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PSO-Optimized Deep Learning for Ultra-Precise Corrosion Detection on HDD Read/Write Heads
Author(s)
Punyammaree, Chaiwat
Date Issued
January 1, 2025
Type
Article
Abstract
This paper presents a novel deep learning approach for automated detection and counting of corrosion pits on Hard Disk Drive (HDD) read/write heads using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images. A U-Net model optimized via Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is developed to enhance segmentation performance by automatically tuning hyperparameters. The methodology includes optimized SEM image acquisition, preprocessing (patch-based subdivision and expert annotation), PSO-driven hyperparameter selection, and post-processing with thresholding and connected component analysis for pit counting. Experimental results demonstrate that the PSO-optimized U-Net significantly outperforms standard U-Net, SegNet, and LinkNet models, achieving an F1-score of 79.60%, an IoU of 86.51%, and an accuracy of 99.77%. Additionally, the proposed method achieves 86.9% counting accuracy, surpassing human experts (72.7%) while processing images 15 times faster (180 seconds vs. 2700 seconds per image). These findings highlight the potential of PSO-optimized deep learning for improving HDD quality control by providing an accurate, efficient, and standardized solution for corrosion pit detection, ultimately reducing the risk of HDD failure and data loss.
Citation
IEEE Access, 13, 110623-110635, 2025