A spacing measurement using Michelson laser interferometry was developed for measuring the head-disk spacing in a hard disk drive. This method utilizes the phase comparison of two kinds of interference fringe patterns formed respectively over the inner surface of a glass disk and the air bearing surface of a slider through the glass disk. To increase resolution and reproducibility, four principal techniques were newly introduced: an optical system on which a high-definition CCD (charge-coupled device) camera was mounted, external identification of the fringe interval by driving the reference mirror, a wobbling technique to freeze ridgelines at a prescribed position when capturing the fringe image, and a powerful method for extracting ridgelines from the fringe pattern. In this method, the phase shift generated by light reflection on the slider surface incurring multiple beam interference effects must be compensated. For this purpose, first the phase shift was quantified by simulating the multiple beam interferences over a stratified medium inclusive of the lubricating air film, the DLC (diamond-like-carbon) protective layer, the silicon underlayer and the substrate. Then, the shift was subtracted from the optical spacing to obtain the mechanical spacing. Finally, the repeatedly measured mechanical spacings were compared with the theoretically calculated spacings, showing a good accordance between them.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
April 2004
Technical Papers
Head-Disk Spacing Measurement Using Michelson Laser Interferometry as Observed Through Glass Disk
Yasunaga Mitsuya, Professor,
Yasunaga Mitsuya, Professor
Nagoya University, Department of Micro System Engineering, Furo-cho Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
Search for other works by this author on:
Yasuhiro Kawamoto,
Yasuhiro Kawamoto
Toshiba Digital Media Network Co. Ltd., Suehiro-cho 2-9, Ohme, Tokyo 198-8710, Japan
Search for other works by this author on:
Hedong Zhang, Research Associate,
Hedong Zhang, Research Associate
Nagoya University, Department of Micro System Engineering, Furo-cho Chikusa-ku Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
Search for other works by this author on:
Hiroyuki Oka
Hiroyuki Oka
Sharp Corp., Audio-Visual Systems Group, Hachihon-matsu-iida 2-13-2, Higashi-hiroshima 739-0192, Japan
Search for other works by this author on:
Yasunaga Mitsuya, Professor
Nagoya University, Department of Micro System Engineering, Furo-cho Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
Yasuhiro Kawamoto
Toshiba Digital Media Network Co. Ltd., Suehiro-cho 2-9, Ohme, Tokyo 198-8710, Japan
Hedong Zhang, Research Associate
Nagoya University, Department of Micro System Engineering, Furo-cho Chikusa-ku Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
Hiroyuki Oka
Sharp Corp., Audio-Visual Systems Group, Hachihon-matsu-iida 2-13-2, Higashi-hiroshima 739-0192, Japan
Contributed by the Tribology Division for publication in the ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY. Manuscript received by the Tribology Division March 18, 2003; revised manuscript received September 16, 2003. Associate Editor: C.-P. R. Ku.
J. Tribol. Apr 2004, 126(2): 360-366 (7 pages)
Published Online: April 19, 2004
Article history
Received:
March 18, 2003
Revised:
September 16, 2003
Online:
April 19, 2004
Citation
Mitsuya, Y., Kawamoto, Y., Zhang, H., and Oka, H. (April 19, 2004). "Head-Disk Spacing Measurement Using Michelson Laser Interferometry as Observed Through Glass Disk ." ASME. J. Tribol. April 2004; 126(2): 360–366. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1645870
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Cited By
Static Characteristics of Hybrid Water-Lubricated Herringbone Groove Journal Bearing
J. Tribol (April 2025)
Related Articles
Measurement of Thermal Deformation of Interconnect Layers Using SIEM
J. Electron. Packag (September,2002)
Mechanical Properties of Crimped Mineral Wools: Identification From Digital Image Correlation
J. Eng. Mater. Technol (April,2008)
Three-Dimensional Measurement of Head Flying Height and Attitude
Using Image Processing of Fringe Patterns Formed by Michelson Laser
Interferometry
J. Tribol (July,1996)
Measurement of Time-Averaged Turbulent Free Convection in a Tall Enclosure Using Interferometry
J. Heat Transfer (April,2011)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
Glass Defect Detection Based on Image Processing
International Conference on Software Technology and Engineering (ICSTE 2012)
Robust Outdoor Tracking by Fusion of Laser Scanner and Image Processing Data
International Conference on Instrumentation, Measurement, Circuits and Systems (ICIMCS 2011)
Insulating Properties of W-Doped Ga2O3 Films Grown on Si Substrate for Low-K Applications
International Conference on Advanced Computer Theory and Engineering, 4th (ICACTE 2011)