International Business Machines Corporation

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.v.

Hgst Netherlands, B.v.

Linden James Crawforth

Xiao Z Wu

Richard Dale Bunch

Andrew Ching Tam

Timothy C Reiley

Chie Ching Poon

Jacey Robert Beaucage

Andrew John Kellock

Eric Wayne Flint

John Edward Eric Baglin

Eduardo Padilla

Toshiki Hirano

Erhard Theodor Schreck

Barry C Stipe

Neil Leslie Robertson

Wayne Isami Imaino

Hal Jervis Rosen

Fu-Ying Huang

Douglas Johnson Werner

John S Foster

Huey-Ming Tzeng

Milton Russell Latta

Anthony Juliana

Jaquelin K Spong

Timothy James Minvielle

Christian René Bonhôte

Benjamin L Wang

Anthony A Razouk

James William Annis

The present invention generally relates to fabricating a bond pad for electrically connecting a laser diode to a slider and a TAR head in a HDD. The bond pad is deposited on a surface of the head that is perpendicular to the air bearing surface (ABS). The head is diced and lapped to expose the bond pad on a top surface of the head and mounted on a slider. The laser diode and a sub-mount may be coupled to the top surface of the slider&#x2014;i.e., the surface opposite the ABS&#x2014;by connecting to the bond pads. Specifically, both the laser diode and the sub-mount have electrodes thereon that are perpendicular to the bond pads. Conductive bonding material is used to bond the laser diode and the sub-mount to the bond pads.

Method for electrically connecting an energy source to a head of a disk drive

Embodiments of the present invention pertain to a evaluating the quality of a lapping plate. In one embodiment, an information receiver receives information while the lapping plate is being used to lap a slider. The information indicates the quality of a lapping plate. A quality determiner that evaluates the quality of the lapping plate based on the information while the lapping plate is being used to lap the slider.

Apparatus for evaluating the quality of a lapping plate

Embodiments of the present invention pertain to a evaluating the quality of a lapping plate. In one embodiment, information that indicates the quality of a lapping plate is received while the lapping plate is being used to lap a slider, and the information is used to evaluate the quality of the lapping plate while the lapping plate is being used to lap the slider.

Method of evaluating the quality of a lapping plate

The lapping of a slider is controlled based on an amplitude of a readback signal which is produced from an externally applied magnetic field. A lapping plate is used to lap a slider which includes at least one magnetic head having a read sensor. During the lapping, a coil produces a magnetic field around the slider and processing circuitry monitors both a readback signal amplitude and a resistance of the read sensor. The lapping of the slider is terminated based on the monitoring both the readback signal amplitude and the resistance. Preferably, the lapping of the slider is terminated when the resistance is within a predetermined resistance range and the readback signal amplitude is above a predetermined minimum amplitude threshold or reaches its peak value. Asymmetry can also be measured in the described system, where the lapping process is terminated based on asymmetry as well as resistance and amplitude measurements.

Methods and apparatus for controlling the lapping of a slider based on an amplitude of a readback signal produced from an externally applied magnetic field

Modified strain regions are created in correlation to strain reactive structures that are subjected to a predetermined dimensional precision adjustment. The modified strain regions are created by impacting incident particles into exposed regions of the strain reactive structures. The irradiation by the incident particles creates a predetermined material disruption and consequently a change in strain energy. The strain energy, and the associated dimensional adjustment is dependent on the irradiation process and the sum properties of the modified strain regions and the strain reactive structure.

Particle irradiation method for modification of local strain in strain reactive structures

Apparatus for controlling the lapping of a slider based on an amplitude of a readback signal produced from an externally applied magnetic field

An onboard electronic lapping guide for lapping a magneto-resistive head having a magneto-resistive sensor element disposed for electrical communication with a pair of sensor electrical leads. The lapping guide includes an electronic lapping guide resistive element disposed for electrical communication with the sensor electrical leads. The resistive element has a predetermined height in a lapping direction and is adapted to produce an electrical resistance in the presence of a lapping current that increases as said resistive element height is reduced during lapping. A lapping method and a method of forming the onboard electronic lapping guide are also disclosed.

Onboard multiphase electronic lapping guide design for MR heads

At least one modified strain region having a damage depth between 0.1 and 2 microns in a disk drive slider is created by implantation with ions, electrons or neutral atoms. The modified strain region induces a deformation of the disk drive slider. The nature and extent of this deformation is determined by the interaction between the slider and the modified strain region.

