ALIGNMENT OF MAGNETIC HEADS FOR AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION OF REGIONS OF INTEREST FOR INTERFEROMETRIC MEASUREMENT

An electronic template representing the topography of a magnetic head being tested and delineating distinct patterns corresponding to particular regions of interest, such as ABS surfaces, is provided in order to limit analysis of the sample's surface to such regions. The outline of the slider positioned within the field of view of an interferometric microscope is identified by measuring the modulation of incident light at each pixel inside and outside the contour of the sample using the loci of perceivable fringe contrast as the criterion for establishing the location of such edges. Once the outline of the slider within the plastic tray is so established, the slider is shifted within the field of view to match the position of the template, thereby automatically achieving a precise alignment of the template with the boundary of the slider. In turn, the template patterns will also be aligned with the regions of interest in the magnetic head and interferometric analysis can be limited to data corresponding to the pixels contained within those patterns. Curve-fitting schemes can be used to facilitate and expedite the process of identifying the contour of the slider sample. In the case of conventional magnetic-head sliders, which are substantially rectangular in plan view, straight-line fitting between a few data points along two adjacent edges is sufficient to find the location of the edges and the corner between them, which in turn can be used is straightforward manner to align the template with the slider.