Read Rite Corporation

Western Digital (Fremont), Inc.

Read-Write Corporation

Carl J Carlson

Hong M Chen

Ross W Stovall

Chuan He

Charles C Cheng

Joseph J Miceli, Jr

Yugang Wang

Daniel P Schott

Jimmy J Shen

Howie Trang

Viktor S Doundakov

A method of making a magnetic head suspension assembly includes attaching a slider with a magnetic head to an intermediate flexible circuit. The attached combination is then inserted into a spin stand tester for the testing of electrical performance. If the attached combination fails the test, it is discarded, thereby avoiding the cost of discarding an entire head suspension assembly. On the other hand, if the attached combination passes the test, it is mounted to a load beam to form the head suspension assembly. Thereafter, a flex circuit can be attached to the load beam and intermediate flexible circuit to provide electrical connections to the magnetic head through the intermediate flexible circuit.

Method of forming a magnetic head suspension assembly

A head gimbal assembly includes a magneto-resistive read element integrated with a thermally assisted write element. The head gimbal assembly includes an optical waveguide positioned between two write poles to transmit a laser beam to a recording medium. The laser beam heats the medium sufficiently and lowers its coercivity in order to facilitate writing. A laser assembly is attached to a suspension for achieving direct coupling of the laser beam to an input end of the optical waveguide. The laser assembly is produced using cost effective wafer processing techniques. The use of silicon for the mounting block allows it to be used as a heat sink, for conducting heat away from the laser diode and into the suspension.

Laser mounting for a thermally assisted GMR head

A fixture for assembling and testing a read/write head comprised of a head gimbal assembly (HGA) that allows gimbaling along pitch and roll axes and that utilizes an inexpensive spherical gimbal ball pressed into an etched hole in the load beam for providing a highly accurate and measurable pivot location of a slider. The head gimbal assembly includes a suspension of the type supporting a slider, and comprising the suspension. A gimbal opening is formed in the load beam, and extends therethrough so that it receives the spherical gimbal ball for attachment to the load beam. A resilient flexure is secured to the load beam and supports the slider. The backside of the gimbal ball remains visible for the option of optical bonding of the slider to the suspension and for measurement of the slider position relative to the gimbal ball subsequent to the assembly of the HGA. The fixture is comprised of a top plate for holding the suspension assembly and a bottom plate for holding the slider. In one embodiment, the top plate includes a first vacuum port that terminates in a chamfered side for mating with the outer contour of the gimbal ball, and further includes a second vacuum port that assists in holding the suspension assembly to the top plate.

Read/write head with a gimbal ball assembly

An optical focusing device for focusing an incident optical beam onto a focal plane, as a focal spot. The optical focusing device includes an incident central refractive facet upon which an optical beam impinges, and a high-index glass body through which the incident optical beam passes toward a bottom reflective surface. The bottom reflective surface reflects the optical beam through the body, toward a peripheral reflector. The peripheral reflector focuses the optical beam toward a focal plane on which the focal spot is formed. The focal plane is defined within a pedestal that forms part of the optical focusing device, and that extends from the bottom reflective surface. The central facet is conically shaped for refracting the incident optical beam away from the pedestal, onto the bottom reflective surface. The peripheral reflector surrounds the central facet and can have various appropriate shapes, such as an aspherical shape or a tilted parabolic shape, which compensates for the conical factor and aberrations introduced by the central facet. The top surface includes the central facet and the peripheral facet, and can be made substantially flat using diffractive optical elements or Fresnel optics.

High numerical aperture optical focusing device having a conical incident facet and a parabolic reflector for use in data storage systems

An apparatus and method for assembling baseplates, which are joined to head suspensions, to actuator arms of an E-block for use in disk drives employ an assembly fixture for orienting and holding the head suspensions with reference to a pivot bearing formed in the E-block. An adhesive is interposed in a gap formed between each baseplate and corresponding actuator arm to maintain the suspensions in alignment relative to the pivot bearing. The assembly fixture includes clamps for maintaining the suspensions in a proper orientation. Each suspension has a locating surface that is planar with the gap for alignment of the suspensions.

Apparatus and method for adhesive bridge suspension attachment

A head gimbal assembly (HGA) allows gimbaling along pitch and roll axes, and utilizes an inexpensive spherical gimbal ball pressed into an etched hole in the load beam to provide a highly accurate and measurable pivot location of a slider. The head gimbal assembly includes a suspension of the type supporting a slider, and comprising the suspension. A gimbal opening is formed in the load beam, and extends therethrough so that it receives the spherical gimbal ball for attachment to the load beam. A resilient flexure is secured to the load beam and supports the slider. The backside of the gimbal ball remains visible for the option of optical bonding of the slider to the suspension and for measurement of the slider position relative to the gimbal ball subsequent to the assembly of the HGA. The backside of the gimbal ball can optionally be used as the mechanical datum to accurately bond the suspension to the slider.

