Numerical simulation of effect of roughness/texture of slider surface on intermolecular force

Abstract

We investigated that what influence surface roughness had on the intermolecular forces acting at the head/disk interface. A model was developed based on a probabilistic description of the slider and disk surfaces. The results obtained from our research indicated that a rougher surface for the slider increased the intermolecular force slightely more than a smooth surface did. The intermolecular force on the slider was decreased by shifting the slider's mean plane. We concluded that it was possible in practice to design an air bearing surface with a lower intermolecular force using a smooth but narrower trailing-edge-pad, a textured/rough trailing pad with at least a 2-nm mean plane shift and a pitch angle designed larger than 100 lrad.