Slider gas-bearing surface designs with leading-edge pockets

摘要

Disclosed herein are sliders that include at least one leading-edge pocket, data storage devices comprising such sliders, and methods of manufacturing such sliders. The at least one leading-edge pocket increases the amount of gas flowing into the leading edge area of the ABS, which can improve the performance of the slider in low-pressure environments, such as sealed helium data storage devices. The at least one leading-edge pocket can have a variety of shapes, sizes, and features to achieve the desired slider performance (e.g., fly height, stability, etc.) in low-pressure environments.