Applied Magnetics, LLC

Ngk Insulators, Inc.

Michael I Aronoff

Soichiro Matsuzawa

Nobuhiro Terada

Michael McNeil

Fuminori Takeya

The present invention discloses texturing of the slider air bearing surfaces of the magnetic heads in disk drives to reduce stiction that retards take-off and displaces critical lubricant in a magnetic head system. One embodiment of the present invention utilizes nonuniform etching of chemically identical components of a ferrite slider material due solely to random crystal orientation relative to the exposed surface. Another embodiment of the present invention utilizes a photoresist of a type used in making printed circuit boards, to form a pattern. Subsequently, the surface may be etched to form the antistiction properties. A variety of controlled and reproducible patterns as well as a controlled depth of pattern may be utilized.

Textured air bearing surface

A head core slider for a rigid magnetic disk drive, including a slider body, a track portion, a yoke portion and a narrow stepped portion. The slider body has two spaced-apart parallel air bearing portions, and the track portion is formed integrally with at least one of the bearing portions, so as to extend from one end of the bearing portion in the direction of length of the bearing portion. The track portion has the same height as the bearing portion, and a width smaller than that of the bearing portion. The yoke portion is formed integrally with the track portion, so as to extend from one end of the track portion remote from the bearing portion, and has a protrusion of the same height as the track portion. The width of the protrusion is smaller than that of the bearing portion and larger than that of the track portion. The stepped portion is formed so as to surround at least the track portion and the protrusion of the yoke portion, and has a surface which is spaced apart from top surfaces of the track portion and the protrusion by a distance nearly equal to the predetermined height. The bearing, track and stepped portions and the protrusion are formed by etching the surfaces of two bonded ferrite blocks, through an etching mask pattern corresponding to the desired configuration to be formed.

Head core slider having an air bearing surface of a particular

The present invention discloses texturing of the slider air bearing surfaces of the magnetic heads in disk drives to reduce stiction that retards take-off and displaces critical lubricant in a magnetic head system. One embodiment of the present invention utilizes nonuniform etching of chemically identical components of a ferrite slider material due solely to random crystal orientation relative to the exposed surface. Another embodiment of the present invention utilizes a photoresist of a type used in making printed circuit boards, to form a pattern. Subseqeuntly, the surface may be etched to form the antistiction properties. A variety of controlled and reproducible patterns as well as a controlled depth of pattern may be utilized.

Method for producing a head core slider for a rigid magnetic disk drive, including a ferrite slider body having a pair of air bearing portions which have a predetermined height and are spaced apart from each other in a transverse direction perpendicular to a direction of extension thereof, and further including a pair of ferrite yoke portions formed integrally with the slider body. The yoke portions cooperate with the slider body to form a first and a second closed magnetic path and define therebetween a first and a second magnetic gap. The slider body and the yoke portions cooperate to provide a first and a second track portion in which the first and second magnetic gaps are open, respectively. The first and second track portions have sliding surfaces which have the same height as the air bearing portions. The first track portion is used exclusively for an information writing operation, while the second track portion is used exclusively for an information reading operation. Where the first and second track portions have a same width, the first and second magnetic gaps have different sizes. Where the two magnetic gaps have a same size, the two track portions have different widths. Alternatively, the two track portions have different widths while the two magnetic gaps have different sizes.

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Goleta, CA, United States of America

Michael I Aronoff