Air Bearing Features on Discrete Track Media

Abstract

This paper studies the air bearing features on discrete track media by very small mesh size. The mesh size is only 5 nm, and it allows to study the air bearing characteristics of a small square pad flying on discrete track media with sub-micrometer groove pitch. The air bearing spikes and the flying height loss are calculated and discussed. It is observed that the air bearing spikes exist mainly on discrete track media with groove pitches of micrometer level. When the groove pitch is smaller than 0.3 μm, the air bearing cannot “see” the grooves clearly, and the air bearing pressure profile is smooth generally. For groove pitch of micrometer level, the surface with a larger groove pitch provides a stronger air bearing force, if the groove depth and the groove ratio are fixed. For sub-micrometer groove pitches, the air bearing force is approximately independent of the pitch size.