Magnecomp Corporation

International Business Machines Corporation

Keith Allan Vanderlee

Kuen Chee Ee

Peter Hahn

Richard Francis Frankeny

David Glaess

Jerome A Frankeny

Long Zhang

Christopher G Dunn

Danny E Massey

Ronald L Imken

Preecha Sudachun

Johnathan Phu

Steven A Duncan

Benjapa Tanampee

Bernd Bartyzel

Daniel A Fields

Ronald J Seaman

An electrical connection structure for connecting a piezoelectric element and an electrical circuit to each other with a conductive adhesive is described. The electrical connection structure includes an epoxy, a conductive component surrounded by the epoxy, and a trace feature implemented on top of the electrical connection structure. At least one depression feature can be implemented on top of the electrical connection structure to constrain the epoxy and the at least one conductive component.

Contact pad with electrical connection structure for connecting a piezoelectric element and an electrical circuit with a conductive adhesive

A method of manufacturing a tri-stage assembly is described herein. The method includes attaching a first microactuator and a second microactuator to a trace gimbal to a flexure during a PZT on flexure process (POF). The first microactuator is located at a distal end of the flexure and the second microactuator located at a proximal end of the flexure. The method also includes welding the trace gimbal to a baseplate, and a load beam to secure the trace gimbal including the first microactuator and the second microactuator.

Tri-stage design for actuator attachment on flexure

An electrical connection structure for connecting a piezoelectric element and an electrical circuit to each other with a conductive adhesive is described. The electrical connection structure includes an epoxy, a conductive component surrounded by the epoxy, and a trace feature implemented on top of the electrical connection structure.

Contact pad features

A suspension baseplate is stamped at its distal end to which the load beam is mounted. The stamping operation smoothes out roughness in the edge of the baseplate and lowers its height slightly so that, along the line on the baseplate which last contacts the load beam as the load beam is leaving the baseplate, that line on the baseplate is smooth and free of burrs and similar defects. By eliminating burrs on the surface to which the load beam is mounted, variations in the pitch and twist of the load beam are reduced.

Disk drive suspension having stamped base plate distal tip

In a gimbal dual stage actuated (GSA) suspension for a disk drive, a viscoelastic damper is disposed between and adhered to the suspension's PZT microactuator and the flexure trace gimbal. The damper is dispensed in fluid form onto the trace gimbal during assembly of the suspension, the PZT is placed onto the damper, and the damper is then hardened leaving it adhered to both the PZT and the trace gimbal. The damper reduces peaks in the frequency response of the PZT actuation, thus allowing higher bandwidth of the servo control loop and increasing the effective read and write speeds for the suspension.

Head suspension assembly having PZT damper

A vibration damper for a disk drive suspension includes a viscoelastic damping layer, a substantially stiffer polymer constraining layer, and a metal layer interposed between the viscoelastic layer and the polymer constraining layer, such as a thin layer of aluminum vapor deposited onto the polymer constraining layer. The metal layer hides irregularities in the viscoelastic layer as that viscoelastic layer is adhered to the suspension without introducing potentially contaminating mineral particles into the polymer constraining layer.

Suspension vibration damper with internal metal layer

Head suspension assembly having PZT damper with non-uniform thickness

An electrical interconnect and a method of making an electrical interconnect in which a conductor has been substantially plated with a first protective metal shell, such as nickel, and a second outer metal shell, such as gold, before a covercoat has been applied. Such an electrical interconnect can be characterized as having an even-thickness outer shell on both its terminal pads and underneath the covercoat adjacent to the terminal pads, without overhangs or gaps near the bottom of the covercoat caused by surface etching during production.

Electrical interconnect with improved corrosion resistance for a disk drive head suspension

A gimbal, a disk drive suspension that includes the gimbal, and a related method of manufacture, wherein the gimbal is configured to be coupled between a disk drive slider and a disk drive load beam. The gimbal includes a strut having a buss and a projection that is coupled to the buss. A combination of the projection and the buss define a gap.

Disk drive gimbal having a stable pitch static attitude and related method of manufacture

A socket for attaching a flip chip die or ball grid array devices to a printed circuit board substrate having a pattern of solder covered lands, with resources for removing the flip chip die or ball grid array device, resources for directly aligning the solder balls of the flip chip die or ball grid array device to the printed circuit board, resources for using an interposer of dendrite coated vias or pads to electrically and physically connect the solder balls of the flip chip die or ball grid array devices to the solder deposits of the printed circuit board, resources for having the interposer reconfigure the wiring for testing or replacement purposes, resources for utilizing the flexibility and resilience of the interposer to improve dendrite connections, and resources for heat sinking the flip chip die or ball grid array device by direct thermal contact. The socket applies an evenly distributed force to connect the aligned flip chip die or ball grid array device solder ball pattern to the underlying printed circuit board solder deposit pattern through dendrite penetration of the solder using an interposer situated between and aligned to each such solder pattern.

Socket for semi-permanently connecting a solder ball grid array device

A multi-pin probe including a printed circuit board with multiple electrically conductive vias, multiple probes, each probe inserted into one of the electrically conductive vias, and a housing having multiple cavities inserted over the multiple probes, each cavity having a first and a second aperture around one of the probes, the first aperture being smaller than the second aperture. In addition, a method of manufacturing a multi-pin probe including the steps of manufacturing a printed circuit board with multiple electrically conductive vias, inserting multiple probes into the electrically conductive vias, and inserting a housing having multiple cavities over the multiple probes, each cavity having a first and a second aperture around one of the probes, the first aperture being smaller than the second aperture.

Method and apparatus for reducing interference in a pin array

Method and apparatus for fabricating fine pitch pattern multilayer printed circuit boards involving laminar stackable board layers providing power distribution, signal distribution and capacitive decoupling. In one respect, the invention relates to the fabrication of board layers by beginning with a metallic core, patterning the core, selectively enclosing the core in a dielectric, selectively depositing metal to form vias, plugs and signal lines, and forming dendrites with joining metallurgy on the vias and plugs to provide stackable connection from above or below the plane of the board layer. In another aspect, the invention is directed to the use of a sol-gel process to form a thin high dielectric constant crystalline film onto a metallic sheet followed with a deposition of a metallic layer onto the high dielectric constant film. The film serves as the dielectric of a capacitor layer which is thereafter in succession patterned, covered by a dielectric, and has selectively deposited a metallic layer for interconnecting the capacitor and forming vias. The ends of the vias are thereafter subject to dendritic growth and joining metallurgy to provide stackable interconnection capability.

Method of making laminar stackable circuit board structure

A solder preform and technique for making same is disclosed for use in a one time flux process for attaching electronic modules to printed circuit substrates via plated through holes or surface mount pads.

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Keith Allan Vanderlee