A head gimbal assembly includes a suspension of the type supporting a slider and a flex circuit. The suspension is formed of a load beam that supports the flex circuit, and a resilient flexure which is secured to the load beam and which supports the slider. The load beam is comprised of a flexure portion that defines a rear motion limiter and that engages the flex circuit and limits the slider movement when the head gimbal assembly is exposed to a shock load. The rear motion limiter extends intermediate the flex circuit and the flexure. The flex circuit includes a flexure section which is separated from the rear motion limiter by a gap, such that under a shock load condition, the gap collapses for limiting the travel of the slider along a first direction. The front motion limiter can be formed of one or a plurality of tabs or wings that extend integrally from the load beam. According to another embodiment, the head gimbal assembly includes a front motion limiter that engages a cantilevered free end of the flexure for limiting the travel of the slider along a second direction.

Read/write head with a limited range of motion relative to a load beam

Magnetic head suspension assembly including an intermediate flexible

The method of making and self-aligning a magneto-optical head at a wafer level is as follows: A flat optical substrate is molded or heat pressed in batches as a wafer level to form the desired lens shapes. Coil cavities or depressions are simultaneously formed with the lens to accommodate the coil assembly. Conductive plugs are formed in proximity to the cutting lines, for wire bonding attachment to the coil. The plugs are filled with a conductive material such as copper. The plugs do not extend through the entire depth of the optical wafer, thus further facilitating the mass production of the integrated heads. The slider body wafer is formed from silicon or other appropriate material. The slider body wafer and the lens/coil wafer are bonded. Coils and pedestals are formed on the lens / coil plate using thin-film processing techniques. Reflective surfaces are deposited on the bottom surface of the substrate, opposite the lens. The mirror material around the pedestal areas and plugs is masked and removed. An alumina layer is then deposited to define the air bearing surface and the pedestal. Yokes are then formed by means of lithography and plating in the base and sides of the depressions to assume a desired shape. A series of alternating insulating layers and conductive coil layers is formed. A protective layer seals the coil assembly, and is lapped to correct the lens thickness and to provide proper focal plane.

Near field magneto-optical head made using wafer processing techniques

A head gimbal assembly includes a suspension of the type supporting a slider and a flex circuit. The suspension is formed of a load beam that supports the flex circuit, and a resilient flexure which is secured to the load beam and which supports the slider. The flex circuit is comprised of conductive traces formed on a compliant, dielectric substrate. The substrate includes a body portion and a head portion for supporting the conductive traces. The substrate head portion is patterned such that selected portions of the head portion are removed to leave bare conductive trace sections, and to achieve reduced pitch and roll stiffness of the flex circuit. The flex circuit can optionally include a thin seed layer formed on the underside of the substrate to reduce static charge buildup.

Head gimbal assembly with low stiffness flex circuit and ESD Protection

An optical or magneto-optical (MO) head comprises a head formed of two main parts: a housing and a body. The housing supports optical and magnetic components to be secured to the slider, and the body provides an air bearing surface and further supports the housing. The housing includes a pattern of channels and grooves that retain the optical and magnetic components, and that can be produced with extreme accuracy, so that the cumulative tolerance of the head varies within a very tight range. The components are interlocked within, or secured to the slider in a self-aligned disposition, and do not become detached, even under extremely harsh operating conditions. In addition, the self-alignment feature significantly reduces, if not entirely eliminates the need to align certain components after they have been mounted onto the slider. The slider design enables the head to be mass produced and assembled.

Composite slider with housing and interlocked body

A method of making and self-aligning a disk data storage read/write head that uses a catadioptric focusing device (or lens) having a high numerical aperture (NA), which does not introduce significant spot aberration on a storage medium. The manufacturing process of the head is carried out at a wafer level, and is facilitated significantly by the flatness of the focusing device. An exemplary manufacturing process is implemented as follows: A lens coil/plate is formed by molding a flat optical substrate to form the desired lens shapes. Coil cavities or depressions are formed simultaneously with the lens to accommodate a coil. Conductive plugs are formed in proximity to cutting lines for wire bonding attachment to the coil. A slider wafer is formed and bonded to the lens/coil wafer. Coils and pedestals are also formed on the lens/coil plate using thin-film processing techniques, and reflective surfaces are deposited on the bottom surface of the substrate, opposite the lens. The focusing device includes an incident surface, a reflective surface, a focal pedestal, and a body. The incident surface is generally flat and is comprised of a central diffractive, optically transmissive surface and a peripheral reflector. The peripheral reflector is comprised of a reflective-diffractive surface, or alternatively, a reflective-kinoform phase profile.

Wafer processing techniques for near field magneto-optical head

A read/write head for use in data storage drives includes a thermally assisted inductive write section and a magnetic read section to write data onto, and retrieve data from a storage medium. The write section includes a waveguide formed of a core and a surrounding cladding, and positioned between a first write pole and a second write pole, to conduct a laser beam for heating the medium. The second write pole and the optical waveguide core are offset relative to each other at the pole tip, such that they define an overlap region that determines a written track width. The offsetting facilitates manufacturing process since the optical waveguide core and the second write pole can be made wide enough while still defining tracks with a limited width.

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Pleasanton, CA, United States of America

Carl J Carlson