Seagate Technology Incorporated

Seagate Technologies, Inc.

Daniel W Olson

Declan Macken

Timothy William Stoebe

Michael Thomas Johnson

John Wolf

David James Ellison

Gavin Lee Brinkley

Andrea L Geer

A data storage device can employ one or more transducing heads that have a data reader and data writer each connected to a substrate of the transducing head. The substrate can be electrified with a predetermined surface charge by a charge circuit of the transducing head to maintain, or alter, a head-media spacing.

Transducing head with a surface charged reader

An apparatus comprises circuitry configured to apply an AC signal having a frequency to one of a slider of a recording head and a magnetic recording medium. The applied AC signal causes an oscillation in an electrostatic force and clearance between the slider and the medium at the frequency of the AC signal. A thermal sensor is configured to generate a sensor signal at the AC signal frequency in response to sensing changes in temperature resulting from the oscillating clearance. A detector is coupled to the circuitry and the thermal sensor. The detector is configured to detect one or both of head-medium spacing changes and head-medium contact using a phase of a first harmonic or an amplitude of a second harmonic of the thermal sensor signal.

Head-medium contact detection using an oscillating electromagnetic force

An apparatus includes a slider body of a disk drive. The slider body is electrically coupled to a plurality of end bond pads. A voltage applied to one more of the end bond pads sets a surface potential of the slider body.

Apparatus and method for setting slider surface potential

Electrostatic discharge protection can be afforded to a data recording head in accordance with various embodiments. A data recording head may consist of a circuit having a preamp ground connected to a ground substrate via a ground trace. The ground trace can consist of a first leg connected to the ground substrate and a second leg with an open connection extending from a dice line.

ESD protection surface charge control recording head

A data recording head may consist of at least a charge control circuit that has a substrate, ground, surface charge circuitry, and data reader circuitry. The substrate may be electrically isolated from the ground and electrically connected between the surface charge circuitry and a non-zero fixed voltage. The surface charge circuitry can be configured to apply a varying substrate charge to the substrate at a predetermined frequency to alter a head media spacing between the substrate and a data storage medium.

Recording head with surface charge control

A disc drive assembly that includes a disc having a surface, a slider having an air-bearing surface (ABS) opposite the disc surface, and a voltage source for applying a voltage/potential across the disc and slider. Present on either the ABS or the disc surface is a surface treatment that provides a surface potential of at least +/&#x2212;0.1 V. In some implementations the surface treatment is a self-assembled monolayer (SAM).

Self-assembled monolayer to adjust fly height

An apparatus of the present disclosure generally includes a recording head, circuitry, a thermal sensor, and a detector. The recording head has an electromagnetic attraction to a recording medium. The circuitry is configured to oscillate the electromagnetic attraction between the recording head and the recording medium. The oscillating electromagnetic attraction produces a corresponding oscillating clearance between the recording head and the recording medium. The thermal sensor, located in or near the recording head, senses an oscillating temperature that is induced by the oscillating clearance and produces a sensor signal that is representative of the sensed temperature. The detector is coupled to the thermal sensor and is configured to detect at least one of head-medium contact and clearance using the sensor signal and the electromagnetic attraction.

Head-medium contact detection using electromagnetic attraction

A slider having a slider body having an air bearing surface, a leading edge and a trailing edge, and a transducer on the air bearing surface proximate the trailing edge, the transducer comprising a read sensor and a write sensor. The slider also has a heater, positioned proximate the transducer, and a continuous dielectric layer comprising a dielectric material having a coefficient of thermal conductivity of at least 20 W/m-K, the dielectric layer positioned adjacent to and in contact with the heater and between the heater and the transducer.

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Minneapolis, MN, United States of America

Daniel W Olson