Will the numbers add up for sub-7-nm magnetic spacings? Future metrology issues for disk drive lubricants, overcoats, and topographies |
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Authors: | Mate C.M. Qing Dai Payne R.N. Knigge B.E. Baumgart P. |
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Affiliation: | Hitachi San Jose Res. Center, CA, USA; |
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Abstract: | To achieve disk drive recording densities greater than one terabit per square inch, future head-media spacings (HMSs) will need to be less than 7 nm. This will place severe demands on the metrology tools used to measure the thickness and topographies of the contributors to the head-media spacing. Here, we first review some of the metrologies used for characterizing overcoats, lubricants, and topographies and discuss some of the limits that will make it difficult to achieve a sub-7-nm HMS. We next show new results for measuring lubricant redistribution on disk surfaces after contact with a small pad on the slider and present a new method for determining wear rates of these slider contact pads. |
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