Soft-particle intrusion tests were carried out on load/unload drives, These
tests show that to prevent particles intruding into a head/disk interface
(HDI) the HDI must be designed with a minimum step height of the slider lea
ding edge. Adhesion of particles to slider rail surface results in slider-d
isk contact. Even a light intrusion of particles into the leading edge step
leads to a decrease both in flying height and the pitch of the slider.