was employed to identify the head surface changes before and after wear. Environment was found to have a significant influence on the head/tape interface. Head wear and PTR were highest at high temperature and humidity.Wear between the head and tape was found to transform the surface layers on the TiC grains in the tape-bearing surface to TiO₂. This process results in the production of TiO₂ fragments that become trapped in the recessed pole tip region, acting as three-body abrasive particles. The presence of Ti on the surface of head thin film region confirmed that the three-body particles originated from the head AlTiC ceramic. The TiO₂ (thickness and possible areal coverage) increased with the water content increase, wear of head increased in the high water content condition.     

Microtribological studies of two-phase Al2O3–TiC ceramic at low contact pressure

The two-phase Al₂O₃–TiC ceramic (AlTiC) has many applications. One of the most common uses of AlTiC is for data recording heads where it is used as a bearing surface to support the magnetic sensing elements. This is one of the examples where the ceramic can be used in MEMS. Using Linear Tape Open (LTO) drive and metal particle (MP) tape media as the experimental platform; the wear of the AlTiC at very low loads and for very smooth surfaces has been studied.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron Spectroscopy (AES) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) were employed to analyse the AlTiC surface changes during wear at a variety of environmental conditions. Under all experimental conditions, the results showed the TiC phase of AlTiC to have been oxidized to form a surface layer. This gave rise to classical oxidational wear of that phase; with the delamination of the TiO₂ to form pullouts on the AlTiC surface and subsequent three-body abrasive wear particles were produced. The rate of oxidation of the TiC and hence the rate of production of the three-body wear particles increases with atmospheric water vapour content. In the experimental system chosen for this investigation, this results in an increase in differential wear, and hence pole tip recession of the magnetic metal poles of the recording heads. Pole tip recession was shown to correlate with increase in oxidation rate and also increase with atmospheric water vapour content.The wear of the Al₂O₃ phase was probably due to micro-adhesive wear with a wear rate much lower than that of the TiC phase.     

The tribology of advanced digital recording (ADR) systems

The advanced digital recording system, a linear tape recording system is examined with respect to the tribology involved at the head/tape interface. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), Auger elcetron spectrocopy (AES) and scanning Auger microscopy (SAM) surface characterisation techniques, several wear mechanisms are isolated: scratching, attributed to the polishing action of the tape asperities; microfracture then pullout of the Al₂O₃–TiC ceramic used as tape bearing surface; and ploughing due to three-body action of ceramic pullouts entrapped on the recessed poles. A ceramic differential wear is found to occur at the expense of the Al₂O₃ component, which therefore forms the ceramic recessed regions. The ceramic pullouts involved in the poles' three-body abrasion, however, appear to consist of TiC particles. A model for the ceramic wear mechanism is proposed. A transferred mixture of possibly magnetic pigments, binder and lubricant from the tape to the head is observed in the form of adhesive deposits. The iron component of this transfer is found in higher concentrations on the pole tips and the prominent part of the ceramic.     

食物粒度和硬度对人牙釉质三体磨粒磨损特性的影响

在往复滑动摩擦磨损试验台上对比考察了三体磨粒磨损过程中,食物颗粒的粒度和硬度对人牙釉质摩擦学特性的影响。结果表明:当食物颗粒硬度较高时,随着粒度减小,稳态摩擦因数略有降低,牙釉质磨损表面形貌逐渐由剥落为主转变为犁削效应;对于低硬度食物颗粒,随着粒度增加,稳态摩擦因数显著降低,牙釉质磨损表面形貌则由犁削效应转变为轻微擦伤。当食物颗粒粒度相同时,食物硬度对牙釉质的摩擦与磨损行为均有明显影响,食物颗粒硬度越高,稳态摩擦因数越高,磨损越严重。     

Mechanical properties of thin carbon overcoats

Components used in magnetic storage systems (hard discs, tape heads and drums) are often very small and lightweight, and operate under very low loads (of the order of a few micrograms to a few milligrams). As a result, friction and wear processes occur on a nanometre scale and conventional tribological test methods and assessment tools are usually not appropriate. Furthermore, the assessment of the mechanical properties of the coatings or surface treatments used to protect these components from wear is complicated by the low thickness of the layers generally used. This paper details the problems associated with the assessment of the mechanical properties of thin diamond-like carbon coatings used to protect hard discs, tape heads and air bearings. Whereas thick coatings (>1 μm) are relatively easy to assess, even if the substrate has a low hardness and offers little support to the coating, there are many more problems when it comes to measuring the properties of the 5–10 nm layer on a hard disc. In many cases there is no plastic deformation of the coating which merely flexes and bends into the hole produced by plastic deformation of the substrate. Deformation of the coating is then limited to localised plasticity at the indenter edges, and/or fracture along the same edges and at the edge of the contact. The limits for use of Nanoindentation to assess the plasticity of the coating are discussed for such cases.     

