Censtor Corporation

Seagate Technology Incorporated

Harold J Hamilton

Dimitre A Latev

Robert D Hempstead

Timothy W Martin

Darren Todd Imai

William C Cain

Michael E Devillier

Michael A Baldwinson

Keith R Berding

Alexander P Payne

David D Roberts

Michael H Azarian

Mark A Lauer

Garrett A Garrettson

Christopher S Gudeman

Kaynam Chun

James P Hennessy

Kenneth K Tang

Mark W Parcher

David T Gutowski

Randolph S Gluck

Richard D Anderson

Anthony A Jarrami

Leonard E Harr

Shinichi M Tanaka

Kwang K Kim

An information storage system includes a transducer having a loop of ferromagnetic material with pole tips separated by an nonferromagnetic gap located adjacent to a medium such as a rigid disk. During writing the separation between the pole tips and the media layer of the disk is a small fraction of the gap separation. Due to the small separation between the pole tips and the media layer, the magnetic field generated by the transducer and felt by the media has a larger perpendicular than longitudinal component, favoring perpendicular recording over longitudinal recording. The media may have an easy axis of magnetization oriented substantially along the perpendicular direction, so that perpendicular data storage is energetically favored. The transducer may also include a magnetoresistive sensor for reading magnetic information from the disk.

Hard disk drive for perpendicular recording with transducer having submicron gap between pole tips

An electromagnetic read/write system includes a contact interface formed by a pole-structure-carrying wear pad and a recording surface. The uppermost portion of the recording surface is characterized by a buffed, generally planarized topography. Lower elevations of the recording surface may be texturized or untexturized. Various methods of producing such an interface are described. The interface of the present invention provides dramatically improved longevity, i.e, wear performance through long term read/write operation.

Hard drive system interface between a disk surface and a transducer contacting the surface during communication

Flexure/transducer structure employable in an electromagnetic information storage and retrieval system wherein mechanical load-bearing responsibilities and electrical-current-carrying responsibilities are merged into and shared by common structure. The invention subject matter is useable in systems characterized by contact operation, as well as by quasi-contact and noncontact operations, in relation to the recording surface in an information recording medium.

Transducer/flexure/conductor structure for electromagnetic read/write system

A hard disk drive head operates in close proximity and dynamic contact with a rapidly spinning rigid disk surface, the head including a transducer with a magnetically permeable path between a poletip disposed adjacent to the disk surface and a magnetoresistive (MR) sensor situated outside the range of thermal noise generated by the surface contact. The magnetically permeable path is the same as that used to write data to the disk, eliminating errors that occur in conventional transducers having MR sensors at a separate location from the writing poletips. Moreover, the magnetically permeable path is preferably formed in a low profile, highly efficient &ldquo;planar&rdquo; loop that allows for manufacturing tolerances in throat height and wear of the terminal poletips from disk contact without poletip saturation or poletip smearing. The MR layer is formed in one of the first manufacturing steps atop the substrate, so that the MR layer has a relatively uniform planar template that is free from contaminants. A preferred embodiment has a laminated yoke for improved high frequency efficiency, with the MR element situated between the yoke lamina for improved sensitivity.

Contact planar magnetoresistive head

A transducer for a hard disk drive system has a planar magnetic core and a pair of poletips that project transversely from the core for sliding contact with the disk during reading and writing. The transducer is formed entirely of thin films in the shape of a low profile table having three legs that slide on the disk, the poletips being exposed at a bottom of one of the legs for high resolution communication with the disk, the throat height of the poletips affording sufficient tolerance to allow for wear. The legs elevate the transducer from the disk sufficiently to minimize lifting by a thin air layer that moves with the spinning disk which, in combination with the small size of the thin film head allows a low load and a flexible beam and gimbal to hold the transducer to the disk. The transducer includes a loop shaped core of magnetic material that ends at the poletips, the core extending further parallel than perpendicular to the disk surface and preferably being formed of a plurality of slightly spaced ribbons of magnetic material in order to increase high frequency permeance. A high magnetic saturation layer may be formed adjoining the gap in at least the trailing poletip, in order to avoid saturation at the poletips during writing. The dimensions of the yoke adjacent to the poletips are also designed to avoid saturation at the poletips by saturating at a lower flux in the yoke than the poletips. The close relationship between the transducer and the media of the disk affords high density magnetic data storage and retrieval.

Planar magnetic ring head for contact recording with a rigid disk

A disk drive system for contact recording has a flexure beam holding a transducer at one end, the flexure beam being oriented substantially along the direction that the transducer slides on a rigid magnetic disk. The transducer has a protrusion which contacts the disk and separates the rest of the transducer from the moving air film that adjoins the spinning disk, the protrusion containing a magnetic pole structure that communicates with the disk during sliding. A preferred embodiment employs a gimbal structure which allows limited movement of the transducer relative to the flexure beam and three disk-contacting pads extending down from the transducer to make contact with the magnetic disk, at least one of the pads containing a magnetic pole structure and two of the pads trailing the third pad.

Durable, low-vibration, dynamic-contact hard disk drive system

An information storage system having a ring head sliding on a rigid magnetic storage disk in such close proximity that the magnetic field felt by the media layer or layers of the disk has a larger perpendicular than longitudinal component so that data is stored in a perpendicular mode. The head to media separation during writing of data to the media is a small fraction of the amagnetic gap separating the poletips of the head. Reading of data may be inductive or may be via a magnetoresistive sensor which is coupled to the magnetically permeable core of the ring head far from the poletips. The media preferably has a high perpendicular anisotropy.

