Stiction at the Winchester head-disk interface

Stiction was found experimentally to be very sensitive to the humidity of the environment. The texture of the disk surface, the slider loading, lubricant thickness, water adsorption susceptibility of the disk surface, the purging process and water-lubricant interaction were all considered as important parameters for stiction initiation. A good correlation between the magnitude of stiction and the water vapor density has been found and from which a stiction boundary has been established. Based on the liquid-solid adhesion phenomenon, a model is proposed for the mechanism of stiction.