Influence of hardness of the counterbody in three-body abrasive wear — an overlooked hardness effect

The resistance to three-body abrasion of some common metals, mainly a tool steel and an aluminum alloy, both heat treated to different hardnesses, has been evaluated in two different tribosystems. The different materials have been tested against each other in different combinations to study the influence of the relative hardness of the two bodies on the wear rate in three-body abrasion. In all tests the abrasives have been much harder than the metals. It was observed that the wear rate of asolid body in three-body abrasion strongly depends on the hardness of the counterbody. In three-body abrasion a material may, under some circumstances, be most strongly worn if the counterbody is softer than the metal to be worn. This is because the abrasive particles can be embedded in the softer surface and groove the harder one. However, many parameters of the tribosystem influence the embedding of particles and the wear rate in three-body abrasion. It is shown that the size of the area in which the abrasives are embedded compared to the size of the wear scar in the counterbody as well as the smoothness of the surfaces are of importance.     

Effect of temperature,humidity and crystal directions on wear of rotary heads

In the advanced tape drive systems which achieve a higher recording density, the wear of rotary heads should be decreased to obtain a higher reproduced output signal by decreasing the ‘Gap depth’ of heads, keeping enough life time. By using the heads made by two kinds of crystal directions of Mn–Zn ferrite and metal evaporated tapes with DLC coating, temperature and humidity dependences of head wear are investigated. The wear rates of both crystal direction heads increase with the decrease in temperature. The wear rate of a (110) head increases very quickly at low temperature, compared with a (100) head. These temperature dependences of head wear are caused by the temperature dependence of the elastic modulus of the tape and the temperature dependence of the friction coefficient between the tape and the head.     

Three-body wear of UHMWPE acetabular cups by PMMA particles against CoCr, alumina and zirconia heads in a hip joint simulator

Three-body abrasive wear of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) acetabular cups by loose polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) bone cement particles is an important mechanism responsible for elevated wear debris generation in total hip arthroplasty. The resistance of the femoral head material to third-body damage has been considered critical for the wear performance of the polyethylene component. This study examines the effect of loose bone cement particles on the wear rate of UHMWPE acetabular cups against both metal and ceramic counterfaces in a hip joint simulator. Against the CoCr head, the UHMWPE cup showed a strong dependence of wear rate on the concentration of the PMMA particles in the lubricant. At a concentration less than 5 g/l, the presence of the PMMA particles had no detrimental effect on the wear rate; higher concentrations of the PMMA particles greater than 5 g/l led to an accelerated wear of the acetabular cups. Mild scratching damage was observed on the CoCr heads after testing with all PMMA-containing lubricants. However, no increased UHMWPE wear rate was found against these damaged femoral heads in a fresh lubricant without PMMA particles, indicating that femoral head scratching was not a major cause for the elevated wear observed under the three-body abrasive conditions. Against both alumina and zirconia ceramic heads, the wear rate of the UHMWPE was independent of the concentration of the PMMA particles. It was observed that a significant portion of the CoCr heads was covered with loose patches of PMMA particles. The higher the concentration of the PMMA particles, the greater the area of the head covered with PMMA particles. The attachment of PMMA particles to the ceramic heads was much reduced compared to the CoCr heads. It is therefore concluded that ceramic femoral heads are effective against potential run-away wear of the UHMWPE acetabular cups when an excessive amount of loose PMMA particles are present in the lubricant.     

硬质颗粒复合合金的组织和耐磨性

本文强调基体合金组织对硬质颗粒复合合金耐磨性的决定作用,设计并通过“真空吸附铸件表面合金化工艺”,在灰铁铸件表层稳定地制得了以不同粒度的铸造碳化钨颗粒均匀分布于高合金铬钨白口铸铁中的复合合金。磨料磨损试验表明：基体合金组织对复合合金二体尤其是三体高应力磨损耐磨性有决定性的作用;以马氏体合金白口铁为基体合金的复合合金,在二体及三体磨损条件下均具有极高的耐磨性,铸造碳化钨颗粒愈粗,复合合金耐磨性愈高,当颗粒尺寸由140～200目增大到18～28目时,其在二体和三体磨损条件下的耐磨性分别是马氏体白口铁15Cr2Mo1Cu的9～31倍和2.8～6.7倍。     

