Patent ID: 8289653

Claim:
A head slider of a hard disk drive, the head slider comprising: a leading edge; first and second side edges; a trailing edge; and an air bearing surface (ABS), the leading edge, the first and second side edges and the trailing edge defining a perimeter of the ABS, the ABS comprising: a trailing pad adjacent to the trailing edge; a front pad adjacent to the leading edge; a laterally extending channel disposed between the trailing pad and the front pad such that a first end of the channel is at the first side edge and a second end of the channel is at the second side edge; and a laterally extending dam disposed between the laterally extending channel and the front pad, the laterally extending dam defined by a top surface and one or more side walls; wherein a floor of the laterally extending channel is at a reference level, wherein the front pad and the trailing pad have respective heights above the reference level, and wherein the top surface of the laterally extending dam is between about 10 Î¼m and about 20 Î¼m above the reference level.