The Head/Tape Interface: A Critical Review and Recent Results

Modeling and measurement techniques for the head/tape interface are discussed. With the advent of contact between the head and tape, both the numeric models and experimental procedures need to be modified to account for the contact. In the field of head/tape interface modeling, the basic Green's function, finite difference, and finite element solution techniques are presented. The asperity compliance curve is introduced to calculate the contact pressure between the head and tape resulting from compression of surface asperities. Modern experimental measurements of head/tape spacing use monochromatic interferometry. The basic theory is presented, and the need for multi-wavelength interferometry is described to improve measurement resolution at extremely close spacings.