International Business Machines Corporation

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.v.

Ingersoll-rand Company

Other

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

Ingersoll-rand

Satya Prakash Arya

Tzong-Shii Pan

Surya Narayan Pattanaik

Victor Wing Shum

A David Erpelding

Randall George Simmons

Darrell Dean Palmer

Xinzhi Xing

Steven H Voldman

Thomas R Albrecht

Toshiki Hirano

John Thomas Contreras

Chih-Kung Lee

Albert John Wallash

Klaas Berend Klaassen

David W Albrecht

Nobumasa Nishiyama

Gurinder P Singh

Timothy C O'Sullivan

Long-Sheng Fan

Wesley LeRoy Hillman

William W Brooks

Timothy Scott Hughbanks

John E Sell

Douglas J Krajnovich

Victor Wing Chun Shum

Pantelis S Alexopoulos

Timothy C Reiley

Akihiko Aoyagi

Yoshio Uematsu

Wing Chun Shum

Chuen-Cheng Fu

Mathew Kayhan Shafe

Victor (Wing Shum

An apparatus and method for forming an opening in a base-metal layer of an electrical lead suspension (ELS) to increase the impedance. The method provides a base-metal layer having at least one opening. A dielectric layer above the base-metal layer is also provided, the dielectric layer covering a portion of the base-metal layer and at least one of the openings in the base-metal layer. A signal conductive layer is provided above dielectric layer. The signal conductive layer carries at least one solder pad portion, wherein the solder pad portion is aligned above the portion of the dielectric layer covering at least one of the openings in the base-metal layer. By aligning the at least one solder pad portion over the opening of the base-metal layer the solder pad to base-metal layer the impedance between the at least one solder pad portion and the base-metal layer is increased.

Method and apparatus for forming an opening in a base-metal layer of an electrical lead suspension (ELS) to increase the impedance

A method and system for utilizing an interlocking dissimilar metal component in the formation of a hard disk drive is disclosed. The method provides a hard disk drive component having at least one interlocking dissimilar metal component, the at least one interlocking dissimilar metal component having at least two dissimilar metals on a single side. The interlocking dissimilar metal component is utilized to provide a similar materials weld location for coupling two dissimilar metals to a single side surface of the at least one interlocking dissimilar metal hard disk drive component.

Utilizing an interlocking dissimilar metal component in the formation of a hard disk drive

A method and system for utilizing flexible members to reduce an operational disturbance between a slider and a flexure nose portion of a head gimbal assembly is disclosed. The method provides a slider coupled with a gimbal structure of the head gimbal assembly, the slider having a read/write head element with lead terminals thereon. The method further provides a flexure nose portion coupled with the gimbal structure. A gimbal window is provided in a stainless steel layer, the gimbal window located between the slider and the flexure nose portion on the gimbal structure. A flexible member is utilized at the gimbal window for coupling the slider and the gimbal structure, the flexible member for reducing an operational disturbance passed from the slider to the flexure nose portion of the gimbal structure.

Method and system for utilizing flexible members in a head gimbal assembly to reduce impact of operational disturbances of slider flying height

An electrical lead suspension (ELS) having partitioned air slots. The ELS includes a laminate. A first plurality of signal traces and a second plurality of traces are in a first formed layer of the laminate. The second plurality of traces may be signal traces or power traces. The laminate has a dielectric layer between the first formed layer and a second formed layer. A plurality of partitioned air slots is in the second formed layer of the laminate. The portion of the ELS having a plurality of partitioned air slots supporting the at least the first plurality of signal traces and the portion of the ELS having a second plurality of partitioned air slots or patterns supporting the second plurality of traces. The supporting of the first plurality of signal traces separate from the second plurality of traces reduces write-to-read cross talk and signal loss. Offsetting the first plurality of air slots from second plurality of air slots further reduces cross talk and signal loss and restores some of the structural rigidity lost due to in line (e.g., aligned) slots.

Electrical lead suspension having partitioned air slots

An apparatus and method for reducing heat absorption around solder pads on an electrical lead suspension (ELS). The method provides a base-metal layer having at least one opening. A dielectric layer is also provided above the base-metal layer, the dielectric layer covering a portion of the base-metal layer and at least one of the openings in the base-metal layer. A signal conductive layer is provided above dielectric layer. The signal conductive layer carries at least one solder pad portion, wherein the solder pad portion is placed above the portion of the dielectric layer such that the solder pad portion does not align with the at least one opening in the base-metal layer. In so doing, the heat absorption with respect to the base-metal layer is reduced.

Method and apparatus for reducing heat absorption around solder pads on an electrical lead suspension

An apparatus and method for reducing solder pad size in an electrical lead suspension (ELS) to decrease signal path capacitive discontinuities. The method provides a base-metal layer for the ELS. A dielectric layer above the base-metal layer is also provided. A signal conductive layer is provided above dielectric layer. The signal conductive layer carries at least one solder pad portion, wherein both a size of the solder pad portion and an amount of solder applied to the solder pad portion are reduced such that the solder pad to a ground, and solder on the solder pad to adjacent solder on adjacent pads, capacitance are reduced providing low signal reflection losses and a decrease in cross-talk.

