Effect of operating environment on failure mechanism of a head-tape interface in a linear tape drive with a belt-driven cartridge

Abstract

The effect of the operating environment on the failure mechanism of a head-tape interface in a linear tape drive with a belt-driven cartridge was studied. A modified commercial drive with magnetoresistive head and metal particle tape were used. Durability tests for the full tape length were performed at ambient and extreme environmental conditions. Head output, coefficient of friction and number of dropouts per minute were measured during the test. Optical and atomic force microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy were used to evaluate changes at the head-tape interface at the end of the tests. Magnetic and tribological performance of head-tape interface is the best at low temperatures and low relative humidities. Increases in both temperature and relative humidity result in performance degradation, with the worst performance at the highest temperature. At ambient conditions, sporadic variations in the coefficient of friction and the number of dropouts per minute are observed, associated with a cycle of stain formation and removal. Possible mechanisms responsible for the observed tribological behaviour of the interface at various environmental conditions are discussed.