Contact vibration of micro-textured sliders

We have formed a micro-texture on a pico-slider's air-bearing surface to reduce the vibration when the slider comes into contact with the disk. The contact between slider and disk was controlled by adjusting the 'interference height.' Our measurements show that, at a giving interference height there is a significant less vibration in the textured slider. This lower amplitude of vibration is attributed to the lower friction force, which is in turn due to the smaller area of contact. We have also introduced the concept of interference area and found that it provides a good explanation of measured vibration.