Study on ESD/EMI Phenomena for Magnetic Reproducing Head

Abstract

GMR heads, the most electrostatic discharge (ESD/EOS) sensitive device of all electron devices, are used for high density magnetic recording applications. A number of problems related to electrostatic discharge phenomenon in GMR heads have been reported, including melting and diffusion caused by the Joule heating by ESD currents, pinning rotation and demagnetization resulting from high magnetic field strength, and dielectric breakdown induced by a high voltage. In recent years, there has been a growing concern about damaging GMR heads from ElectroMagnetic Interference (EMI). In this paper, we studied a relatively easy method for comprehending the basic characteristics of EMI using the instruments that are widely used in conventional ESD evaluation.

Effects of ESD and EMI on TMR heads during bonding process of gold ball bonding machines

“…Magnetoresistive (MR) head is an important component of HDD since it reads data from a recorded data media. MR heads are generally degraded/damaged by both direct/indirect ESD and also by a high frequency electromagnetic field [3], [4]. Therefore, ESD and EMI control is essential to acquire reliability for HDD production line.…”

Study on ESD Phenomena of Magnetic Head by 1ns Pulse ESD

“…Recently, as the devices become increasingly smaller, there has arisen a concern for damaging GMR heads by EMI. The potential impact of the EMI events on GMR heads has been pointed out (15)- (17) .…”