Abstract
GMR heads, the most electrostatic discharge (ESD/EOS) sensitive device of all electric devices, are used for high density magnetic recording applications. A number of problems related to electrostatic discharge phenomena in GMR heads have been reported, including melting and diffusion caused by the Joule heating by ESD currents, pinning rotation and demagnetization resulting from high magnetic field strength, and dielectric breakdown induced by a high voltage. In recent years, there has been a growing concern about damaging GMR heads from Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI). In this paper, we studied a relatively easy method for comprehending the basic characteristics of EMI using the instruments that are widely used in conventional ESD evaluation for GMR head manufacturing.
