Methodology for the determination of the minimum and gap flying height of a thin-film slider

摘要

A method and apparatus for measuring the flying height of a recording head that is separated from a rotating disk by an air bearing. The recording head has a trailing edge that extends from an interface of a substrate. The trailing edge has an embedded read/write element and an outer tip. The recording head is loaded into a flying height tester that can measure the distance between the disk and any point on the head. The flying height tester contains a transparent disk that is rotated to create an air bearing between the head and the disk. The outer tip is separated from the disk by an air bearing height hm. The read/write element is separated from the disk by an air bearing height hg. The substrate interface is separated from the disk by an air bearing height hi. The flying height tester measures the height hg to obtain the distance between the read/write element and the disk.