Investigation of Flying Characteristics of Slider with Micro-actuator

As the track density of hard disk drives increases, there is a need for more precise actuation of the head. This can be accomplished by using a high band width micro-actuator. In this work, the flying characteristics of sliders with micro-actuators are investigated with the aim to optimize the head/disk interface performance of such sliders. Contact-start-stop, sweep, and flying height tests are performed and analyzed. The results show that the MEMS based micro-actuator mounted on a slider possess acceptable flying characteristics.