RESISTIVE TEMPERATURE SENSOR WITH IMPROVED ASPERITY, HEAD-MEDIA SPACING, AND/OR HEAD-MEDIA CONTACT DETECTION

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sensor supported by a head transducer and having a temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and sensor resistance.

SOLUTION: A sensor operates at a temperature above ambient and is responsive to changes in sensor-medium spacing. Conductive contacts connected to the sensor have contact resistance and a cross-sectional area adjacent to the sensor larger than that of the sensor, such that the contact resistance is small relative to the sensor resistance and negligibly contributes to a signal generated by the sensor. A plurality of head transducers each support a TCR sensor and a power source can supply bias power to each sensor of each head to maintain each sensor at a fixed temperature above an ambient temperature in the presence of heat transfer changes impacting the sensors. A TCR sensor of a head transducer can include a track-oriented TCR sensor wire for sensing one or both of asperities of the medium.

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