Hard disk drive having ring head with predominantly perpendicular media fields

An information storage system having a ring head in such close proximity to a rigid magnetic storage disk that the magnetic field felt by the media layer or layers of the disk has a larger perpendicular than longitudinal component so that data is stored in a perpendicular mode. Reading of data is accomplished with a magnetoresistive sensor which may be coupled to the magnetically permeable core of the ring head far from the poletips, which may contact the disk. The media preferably has a high perpendicular anisotropy, and may be formed in a plurality of films with crystalline structures traversing the films.

Hard disk drive with magnetoresistive head and perpendicular media

An electromagnetic disk drive system including a rigid disk and electromagnetic read/write head structure and elongate flexure structure which cooperatively offer unique features and performance in the head/disk interface region. The head structure and flexure structure, in one form of the invention, are unitary and integrated and in another form are articulated. Both forms of the invention perform with substantially continuous dynamic contact with the recording surface of the disk, and both are characterized by a low effective mass and low contact force between the head and disk surface.

Hard disk drive with lightly contacting head

A operationally contacting hard disk drive system has reduced friction due to lower capillary adhesion between the disk surface and a transducer in a substantially continuous sliding relationship with the surface. The disk surface has an adhesion-reducing texture that includes a microscopic RMS roughness in a range between about 1.5 and 5.5 nanometers, or a number of asperities having a mean plane to peak height in a range between about 6 and 50 nanometers. The roughness may increase in a radially graded fashion to compensate for the increased linear velocity and concomitant frictional power loss near the outer diameter of the disk. It is important that the uppermost reaches of the textured surface are smooth but not flat in order to obtain lasting low friction operation, which is accomplished by constructing the surface with a highest approximately one percent having an average radius of curvature in a range between 2 microns and 100 microns. An area of the slider in apparent contact with the disk surface is preferably less than 1000 square microns, and a ratio between this nominal area and the mean to peak height is less than 0.3 meters. The slider may also include a substantial thickness of partially wetting material in contact with the disk, or may alternatively be textured with deep grooves or materials having differing wear rates, in order to provide reduced frictional adhesion despite wear of the slider.

Low friction sliding hard disk drive system

An interactive device for lapping transducers has a body with an abrasive surface that communicates with the transducers in order to provide information for controlling the lapping and testing the transducers. The lapping body is preferably shaped as a disk, drum or tape, and communicates with the transducer using a type of signal that the transducer is designed to read and/or write. Thus for lapping a magnetic head or slider to be employed in a hard disk drive, the lapping body contains a magnetic medium layer that is either prerecorded or written by the head during lapping, while the signal received by the head is monitored and analyzed by a processor in order to determine, in part, when to terminate lapping. A series of transducers can be simultaneously lapped while individually monitored, so that each transducer can be removed from the lapping body individually upon receipt of a signal indicating that transducer has been lapped an optimal amount. Transducers for employment in drive systems can also be tested for performance characteristics by utilizing lapping bodies having surface characteristics similar to those found in the drive system.

Interactive device for lapping transducers

An interactive system for lapping transducers has an abrasive surface that communicates with the transducers in order to provide information for controlling the lapping and testing the transducers. The lapping body is preferably shaped as a disk, drum or tape, and communicates with the transducer with a type of signal that the transducer is designed to read and/or write. Thus for lapping a magnetic head or slider to be employed in a hard disk drive, the lapping body contains a magnetic medium layer that is either prerecorded or written by the head during lapping, while the signal received by the head is monitored and analyzed by a processor in order to determine, in part, when to terminate lapping. A series of transducers can be simultaneously lapped while individually monitored, so that each transducer can be removed from the lapping body individually upon receipt of a signal indicating that transducer has been lapped an optimal amount. Transducers for employment in drive systems can also be tested for performance characteristics by utilizing lapping bodies having surface characteristics similar to those found in the drive system.

Interactive method for lapping transducers

A low-mass head/flexure/conductor assembly for reading and writing information with respect to a rigid magnetic recording disk. The assembly includes a read/write transducer unit, an elongate flexure, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating the transducer unit and the flexure for selected, limited relative roll and pitch, without relative yaw. Conductive ribbons that form part of the gimbal structure also form part of the conductive circuit provided in the assembly. The assembly has an effective mass of no more than about 1.5-milligrams. Plural, hardened, wear-resistant feet are formed on the transducer unit for enabling sliding contact with the recording surface in a disk. The flexure may be formed of various materials, including both ceramic and nonceramic materials, and may carry applied damping material in order to control certain resonance and servo-performance characteristics.

Gimbaled micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly and system

A low-mass head/flexure/conductor assembly for reading and writing information with respect to a rigid magnetic recording disk. The assembly includes a read/write transducer unit, an elongate flexure, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating the transducer unit and the flexure for selected, limited relative roll and pitch, without relative yaw. Conductive ribbons that form part of the gimbal structure also form part of the conductive circuit provided in the assembly. The assembly has an effective mass of no more than about 1.5-milligrams. Plural, hardened, wear-resistant feet are formed on the transducer unit for enabling sliding contact with the recording surface in a disk.

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Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Harold J Hamilton