Investigation of particle generation in a hard disk drive during the start/stop period

Particle contamination in a hard disk drive has been recognized as an important issue because particles can significantly affect the reliability of the drive. In this study, characteristics of the particle generation in a hard disk drive during the start/stop period were investigated. The number of particles generated in the drive was measured at 5 locations using CNC (condensation nucleus counter) with a sampling probe. It was found that most of the particles were generated whenever the drive started or stopped. The number of particles detected by the condensation nucleus counter depended on parameters including sampling location and sampling velocity.