Magnetic recording disk drive with actively controlled electric potential at the head/disk interface for wear and durability control

摘要

An electrical potential difference between a slider body and a hard disk of a hard disk drive is eliminated based on the flying-height spacing of the slider body between the slider body and the hard disk. A predetermined bias voltage is applied between the slider body and the hard disk that includes a DC component and an AC component and that is based on the detected flying-height spacing of the slider body. The flying-height spacing can be detected based a minimum slider-to-disk clearance change from a design flying height of the slider at a frequency of the AC component as the DC component of the predetermined bias voltage is varied. Alternatively, the flying-height spacing can be detected based on a minimum electrodynamic response of the slider to a first harmonic of the AC frequency of the AC component as the DC component is varied.