Head Smear Reduction in Head-Disk Interface of HAMR Using External AC Electric Field

Head smear in a head-disk interface (HDI) of the heat-assisted magnetic recording disturbs the head flyability. This study focused on the effect of an external ac electric field on reducing head smears. The smear amount from the disks with lubricant films under an ac electric field and laser heating was evaluated. The smear amount decreased when an electric field was applied between the disk and pin. This is because the ions that desorb from the disk surface get trapped in the space between the disk and pin surfaces and do not reach the pin surface because of the ac electric field.