Segmented front bar for particle robustness

A slider, comprising:

• a plurality of media-facing surfaces at a plurality of levels, the plurality of levels including a first level, a second level, and a third level, wherein, in an orientation in which the plurality of media-facing surfaces is oriented upward, the first level is above the second level, and the second level is above the third level;
• a segmented front bar comprising a leading-edge surface, a segmented media-facing surface, and a cavity-facing surface;
• at least one cavity abutting the segmented front bar and situated between the cavity-facing surface of the segmented front bar and a leading pad;
• a first side-edge surface substantially perpendicular to the leading-edge surface;
• and
• a second side-edge surface substantially parallel to the first side-edge surface,
• wherein:
• the segmented media-facing surface comprises a plurality of non-recessed portions at the first level and a plurality of recessed portions at the second level, and
• a floor of the at least one cavity is at the third level,
• and wherein the at least one cavity comprises:
• a first cavity open to the first side-edge surface, and
• a second cavity open to the second side-edge surface.

A slider, comprising:

• a plurality of media-facing surfaces at a plurality of levels, the plurality of levels including a first level, a second level, and a third level, wherein, in an orientation in which the plurality of media-facing surfaces is oriented upward, the first level is above the second level, and the second level is above the third level;
• a segmented front bar comprising a leading-edge surface, a segmented media-facing surface, and a cavity-facing surface;
• and
• at least one cavity abutting the segmented front bar and situated between the cavity-facing surface of the segmented front bar and a leading pad,
• wherein
• the segmented media-facing surface comprises a plurality of non-recessed portions at the first level and a plurality of recessed portions at the second level,
• a floor of the at least one cavity is at the third level, and
• a thickness of the segmented front bar in a direction substantially perpendicular to the leading-edge surface is between approximately 10 microns and approximately 50 microns.

A slider, comprising:

• a segmented front bar comprising a plurality of slots, wherein a front surface of the segmented front bar is a leading-edge surface of the slider, and wherein the plurality of slots is situated substantially perpendicular to the leading-edge surface of the slider;
• a leading pad situated between the leading-edge surface of the slider and a trailing edge of the slider, wherein the leading pad is recessed from the segmented front bar;
• a cavity abutting the segmented front bar and situated between the segmented front bar and the leading pad;
• and
• a shallow-etch surface situated between the cavity and the leading pad,
• wherein a maximum depth of the plurality of slots, relative to a non-recessed surface of the segmented front bar, is less than a depth of the cavity relative to the non-recessed surface of the segmented front bar.