Patent ID: 8471579

Claim:
A method of using a common tester to measure slider resistance for different types of row bars, the types of row bars comprising femto-type row bars and shunting-type row bars, wherein the femto-type row bars comprise a row of sliders, each of which has a front electrical lapping guide pad and a back electrical lapping guide pad, wherein the shunting-type row bars comprise at least one set of sliders and one common test pad connecting with the set of sliders, each slider of the shunting-type row bars having a test pad, the tester having a probe card with a row of front pins and a row of back pins, and the method comprising: (1) placing one row bar on the tester; the placed row bar being either femto type or shunting type; (2) determining a type of the row bar placed on the tester; when the determining indicates that the row bar placed on the tester is a femto-type row bar; (3) contacting the front electrical lapping guide pads of the sliders with the front pins of the probe card respectively, and contacting the back electrical lapping guide pads of the sliders with the back pins of the probe card respectively; and (4) supplying a first voltage to the front pins, and supplying a second voltage that is unequal to the first voltage to the back pins, thereby obtaining resistances of the sliders; and when the determining indicates that the row bar placed on the tester is a shunting-type row bar; (5) shutting off the back pins by supplying no voltage thereto, contacting the common test pad of the shunting-type row bar with one of the front pins of the probe card, and contacting the test pads of the sliders with the rest of the front pins of the probe card respectively; and (6) supplying a third voltage to the front pins which contact the test pads, and supplying a fourth voltage that is unequal to the third voltage to the front pin that contacts the common test pad, thereby obtaining resistances of the sliders.