Read Rite Corporation

Mark J Donovan

Ciuter Chang

Christopher A Lee

Pablo G Levi

Manuel Anaya-Dufresne

Yiao-Tee Hsia

An air bearing slider used with a thin film magnetic head is formed with a corner recess and a taper at the leading edge. The taper is disposed between the corner recess and one side of the slider. A central polygon-shaped recess is bounded by pads which are joined by a connecting section. In an alternative embodiment, a recess at the leading edge separates the taper into sections. In another embodiment, a second corner recess is provided at the leading edge and the taper is disposed between the first and second corner recesses. The shaped recesses and tapers improve the flying characteristics of the slider and enhance air bearing stiffness. A single etch process is used to form the recesses and side reliefs of the slider.

Air bearing slider with shaped taper

The present invention is embodied in an air bearing slider. The slider contains a magnetic head for writing and reading data to and from the magnetic medium of a hard disk. The slider is attached to an actuator arm which reciprocates over the disk surface to position the slider over the surface of the disk. When placed in the airflow existing just above the surface of a rotating disk the slider flies above the disk. The slider which has a leading edge, a trailing edge and two sides defined between the leading and trailing edges comprises a pair of leading pads positioned near the leading edge, a channel defined between the leading pads, a side pad positioned adjacent to each of the sides respectively, a center pad positioned near the trailing edge and a cavity disposed between the pads. With the side pads being separate from the leading pads as well as the inclusion of the channel providing a reduction in stiction. Further, the present invention's configuration of elements provides a slider with a nearly constant flying height over the entire disk surface, even during changes in airflow velocity, skew angles and loading. Also, the slider possess high pitch and roll stiffness, which contributes to it ability to maintain a near constant flying height.

Air bearing slider with reduced stiction

An air bearing slider is designed with two rails and a central pad that provide positive air bearing regions to the air bearing surface of the slider, and three recess regions that are etched to a constant depth. The rails are identical and are symmetrically disposed relative to a central longitudinal axis. Each rail includes three sections: a pitch adjustment pad, a leg, and a roll adjustment pad. The pitch adjustment pad provides a balanced pressure distribution at the leading edge and optimizes the overall pitch angle of the slider. The leg extends from the pitch adjustment pad and generates counter-pressure that partially opposes the load applied by the suspension. The roll adjustment pad extends from the leg and generates an air bearing force that compensates for roll generated during slider operation. This air bearing slider design achieves constant flying height and less vertical and pitch stiffness, which will result in low contact force for pseudo-contact applications.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Mark J Donovan