International Business Machines Corporation

Dwight W Brede

A David Erpelding

Surya Narayan Pattanaik

Norman G Ainslie

In a data disk file a slider is mechanically attached to the suspension by means of reflowed solder balls. A pattern of solder contact pads is formed on the back side of the slider and a similar pattern of solder-wettable regions is formed on the suspension. Solder balls are formed on either the solder contact pads or the solder-wettable regions, the slider is located on the suspension so that the solder balls are in registration between the solder contact pads and solder-wettable regions, and the solder is heated to reflow, thereby forming solder joints as a mechanical connection between the slider and suspension. When a thin film transducer is formed on the slider trailing edge and the suspension is a laminated type with patterned conductors, solder balls are also formed on the transducer lead terminations on the trailing edge and on a row of solder-wettable regions on the suspension near the location where the trailing edge of the slider is to be located. In this embodiment, when the slider with thin film transducer, with solder balls on the lead terminations, is located over the suspension then all of the solder balls are heated. The solder balls for providing mechanical connection collapse during reflow, thereby causing the solder balls on the transducer lead terminations to come in contact with and flow together with the solder balls formed on the row of solder-wettable regions on the suspension. Thus the mechanical attachment of the slider is made simultaneously with the electrical connection of the transducer lead to the disk file read/write electronics.

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Los Altos Hills, CA, United States of America

Dwight W Brede