Tribology and Mechanics of Magnetic Storage Devices

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xviii

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2. Introduction

   • Bharat Bhushan

   Pages 1-62

3. Solid Surface Characterization

   • Bharat Bhushan

   Pages 63-156

4. Contact between Solid Surfaces

   • Bharat Bhushan

   Pages 157-230

5. Friction

   • Bharat Bhushan

   Pages 231-365

6. Interface Temperature of Sliding Surfaces

   • Bharat Bhushan

   Pages 366-411

7. Wear Mechanisms

   • Bharat Bhushan

   Pages 412-546

8. Measurement Techniques of Head and Medium Wear

   • Bharat Bhushan

   Pages 547-584

9. Lubrication Mechanisms and Lubricants

   • Bharat Bhushan

   Pages 585-674

10. Analysis and Measurement of Hydrodynamic Air Films

    • Bharat Bhushan

    Pages 675-797

11. Surface Finishing of Ceramic Head Materials

    • Bharat Bhushan

    Pages 798-863

12. Back Matter

    Pages 864-1019

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Magnetic recording is presently a $50 billion industry. It spans audio, video, and digi­ tal applications in the form of tapes and disks. The industry is expected to grow by a factor of five or more in the next decade. This growth will be accompanied by dramatic improvements in the technology, and the potential exists for magnetic-recording den­ sities to improve by at least one order of magnitude! Magnetic-recording process is accomplished by relative motion between a mag­ netic head and a magnetic medium. Types of magnetic media for digital recording are: flexible media (tapes and floppy disks) and rigid disks. Physical contact between head and medium occurs during starts and stops and hydrodynamic air film develops at high speeds. Hying heights (mean separation between head and medium) are on the order of 0. 1 micrometer comparable to surface roughness of the mating members. Need for higher and higher recording densities requires that surfaces be as smooth as possible and flying heights be as low as possible. Smoother surfaces lead to increased static/ kinetic friction and wear. In the case of magnetic tapes, in order to have high bit capac­ ity for a given size of a spool, we like to use as thin a tape substrate as possible. Thinner tapes are prone to local or bulk viscoelastic deformation during storage. This may lead to variations in head-tape separations resulting in problems in data reliability.

• friction
• mechanics
• stability
• tribology

• IBM Research Division, Almaden Research Center, San Jose, USA

  Bharat Bhushan

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