Seagate Technology Incorporated

David Allen Sluzewski

David Gordon Qualey

John Stuart Wright

Kevin Jon Schulz

Adam Karl Himes

Lance Eugene Stover

Joel William Hoehn

John Christopher Morris

Richard August Budde

James Morgan Murphy

Jianxin Zhu

Brian G Molloy

Michael Allen Seigler

Edward Charles Gage

William Albert Challener

Xuhui Jin

Peter Crane

Scott Eugene Olson

Tanya Jegeris Snyder

Mary Cynthia Hipwell

Yiao-Tee Hsia

Gordon Merle Jones

Donald W Janz

Kevin Jon Schultz

Kevin John Schulz

A slider includes a slider body having a first side and edges defined adjacent to the first side, at least two separate insulators each adjacent to the first side of the slider body and supported by the slider body, and a conductive trace adjacent to each of the at least two separate insulators and opposite the first side of the slider body. The at least two separate insulators each are in physical contact with the slider body along the first side of the slider body such that the at least two separate insulators are physically attached to the slider body to electrically insulate each conductive trace from the slider body.

Top bond pad for transducing head interconnect

An integrated heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) device comprises a slider that has a top surface, a bottom surface, and a trailing end. A waveguide is carried on the trailing end and a near field transducer is positioned to receive energy from the waveguide and produce plasmons for heating a region of a magnetic medium. A write pole is carried by the slider adjacent to the near field transducer. A laser is mounted on the top surface of the slider and produces a laser beam that passes through a beam shaper mounted on the top surface of the slider that collimates or focuses the laser beam. A mirror is mounted on the slider for directing the collimated or focused light beam into the waveguide.

Integrated heat assisted magnetic recording device

An apparatus includes a slider mounted on an arm, a first waveguide including a first core guiding layer, a second waveguide mounted on the slider and including a second core guiding layer having a thickness smaller than the thickness of the first core guiding layer, and a coupler for coupling light from the first core guiding layer to the second core guiding layer.

Waveguide for heat assisted magnetic recording

A slider according to the present invention includes a slider body, a plurality of insulators, and conductive traces. The slider body has a first side and edges defined substantially perpendicular to the first side. The plurality of insulators are each adjacent to the first side of the slider body. The conductive traces are adjacent to each of the plurality of insulators and opposite the slider body.

An apparatus comprising a slider including a slider substrate with a trailing side and a writer with bond pads disposed on the trailing side. The writer has an optic input for receiving an optic output. The apparatus comprises an optoelectronic substrate having a substrate surface facing the trailing side, and having contacts on the substrate surface that are joined to the bond pads by conductive bridges, and having an optoelectronic emitter adjacent the substrate surface for generating the optic output.

Optoelectronic emitter mounted on a slider

A slider scale package assembly in a head gimbal assembly (HGA) for electrically coupling a slider/magnetic recording (MR) head to a head interconnect circuit in a disc drive includes a flex circuit attached to the back of the slider/MR head which turns the slider/MR head into the slider scale package with at least one repositioned interconnect pad disposed at the back of the slider/MR head. The flex circuit further includes a conductive material, one end of which is electrically bonded to a bond pad of the slider/MR head, and the other end is electrically bonded to a conductive material of the head interconnect circuit via the interconnect pad. A plurality of flex circuits can be made in a sheet format and dividable into a plurality of individual flex circuits to be attached to a plurality of slider/MR heads. The bonding of the conductive material of the flex circuit to the slider/MR head and the bonding of the interconnect pad of the flex circuit to the conductive material of the head interconnect circuit can be done in a separate automated process.

Head gimbal assembly with flex circuit arrangement between slider and head interconnect assembly

A flex circuit for use in a head gimbal assembly having additional polyamide features which improve the damping properties of the flex circuit. An elbow or damping strips with or without metal traces can be added to the flex circuit to dampen the first torsion gain. The elbow or damping strips with or without metal traces do not act as a substrate for electrical circuitry, but rather provide damping properties to the head gimbal assembly.

