Abstract
Further increase in magnetic recording density requires a reduction in slider flying height. The current study employs the short-bearing approximation to determine analytically the static equilibrium configuration of a slider supported by a starved liquid bearing that operates between ideally smooth surfaces. The solution incorporates rheological behavior based on previously acquired data. The accuracy of the short-bearing approximation is assessed by determining how well the resulting solution satisfies the Reynolds equation. The analysis suggests a means of designing a slider to achieve head/medium spacings in the neighborhood of 20 nm.