A study of dynamic friction at the head-disk interface

With its precisely controlled contact geometry, the head-disk interface wit h laser zone texture affords a model system for the study of dynamic fricti on. By using two types of head sliders, i.e., the conventional slider and t he padded slider, and a matrix of hard disks with a wide range of laser zon e texture parameters, head-disk contacts involving a small number as well a s a large number of bumps are realized. A rich variety of dynamic friction behavior is observed with respect to bump height and bump density dependenc e. A satisfactory explanation of these friction behaviors requires that bot h the deformational component and the adhesive component of friction be con sidered on equal footings. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021- 8979(00)84308-X].