SUB-NANOMETER POLISHING OF MAGNETIC RIGID DISK HEADS TO AVOID POLE TIP RECESSION

For the purpose of solving the problem that too large pole tip recession （PTR） is produced in magnetic rigid disk heads by mechanical polishing, a chemical mechanical nano-grinding experiment is performed by using a float-piece polisher with a tin plate to achieve a more plane and smoother surface. A basal solution, addition agents and a range of pH value are suitably selected to find a kind of slurry, with which the PTR can be controlled on sub-nanometer scale and the giant magnetic resistance （GMR） corrosion and electrostatic damage （ESD） can be avoided. Moreover, the cause that TiC protrudes from the substrate surface of the heads is studied. The appropriate shape and size of diamond abrasive are selected according to the chemical activation of A1203 and TiC in the same slurry. In this way, the chemical and mechanical interactions are optimized and the optimal surface that has small PTR and TiC asperity is achieved. Ultimatily, the chemical mechanical nano-grinding in combination with mechanical nano-grinding is adopted. Sub-nanometer PTR is achieved and the TiC asperity is eliminated by the chemical mechanical nano-grinding with large size ofmonocrystalline followed by mechanical nano-grinding with smalle polycrystalline diamonds.     

Investigation of abrasive wear resistance and wear mechanism of composite alloys

The abrasive wear resistance of composite alloys comprising hard tungsten carbide and soft CuNiMn matrix under different wear conditions has been investigated and compared with CrMo cast iron. It was found that Yz-composite alloy with hard cast angular tungsten carbide has greater wear resistance than CrMo cast iron under two-body wear conditions, but lower resistance than Cr-Mo cast iron under three-body wear conditions. It was found that under three-body wear conditions selective wear of the matrix and digging or fragmentation of tungsten carbide particles dominate in Yz-composite alloy, and microcutting and deformed ploughing is dominant under two-body wear conditions. The abrasive wear resistance of composite alloys under two-body wear condition is independent of bulk hardness, but is closely related to the microhardness of tungsten carbide.     

Chromium oxide coatings applied to magnetic tape heads for improved wear resistance

This paper reports on an investigation of the wear of chromium oxide based very thin films. Linear data tape Advanced Digital Recording (ADR™) heads coated with 20- and 40-nm thick chromium oxide films have been tested subject to temperature/humidity matrix of 10 to 40°C/10 to 80% in order to assess the wear behaviour of the coating as a function of environment. The tested heads were analysed at various stages of wear, by use of optical microscopy (OM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The results show that the most severe damage occurs at the highest relative humidity (80% RH) and for a given humidity, at the lowest temperature (10°C). Inversely, stain transferred from the tape to the head surface predominates at the lowest humidity (10% RH). Stain therefore appears to protect the coating against wear with the degree of protection increasing with the temperature.The wear process differs according to the coating thickness. This is attributed to the location of the maximum subsurface stress with respect to the coating/substrate interface. It is shown that this maximum stress occurs below the interface for 20 nm and at the interface for 40 nm thick coatings. This correlates to different observed wear modes.     

Head design considerations for lower thermal pole tip recession and alumina overcoat protrusion

The magnetic/mechanical spacing between the transducer and the disk significantly decreases due to thermal expansion of pole tips at stressed high temperature and high humidity tests. The protruded pole tips and alumina overcoat result increased thermal asperities and can interfere with the higher disc asperities and be damaged due to high contact. The damage at the head-disk interface due to protruded pole tips and alumina overcoat may become a major roadblock in the drive mechanical performance when flying height is below 10 nm. In this study, the thermal PTR defined as change in PTR with temperature is measured using an optical profiler and an AFM for heads having stack design with single and dual layers of writer coil. The pole tips protrude above the ABS surface by 3–4 nm when the temperature of the head is raised by 50°C. Heads with single layer of writer coil exhibit significantly lower thermal PTR than those with dual layers of coils.     

Dry three-body abrasive wear behavior of WC reinforced iron matrix surface composites produced by V-EPC infiltration casting process

This paper fabricated tungsten carbide (WC) particles reinforced iron matrix surface composites on gray cast iron substrate using vacuum evaporative pattern casting (V-EPC) infiltration process, investigated dry three-body abrasive wear resistance of the composites containing different volume fractions of WC particles, comparing with a high chromium cast iron. The fabricated composites contained WC particles of 5, 10, 19, 27, 36, and 52 vol.%, respectively. The results in abrasive wear tests showed that, with the increase in the volume fraction of WC particles, the wear resistance of the composites first increased until reached the maximum when the volume fraction of WC was 27%, then decreased, and was 1.5–5.2 times higher than that of the high chromium cast iron. The changes of the wear resistance of the composites with the volume fraction of WC particles and the mode of material removal in dry three-body abrasive wear condition were analyzed.     

