US 11,942,124 B1
Slider air bearing designs with side blocker for contamination robustness
Yong Hu, San Ramon, CA (US); Lee K. Dorius, San Jose, CA (US); Hung V. Nguyen, San Jose, CA (US); and Taichi Nakamura, Sagamihara (JP)
Assigned to Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Jul. 11, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/350,544.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/380,666, filed on Oct. 24, 2022.
Int. Cl. G11B 5/60 (2006.01); F16C 32/06 (2006.01)
CPC G11B 5/6082 (2013.01) [F16C 32/0603 (2013.01); F16C 2370/12 (2013.01)] 23 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A slider, comprising:
a first side-edge surface;
a second side-edge surface; and
an air-bearing surface (ABS) comprising:
a first side cavity adjacent to the first side-edge surface, and
a first island side blocker situated at a mouth of the first side cavity,
wherein:
a first outer surface of the first island side blocker forms a portion of the first side-edge surface,
a second outer surface of the first island side blocker is recessed from the first side-edge surface,
a first side opening is situated on a leading side of the first island side blocker, and
a second side opening is situated on a trailing side of the first island side blocker.