Modified strain region of strain reactive slider with implanted ions, electrons or neutral atoms

A slider of a magnetic hard disk drive has one or more electric lapping guides in immediate proximity to the read/write stack of the slider. The lapping guides remain part of the slider during its operation. In the preferred embodiment, two essentially identical lapping guides are symmetrically placed on a slider back. One write head terminal is utilized to conductively access the two lapping guides on one side such that only one additional terminal has to be placed on the slider back together with corresponding leads. The placement of lapping guides on the slider back face provides for an economic lapping of individual sliders with increased precision and reliability regardless of any lapping plane skew.

Slider having integrated lapping guides

A trapezoidal shaped silicon slider is described in the present invention. The slider has a first parallel surface larger than a second parallel surface, thereby generating a built-in positive pitch with respect to a recording medium when the slider is incorporated into a hard disk drive. The slider further includes round edges at the first parallel surface, longitudinal holes within its body, non-planar slanted side surfaces, and a rounded leading edge. The silicon, trapezoidal slider is fabricated using a deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) technique.

Silicon sliders with trapezoidal shape and drie process for fabrication

A method for adjusting the curvature of an air bearing surface (ABS) of a slider having a back surface opposite the ABS. The method includes steps of repeatedly measuring the curvature of the ABS and scribing lines (e.g. with a laser scribing tool) on the back surface to partially adjust the curvature of the ABS. In each measuring/scribing installment, the curvature of the ABS is measured and compared with a final target curvature to determine a curvature difference between the measured curvature and final target curvature. Each installment of scribing lines corrects for a predetermined percentage of the curvature difference. The predetermined percentage may be different in succeeding installments. Alternatively, each installment changes the curvature of the slider to match an intermediate target curvature. In a three-installment process, for example, there will be two intermediate target curvatures and a final target curvature.

Method for adjusting curvature of magnetic read/write head sliders

A row of magnetic read/write sliders which have scribe lines on a back surface. The scribe lines provide an accurate curvature for the air bearing surface which is opposite the back surface. The row of sliders has segmented scribe lines which are discontinuous across the length of the row. Each slider may also have partial scribe lines, or simply a different pattern of scribe lines on the back surface. The present invention also includes a single slider with partial scribe lines which do not extend across the full width of the slider.

Slider row with segmented scribe lines for individual control curvature

An apparatus for measuring a curvature of an air bearing surface (ABS) of a read/write magnetic head slider. The apparatus has two lasers which direct laser beams toward the ABS. The beams strike the ABS and are specularly reflected. The reflected beams are directed toward a position sensing optical detector. The distance between the points where the beams strike the detector is indicative of the curvature of the ABS. The beams my be alternately pulsed so that the detector outputs a DC-biased square wave signal, the voltage-step difference of which indicates the curvature. In another embodiment, a single laser beam is scanned by a scanner and passed through a scan lens. The scan lens is located one focal length from the scanner. A reflected laser beam is reflected from the ABS and is collected by the scan lens. The reflected laser beam is then directed toward a position sensing optical detector. The detector is located outside the focal plane of the scan lens. The position of the laser beam on the detector is dependent upon the curvature of the ABS. Then the magnitude of the detector output provides a measure of the curvature.

Apparatus for measuring curvature of magnetic read/write head sliders

A laser-based inspection tool (LIT) for disks that allows simultaneous inspection of disk surfaces for defects and curvature. The laser beam is directed by a rotating scanner, such as a rotating polygon mirror, to the input of a telecentric lens assembly that provides an output beam parallel to its optical axis as the beam is being scanned. The output beam from the telecentric lens strikes the disk surface substantially perpendicularly. The beam is then reflected from the disk surface and passes back through a collection lens to the sensing surface of an optical detector. The detector outputs analog signals that represent the X and Y positions on the sensing surface where the reflected light beam is incident, which thus correspond to the slope of the disk surface at the point where the laser beam was incident. A mechanical disk lifter moves the disk in a plane parallel to the disk surface so that different scan lines can be generated on the disk surface. A processor, such as a personal computer, receives the output signals from the detector and calculates the slope values, and from the slope values, the curvature of the disk surface. A large number of points on each scan line are sampled, and a large number of scan lines are generated, so that the disk surface curvature can be calculated at various locations and over various ranges of the disk surface. The large number of sample points and the rapid calculation of slope values enables the shape of disk surface defects to be determined, which allows the disk defects to be classified as pits or bumps.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Linden James Crawforth