Seagate Technology Incorporated

The Texas A&m University System

Atsp Innovations, Inc.

Andreas Argyros Polycarpou

Zine-Eddine Boutaghou

Jorge Vicente Hanchi

Mary Cynthia Hipwell

Daniel Paul Burbank

Anthony Pascal Sannino

David Gerard Wobbe

Thomas Roy Pitchford

Jing Gui

Peter Raymond Segar

Joel William Hoehn

Jacob Meyer

Reza Gheisari

Dallas W Meyer

Bruno Jean Marchon

Mark James Schaenzer

Lance Eugene Stover

Ramesh Sundaram

Huan H Tang

Scott Edward Ryun

John L Brand

James Economy

Dale E Egbert

Subrahmanyan Nagarajan

Jeffery K Berkowitz

William Omar Liners

Pixiang Lan

Jorge Vincent Hanchi

Phase change material compositions and methods for using the compositions to prepare substrate coatings or bulk blended polymers that advantageously lower friction between interacting substrate surfaces and lower substrate surface wear.

Phase change material compositions and methods for their use to lower surface friction and wear

Surface micro-texturing has been proven an effective way to reduce friction and wear for tribological applications. There is provided a low cost hot sintering method to apply micro-texturing on an advanced bearing polymer material. First, one face of the mold was micro-textured using a micro-casting method. Second, the cured Aromatic Thermosetting coPolyester (ATSP) powder was filled in the mold. Next, the filled mold was placed in a hot press for a hot sintering process. Finally, the textured bulk ATSP was cooled. The micro-textured ATSP bulk material was machined and compared with plain untextured material. The micro-textured material could effectively reduce friction at speeds lower than 2.46 m/s: 14% reduction in average.

Surface texturing for advanced polymers

A novel Aromatic Thermosetting Copolyester (ATSP) can be processed into highly effective wear resistant coatings by blending with polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) and other additives. Surface treatments/coatings are key to improving wear performance and durability in a wide array of applications. The problems associated with use of liquid lubricants, hard/soft coatings are well known but only modest progress has been achieved due to lack of research on new material systems. These coatings were fabricated and tested as highly effective wear resistant coatings by blending ATSP with PTFE and other tribologically beneficial additives. The main advantages of these polymeric-based coatings are their relatively low cost and simple substrate surface conditioning (i.e., no need for expensive surface preparation before coating).

Polymer coating system for improved tribological performance

A magnetic disc drive system is disclosed. The disc drive system includes at least one substantially flat magnetic disc, at least one read/write head, at least one head stack assembly, at least one head gimbal assembly, and at least one suspension limiter. The suspension limiter is operatively connected to the head stack assembly. The distal end of the suspension limiter is positioned proximate but normally not in contact with the head gimbal assembly for preventing large head slaps in both operational and nonoperational mode.

Disc drive having a suspension limiter for improved shock performance

A method is disclosed for constructing an ultra-low-flying-height slider for carrying a transducing head in a disc drive system including a rotatable disc. The method comprises removing material from an air bearing surface of the slider to create a channel at a likely location of contact with the rotatable disc and filling the channel with a low-friction, high-wear-resistance material. The channel is filled such that the air bearing surface is configured the same as the air bearing surface configuration prior to removing material.

Method for constructing an ultra-low-flying-height slider

A head disc interface having a fine pitch surface roughness including fine pitch projections having a relatively smooth roughness height and a projection pitch <1.0 &mgr;m for optimizing tribological performance.

Texture structure for optimizing head disc interface

A disc storage system includes a rotating disc and a transducer. The transducer is carried on a slider which is supported by an armature. The armature is used to move the slider radially across the disc surface whereby information may be read from or written to the disc surface of the transducer. The slider includes an air bearing surface which faces the disc surface. As the disc rotates, the air bearing surface causes the slider to &ldquo;fly&rdquo; over the disc surface. Pads are provided on the air bearing surface to improve operational characteristics of the system. For example, the pads may be used to reduce the stiction or improve flying characteristics. Flying instabilities associated with the pads are addressed by a number of characteristics provided to the air bearing surface.

Slider for disc storage system

A slider for improved head-disc interface. The slider includes a slider body, an air bearing and edge surfaces. Edge surfaces of the slider include a rounded edge surface having a deposited edge covering for head-disc interface.

Edge structure for slider-disc interface and method of manufacture therefor

A slider for supporting transducer elements in a disc drive. The slider including an edge protection feature for contact interface protection for head disc interface.

Edge contact protection feature for a disc drive head

A slider with contact interface features for contact starts and stops. Contact interface features include elevated leading edge contact interface features including elevated contact pads, ribs or protective layer. In addition, the invention includes a slider with a trailing edge contact interface at the bearing surface having a relatively rough surface structure including textured or rough surface patterns.

Slider for a data storage device with head disc interface for contact starts and stops (&ldquo;CSS&rdquo;)

An air bearing slider designed for operation at ultra-low flying heights. The air bearing slider has an air bearing surface having portions which are constructed from a low-friction, high-wear-resistance material.

Enhanced durability ultra-low-flying-height sliders

A burnishing head configured to provide extremely close control of the burnishing height, to minimize stiction between the burnishing head and a disc being burnished, and to optimize the tribological relationship between the burnishing head and a disc being burnished. The burnishing head includes one or more spacer pads, associated with selected ones of the burnishing pads on the burnishing head, which remain in contact with the surface of a disc being burnished. The height from the contact surface of the spacer pad to the contact surface of the burnishing pad determines the effective burnishing height. The burnishing head also includes moats, or recessed areas, surrounding the burnishing pads to minimize the stiction caused by generation of a liquid meniscus between the disc and contacting elements of the burnishing head, and which act as collection points for particulates generated by the burnishing process. The spacer pads preferably include microtextured contact surfaces to minimize stiction and wear and further include a diamond-like carbon coating to further improve wear characteristics.

Burnishing head with fly height control spacer

A disc storage system includes a rotating disc and a transducer. The transducer is carried on a slider which is supported by an armature. The armature is used to move the slider radially across the disc surface whereby information may be read from or written to the disc surface of the transducer. The slider includes an air bearing surface which faces the disc surface. As the disc rotates, the air bearing surface causes the slider to &ldquo;fly&rdquo; over the disc surface. Pads are provided on the air bearing surface to improve operational characteristics of the system.

Growing community of inventors

Tulsa, OK, United States of America

Andreas Argyros Polycarpou