Abstract: A magnetic recording head for reading and writing information with respect to a rotating disk medium includes a pad having a working surface which contacts the recording medium. The pad has a leading edge and a trailing edge with the leading edge facing in the general direction of relative motion between the head and the medium. The ledge has a narrower width than the trailing edge so as to reduce the effort of debris accumulation at the disk-head interface. The narrower leading edge allows the head to deflect oncoming debris as the head traverses the surface of the rotating magnetic medium.

Abstract: A magnetic recording head for reading and writing information with respect to a rotating disk medium includes a pad region having a working surface which contacts the recording medium. The pad region has a leading edge and a trailing edge with the leading edge facing in the general direction of relative motion between the head and the medium. The leading edge has a narrower width than the trailing edge so as to reduce the effect of debris accumulation at the disk-head interface. The narrower leading edge allows the head to deflect oncoming debris as the head traverses the surface of the rotating magnetic medium.

Abstract: A method of texturing the slider surface of a magnetic head, or the surface of a disk, with a laser. The laser is focused onto the hard disk drive component and a groove is ablated from the working surface. The steps of focusing and ablating can be repeated to create a pattern of grooves in the head and/or disk. The grooves are defined by a wall(s) that is perpendicular to a bottom surface of the groove.