Abstract
The `cooling effect' of air flow is non-negligible in an ultralow-flying-height (FH) head-disk system. In this study, we develop a heat transfer model to study the heat flux and heat transfer in a head-disk interface. Moreover, a three-dimensional (3-D) finite element (FE) model is developed for steady-state analysis of a slider's thermal protrusion due to a DC write current. Results show that the heat flux is significantly different throughout a slider's air bearing surface (ABS). The high-speed air flow reduces approximately 80% of the temperature rise induced by the write current. This suggests that the actual heat flux distribution and a slider's ABS should be introduced in the thermal-structure FE analysis of a nanometer-spaced head-disk system.