Triboelectrification of materials used in tape heads

Triboelectrification of tapes by read/write heads can result in either increased error rates or permanent damage to the heads through electrostatic discharge (ESD) or electrochemical processes. In order to understand these phenomena, we have studied triboelectrification between tapes and different tape head materials used in magnetic tape storage drives. The triboelectrification phenomenon can be modeled as a Thevenin equivalent battery or current source whose magnitude is highly dependent not only on materials, but also on physical parameters such as tape speed, wrap angle, the direction of tape over asymmetric multi-material substrates, and the complete electrical circuit. In this report, we will discuss the different physical parameters that affect the tribocharging of tape by different tape and head materials. We also show that tribocharging can cause ESD damage.