Hutchinson Technology Corporation

Darrell C Sydlo

Kyle T Tobias

Lawrence E LaLonde

Peter Francis Ladwig

Paul Valentine Pesavento

Kurt F Fischer

Matthew J Horner

David D Smahel

Christopher J Sperl

Ritesh K Tiwari

Maryam O Yusuf

Alexander W Haas

Carl C Minton

Methods for producing flexible circuits can include creating treating a surface of the flexible circuit with at least one of an atmospheric plasma and a beam of ions. The atmospheric plasma is formed by directing a flow of gas between an electrode and the surface of the flexible circuit and generating a voltage between the electrode and the flexible circuit to create a plasma from the gas. A mean ion energy of the ions in the ion beam ranges from about 500 electron volts to about 1,500 electron volts.

Plasma treatments for flexures of hard disk drives

Disk drive head suspension components having microstructured surfaces and a method for making the components. One embodiment of the method includes depositing a layer of photoimageable polymer having an associated set of process parameters including a minimum resolution and exposing the photoimageable polymer through a photomask having a microstructure-producing region with features below the minimum resolution for the photoimageable polymer. The exposed photoimageable polymer is developed to produce a layer of polymer having a thickness and a microstructured surface region with depressions that are less than the thickness of the polymer. In one embodiment the photomask has a microstructure-producing region with features sized and spaced between about 1 &#x3bc;m and 10 &#x3bc;m. Microstructured surfaces on structures such as flying leads, flying termination pads, cover coat layers and at insulating layer-trace interfaces and insulating layer-cover coat interfaces can be manufactured.

Microstructure patterned surfaces for integrated lead disk drive head suspensions

A method for making a disk drive head suspension component having a microstructured surface region includes depositing a layer of photoimageable polymer having an associated set of process parameters including a minimum resolution and exposing the photoimageable polymer through a photomask having a microstructure-producing region with features below the minimum resolution for the photoimageable polymer. The exposed photoimageable polymer is developed to produce a layer of polymer having a thickness and a microstructured surface region with depressions that are less than the thickness of the polymer.

Method for making a disk drive head suspension component having a microstructured surface region

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Hutchinson, MN, United States of America

Darrell C Sydlo