Flexible circuit designs with improved damping

Passive damping of a disc drive structural member is achieved using a tuned resonance passive damping circuit. This circuit can, for example, be connected to a head gimbal assembly that has a piezoelectric micro-actuator. The circuit can be tuned to the sway frequency of the micro-actuator. The circuit is configured to dissipate mechanical energy as heat, effectively damping the structure to which it is attached.

Passive damping method and circuit for data storage device actuator

A system and method for controlling vibration of a piezoelectric microactuator in a disc drive are disclosed. The mechanical strain on the piezoelectric microactuator is ascertained and fed back to a controller which provides an electrical signal to the piezoelectric microactuator based upon the sensed strain. The electrical signal provided to the piezoelectric microactuator produces a mechanical force on the microactuator which counteracts the sensed strain. In one embodiment, a bridge circuit is coupled to the piezoelectric microactuator. The bridge circuit is adapted to sense a voltage across the piezoelectric microactuator and to separate the voltage across the piezoelectric microactuator into a voltage externally applied to the piezoelectric microactuator and a voltage induced on the piezoelectric microactuator by mechanical strain.

Vibration control of piezoelectric microactuator

A dual-acting disc drive micro-actuator is formed of a stack of adjoining layers. The stack includes first through fifth layers. The first layer includes first and second spaced apart top electrodes. The second layer includes a first piezoelectric element electrically coupled to the first and second top electrodes. The third layer includes a center electrode electrically coupled to the first piezoelectric element. The fourth layer includes a second piezoelectric element electrically coupled to the center electrode. The fifth layer includes a first bottom electrode electrically coupled to the second piezoelectric element. The first and second piezoelectric elements are expandable and contractible in a common length direction in response to respective electrical fields applied between the center electrode and the first top electrode, the second top electrode and the first bottom electrode.

Combined servo-tracking and preload-controlling microactuator

A disc drive head positioning apparatus includes a head, a suspension which supports the head, a piezoelectric microactuator which is operatively coupled to the suspension, and a charge feedback driver which is operatively coupled to the piezoelectric microactuator. A method of positioning the head relative to a storage medium is also provided.

Disc drive having charge feedback drive microactuator

The present invention is a package for incorporating a micromotor into a head gimbal assembly. The head gimbal assembly includes a slider package and a micromotor package assembled on a load beam. The slider package and micromotor package include circuitry which allow a read/write signal to be conducted from the read/write head on the slider to the load beam. Solder joints form the electrical and mechanical connections between the load beam, the micromotor, and the slider.

Interconnect designs for micromotor, magnetic recording head and suspension assemblies

A microactuation system is disclosed for selectively altering a position of a transducing head carried by a slider in a disc drive system with respect to a track of a rotatable disk having a plurality of concentric tracks. The disc drive system includes a load beam having a base for attachment to an actuator arm and a head suspension for supporting the slider over the rotatable disc. A microactuation system includes a piezoelectric element attached between the base and the head suspension of the load beam and beams or hinges connecting the head suspension to the base. The piezoelectric element is deformable in response to a voltage applied thereto. The beams are sufficiently compliant to permit movement of the head suspension with respect to the base upon deformation of the piezoelectric elements.

Piezoelectric microactuator suspension assembly with improved stroke length

A disc drive has a recording disc rotatable about an axis and a slider supporting a transducing head for transducing data with the disc. A dual-stage actuation assembly supports the slider to position the transducing head adjacent a selected radial track of the disc, and includes a movable actuator arm and a load beam connected to the actuator arm. A flexure is connected to the load beam for supporting the slider, and includes first conductive traces terminating at first bond pads and at least one second conductive trace electrically connected to the transducing head. A microactuator includes a rotor operatively connected to the slider for radially moving the transducing head and a stator connected to the flexure at the first bond pads.

Gimbal flexure for use with microactuator

A disc drive flex circuit head interconnect includes a base insulating layer. At least one flexible electrical conductor is attached to the base insulating layer. The electrical conductor has first and second ends, the first end is adapted to couple to a head, and a second end adapted to couple to an actuator board through a slot in the actuator board. An insulating spacer covers at least a portion of the electrical conductor and extends beyond at least one edge of the base insulating layer near the second end of the conductor. A disc drive incorporating the interconnect and a method of interconnection is also provided.

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Edina, MN, United States of America

David Allen Sluzewski