Thin film delamination detection

An apparatus and method for detecting and marking delamination defects on thin film disks are disclosed. The apparatus includes a read/write (R/W) head and a burnishing head mounted on separate arms that access the disk while spinning on the test stand. The controller uses the R/W head to perform an initial magnetic test of selected areas on the disk to establish an initial defect map. The burnish head is then flown over the surface for an extended time to accelerate and open up the latent delamination defects by impacting protruding material. The R/W head is then used to perform a second magnetic test which is compared against the first test to identify the delamination defects which have been developed by the burnishing. The delamination defects are then marked with a magnetic pattern which aids in optically locating the defect during subsequent failure analysis.