Magnecomp Corporation

Chris Dunn

Kuen Chee Ee

Long Zhang

David Glaess

Christopher Schreiber

A PZT microactuator such as for a hard disk drive has a restraining layer bonded on its side that is opposite the side on which the PZT is mounted. The restraining layer comprises a stiff and resilient material such as stainless steel. The restraining layer can cover most or all of the top of the PZT, with an electrical connection being made to the PZT where it is not covered by the restraining layer. The restraining layer reduces bending of the PZT as mounted and hence increases effective stroke length, or reverses the sign of the bending which increases the effective stroke length of the PZT even further. The restraining layer can be one or more active layers of PZT material that act in the opposite direction as the main PZT layer. The restraining layer(s) may be thinner than the main PZT layer.

Multi-layer PZT microactuator with active PZT constraining layers for a DSA suspension

Multi-layer PZT microacuator with active PZT constraining layers for a DSA suspension

A method of fabricating a flexible circuit interconnect comprising a conductive pattern on a flexible substrate comprising layers of different components having different coefficients of thermal expansion, including exposing the flexible substrate sequentially to different temperature regimes tending to differentially expand the flexible circuit components, dimensionally stabilizing the flexible substrate with an added stainless steel layer only during said exposing to different temperature regimes, and removing stainless steel of the added layer from the flexible circuit after exposing the flexible circuit.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Chris Dunn