The measurement of in-situ wear of video heads

A method of measuring in-situ wear of video heads which determines the variation in wear along the surface of the video head is described. Knoop diamond indentations are positioned along the head, either side of the magnetic gap, enabling wear rate to be monitored at several positions. Virgin tape is run over the heads in the form of standard E180 cassettes and the wear occurring at each indentation position is derived from the reduction in length of the main diagonal. Wear rate is plotted against the position of the indentations. This describes the variation in wear along the head and therefore the conformation of the tape to the head. The technique has been used to study the wear of video heads with three types of tape sample: two iron-oxide-based formulations, with either Al₂O₃ or Cr₂O₃ added as head cleaning agents, and one chromium-dioxide-based tape. Little difference was found between the performances of the iron oxide tape samples. The chromium dioxide sample, however, produced wear some five to six times greater than the iron oxide tapes.     

Microstructure and wear properties of in situ TiC/FeCrBSi composite coating prepared by gas tungsten arc welding

Using a gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process, in situ synthesis TiC particles reinforced Fe-based alloy composite coating has been produced by pre-coated FeCrBSi alloy, graphite and ferrotitanium powders on the substrate. The microstructure and wear properties of the composite coatings were studied by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and wear test. The effects of thickness of the pre-coated powder layer on the microstructure, hardness and wear resistance of the composite coatings were also investigated. The results indicated that TiC particles were produced by direct metallurgical reaction between ferrotitanium and graphite during the GTAW process. TiC particles with sizes in the range of 3–5 μm were dispersed in the matrix. The volume fraction of TiC particles and microhardness gradually increased from the bottom to the top of the composite coatings. The TiC-reinforced composite coatings enhance the hardness and wear resistance. The highest wear resistance of the composite coating with a 1.2 mm layer was obtained.     

Flexible media — recent developments from the tribology point of view

With the increase in the recording density of hard disk systems, the demand on the increase in the data recording capacity of tape drive systems as back-up systems is increasing. One of the advantages of the tape drive systems is high volumetric recording density, which is obtained by high areal recording density and thin tapes. The areal recording density can be increased by introducing high performance tapes, such as metal evaporated tapes, with superior magnetic characteristics and smooth magnetic surface to reduce the spacing loss. However, a smoother surface often produces a higher friction coefficient, which could cause tape damage by rotary heads and unstable tape runnability in the tape drives. Adoption of MR heads to tape drive systems is also effective in increasing the areal recording density. However, the wear allowance of the MR heads (shield type) is much smaller than that of the inductive heads. Thinner tapes show lower mechanical stiffness in general, which could cause damage to tape edges easily during tape transportation. In the second or later generation of tape drive systems, a thinner tape is often introduced. These thinner tapes should also have the interchangeability of the original thickness tape. New materials for a base film, such as PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) or aramid in which the elastic moduli are larger than those of PET, are required for thinner tapes. It was found that these side effects by the increase in the volumetric recording density can be improved by tribology. The tribological improvements from the drive design side is very important, as well as from the tape design side.     

Pole tip recession in sandwich heads incorporating a FeTaN soft magnetic track

Pole tip recession (PTR) contributes to a growth in signal loss during the lifetime of sandwich recording heads used in helical scan recording. In this paper results are presented for PTR, measured by AFM, resulting from the cycling of Zr–CaTiO₃/FeTaN sandwich heads against commercial ME and MP tapes in Hi-8 recorders, at 30°C/90% rh and 22°C/80% rh. PTR is seen to be within acceptable levels for Hi-8 recording. Particles adhered to the soft magnetic track, and responsible for head staining, are investigated. An unusual wear pattern on the soft magnetic material is noted.     

Investigations of nano- and macro-wear of magnetic tape head materials

The nano- and macro-wear characteristics of calcium titanate, single crystal ferrite and polycrystalline ferrite were investigated using nano-scratch testing and wear bar testing. Nano- and micro-indentations were made to determine nano- and micro-hardness, and nano-scratch testing was used to evaluate relative wear rates on the nano-scale. The macro-wear characteristics of the various head materials against metal particle tapes was investigated as a function of tape speed using wear bars mounted in a DLT tape drive. The micro-indentation method was used to investigate wear of the head/tape interface in a linear tape drive. The results from nano- and macro-wear tests were analysed and correlated with the microstructure of the materials.