Patent ID: 7474507

Claim:
A data storage device including: magnetic media; and a slider including: a magnetic transducer for reading and writing information on the magnetic media, the magnetic transducer being positioned at a trailing edge of the slider; on an air-bearing surface; and a slider body of a first material, the slider body including: a sacrificial extension that is an integral part of the slider body and is composed of the first material, the sacrificial extension covering the magnetic transducer and being aligned with the magnetic transducer, protruding above an adjacent recessed area on the air-bearing surface, having a longest dimension extending from the magnetic transducer along the air-bearing surface to a leading edge of the slider body and being disposed on a midplane oriented through a midline of the air-bearing surface and a midline of an upper surface parallel to and opposite from the air-bearing surface; and a channel in the slider body, the channel being aligned with the sacrificial extension on the midplane and being disposed on the upper surface of the slider body, the channel having a longest dimension that is at least as large as the longest dimension of the sacrificial extension and the channel having a width perpendicular to the midplane that is larger than a width of the sacrificial extension perpendicular to the midplane.