Thermal and electrical reliability of dual-stripe MR heads

Dual-Stripe Magnetoresistive heads are subjected to accelerated life tests through elevated temperature and excess current. The time to failure is well described by the Arrhenius model, yielding an activation energy of 1.99/spl plusmn/0.11 eV. Extrapolation of the time to failure (TTF) of the total head population to nominal operating conditions yields a mean TTF (MTTP) well in excess of the 1 Mhr called for in high performance applications. Based on these measurements, calculated annual failure rates (AFR) in the ppm/year range are expected over a nominal field service period of 10/sup 5/ hours (11 years).