A comprehensive electrostatic discharge control program for magnetoresistive heads

This paper describes a comprehensive electrostatic discharge (ESD) control program for the protection of magnetoresistive and giant magnetoresistive heads. These types of magnetic recording heads are far more sensitive to damage from ESD than the inductive thin film heads which previously dominated head disk drive designs. Sources of ESD damage include people, tools and work stations, packaging materials and the head itself. This document defines procedures for coping with ESD in a thorough, yet cost effective, manner.