International Business Machines Corporation

Celia E Yeack-Scranton

Robert Fontana

David A Thompson

Mason L Williams, Iii

Linda Hope Lane

Mason Lamar Williams

Clint D Snyder

Cherngye Hwang

Andrew Ching Tam

Timothy C Reiley

Johannes Georg Bednorz

Christopher H Bajorek

Wolfgang D Pohl

Clinton David Snyder

Ralph L Hollis, Jr

Vlad J Novotny

Martin A Lanz

Siegfried F Vogel

Christopher H Bajhorek

A disk drive assembly in which the suspension and read/write transducer are integrated into a combination assembly and fabricated using thin film deposition techniques thereby producing an assembly which is very low in mass permitting contact recording. In one embodiment, transducers are deposited in a row and column configuration onto a release and support layer covering a wafer substrate having a thickness equal to a desired suspension length. The wafer is separated into a plurality of row sections, with each row section providing one thin film transducer from each column. A second release layer is formed on a separated side on the row section and thin layers of suitable materials are deposited to form a suspension layer including conductive lines extending to the thin film transducers. The first and second release layers are dissolved and the row section is further cut to form the individual combination assemblies. In a second embodiment, the wafer substrate has a thickness equal to the width of the suspension. The transducers deposited on a row are separated by the desired suspension length to produce combination assemblies useful for linear disk drive actuators. The excess portion of the wafer substrate can alternatively be removed by cutting or etching eliminating the requirement for release or support layers.

Magnetic head for recording with ultra low force

A contact recording disk file uses an integrated head-suspension assembly having a head carrier with a dual-layer wear pad for contacting the disk during read and write operations. The outer wear layer of the pad is relatively soft and wear prone compared to a harder and more wear-resistant inner layer. The outer wear layer wears away at a relatively rapid rate during initial wear-in of the head carrier. In this manner the head pole pieces, which extend into the wear pad, are rapidly put into contact with the disk, thereby compensating for initial misalignment of the wear pad with the surface of the disk. The inner wear layer then provides wear resistance over the life of the disk file. In the preferred embodiment, both the outer and inner wear layers are formed of essentially amorphous carbon doped with different amounts of hydrogen.

Contact magnetic recording disk file with improved head assembly

An integral combination magnetic transducer and suspension assembly suitable for use in both contact recording and in winchester-type applications. A generally rectangular elongated flat suspension member includes a vertical-type inductive read/write transducer formed integrally with the suspension member and is embedded in one end of the suspension member. The vertical inductive transducer is suitable for vertical recording applications. The transducer vertical magnetic pole tip and magnetic yoke structure are formed at one end of the suspension member with the vertical pole tip extending to and exposed at an air bearing surface formed on the lower surface of a slider-shaped protrusion extending from the lower surface of the end of the suspension member. The integral transducer/suspension assembly can be adapted for either flying above the recording media or for use in continuous contact with the recording media. The air bearing surface is formed on the lower surface of a wear pad. The fabrication of the transducer/suspension assembly is adapted to be performed at the wafer level.

Method of making a integrated transducer-suspension assembly for

An integral combination magnetic transducer and suspension assembly suitable for use in both contact recording and in winchester-type applications is described. A generally rectangular elongate flat suspension member includes a ring-type inductive read/write transducer formed integrally with the suspension member and is embedded in one end of the suspension member. The ring-type inductive transducer is suitable for horizontal recording applications. The transducer magnetic poletips and magnetic gap are formed and positioned such that the poletips and gap are essentially co-planar with the air bearing surface of a slider-shaped protrusion extending from the lower surface of the end of the suspension member adjacent a moving media during operation. The air bearing surface presented to the disk has most of its area covered with a wear layer to minimize wear of the slider surface and poletips.

Method of making integral transducer-suspension assemblies for

Controlled current pulses applied to a shaped resistive heating element formed on the bonding surface of a base or substrate component provide sufficient heat to the bonding interface formed between a chip and the base bonding surface to produce a high bonding temperature at the bonding interface while maintaining an opposite surface of the chip at or below a relatively low temperature critical for components formed or mounted on the chip surface. A layer of a thermally setting thin-film bonding agent is applied over a serpentine-shaped resistive heating element having a relatively narrow linewidth formed on the base component bonding surface. The chip to be bonded is retained in a desired position against the bonding surface over the heating element and bonding agent layer while a current pulse is applied to the heating element via contact pads. The current pulse magnitude and duration are controlled to produce sufficient local heating at the bonding interface to effect the desired bonding without excessive heating of any critical components at some predetermined distance from the bonding site.

Pulsed current resistive heating for bonding temperature critical

An integral combination magnetic transducer and suspension assembly suitable for use in both contact recording and in winchester-type applications is described. A generally rectangular elongated flat suspension member includes a vertical-type inductive read/write transducer formed integrally with the suspension member and is embedded in one end of the suspension member. The vertical inductive transducer is suitable for vertical recording applications. The transducer vertical magnetic pole tip and magnetic yoke structure are formed at one end of the suspension member with the vertical pole tip extending to and exposed at a air bearing surface formed on the lower surface of a slider-shaped protrusion extending from the lower surface of the end of the suspension member. The integral transducer/suspension assembly can be adapted for either flying above the recording media or for use in continuous contact with the recording media. The air bearing surface is formed on the lower surface of a wear pad. The fabrication of the transducer/suspension assembly is adapted to be performed at the wafer level.

Integrated transducer-suspension assembly for vertical recording

A single point bonding tool for use in ultrasonically bonding a fine or ultrafine wire to another electrical conductor, has a thin film resistor integrally formed thereon. The thin film resistor is integrally formed on the bonding tip by standard photolithographic techniques applied to the bonding tool. The tool combines ultrasonic energy and thermal energy provided by the resistor to provide required bonding energy that may be localized both in space and in time. The result offers optimized energy transfer to the selected workpieces and minimizes risk of damage to adjacent, heat sensitive devices.

Device for thermally enhanced ultrasonic bonding with localized heat

A read-write head is provided with a plurality of piezoelectric transducers which produce signals related to its movement as it flies over an adjacently rotating recording disk. By filtering these signals to determine their spectral components in low, medium and high ranges, hard contacts between the head and disk, disk wear or roughness and head movement can be determined.

Apparatus for analyzing the interface between a recording disk and a

The positioner comprises a fixed frame (1) from which extends a first pair of parallel piezoelectric benders ('bimorphs') (2, 3) which carry an intermediate frame (4). Actuation of the bimorphs (2, 3) causes lateral translation of the intermediate frame (4) with respect to the fixed frame with the bimorphs (2, 3) forming the flexible sides of a parallelogram. Attached to the intermediate frame (4) is a second pair of bimorphs (12, 13) which extend in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the first pair of bimorphs (2, 3) thus permitting a support frame (14) to exercise a deflection in a direction orthogonal with respect to the movement of the intermediate frame (4). The bimorphs used consist of one or two piezoelectric elements carrying two or more electrodes on either side the proper actuation of which causes the benders to bend with parallel end surfaces at all times.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Celia E Yeack-Scranton