Method and apparatus for reducing solder pad size in an electrical lead suspension (ELS) to decrease signal path capacitive discontinuities

A method and apparatus for reducing crosstalk and signal loss in an electrical interconnect is disclosed. The electrical interconnect includes a laminate. A plurality of signal traces and a subsequent plurality of traces are in a first formed layer of the laminate. The subsequent plurality of traces may be signal traces or power traces. The laminate has a dielectric layer between the first formed layer and a second formed layer. A plurality of serpentine patterns are in the second formed layer of the laminate. The plurality of serpentine patterns is separated from subsequent patterns. The plurality of serpentine patterns supports the plurality of signal traces and the subsequent plurality of patterns supports the subsequent plurality of traces. The supporting of the plurality of signal traces separate from the subsequent plurality of traces reduces write-to-read crosstalk and signal loss.

Method and apparatus for reducing crosstalk and signal loss in flexing interconnects of an electrical lead suspension

A method of manufacturing a suspension member designed to carry a slider and read/write head elements in a magnetic data storage device. The method includes forming the suspension member into a desired length and width configuration with a nominal thickness dimension. One or more pockets are formed in one or both surfaces of the suspension member. The pockets are treated by way of punch-coining or roll-coining to minimize pocket depth tolerances and introduce hardness and strength into surface areas of said pockets.

Method of manufacturing a suspension using coining

A suspension load beam for carrying a slider and read/write head elements in a magnetic data storage device is formed from a composite laminate material sheet that includes first and second primary layers respectively comprising first and second structural load bearing material sheets sandwiching an intermediate secondary layer comprising a third structural load bearing material sheet. The secondary layer is made of a different material than either of the first and second primary layers. One or more areas of reduced thickness are etched into one or both of the primary layers down to the secondary layer at one or more locations on the laminate material sheet.

Laminated suspension load beam design with dual primary metal layers sandwiching intermediate secondary layer

The invention discloses an apparatus and method for passive damping of slider modes in a storage device. An exemplary apparatus comprises a cradle for supporting a slider and comprising two side members and a center member, where each of the side members are disposed at opposite ends of the center member, and a viscoelastic layer lining two side members and the center member of the cradle.

Damping of vertical and offtrack dynamic modes gain at the slider in a disc drive

A microactuator device for effecting fine positioning of a transducing head with respect to a selected track on a disk having: a C-shaped piezoelectric element having opposite ends, wherein one end of the piezoelectric element is affixed or connected to one end of the slider, and the other end is affixed or connected to the flexure member for obtaining rotational movement of the piezoelectric element to enable faster and more accurate tracking of the disk by head transducer. Alternately, the C-shaped piezoelectric element has one end affixed or connected to suspension mount plate and other end affixed or actuator arm to obtain larger head movement for further enhanced track following. The C-shaped element could be multiple layered or be shaped like a horizontal or vertical spiral to further increase the element and head movement and tracking accuracy along with faster seek and travel.

Slide microactuator using C-shaped piezoelectric element

A suspension assembly is designed to carry a slider and read/write head elements in a magnetic data storage device. The suspension assembly is formed from a composite laminate structure that includes first, second, third, fourth and fifth material layers. The layers are arranged such that the second layer is disposed between the first and third layers, and the fourth layer is disposed between the third and fifth layers. The laminate structure is configured using a suitable removal process, such as partial chemical etching, to define a mount plate, a hinge, a load beam functional end, and an electrical lead system. The laminate structure may be further formed with a flexure gimbal system that comprises the third, fourth and fifth layers.

Weld free high performance laminate suspension

A milliactuated disk drive suspension assembly includes a mount plate, a functional end for supporting a transducer-carrying slider, a hinge disposed between the mount plate and the functional end, and a sway compliant region on the mount plate adapted to facilitate displacement of the functional end in a trackwise sway direction relative to the mount plate. A pair of milliactuators can be mounted to span the compliant region in a closely spaced arrangement to develop maximum mechanical advantage between a milliactuator actuating stroke and a transducer sway stroke. The mount plate is free of swage mounting features and is mounted to a disk drive actuator arm using a swageless interconnection that allows the milliactuators to be closely spaced so as to improve their mechanical advantage.

Swageless mount plate or unimount arm based milliactuated suspension

A microactuator device for effecting fine positioning of a transducing head with respect to a selected track on a disk having: an S-shaped piezoelectric element with three or more legs having opposite ends, wherein either; one end of the piezoelectric element is affixed or connected to one end of the slider, and the other end is affixed or connected to the flexure member, or both ends of the element affixed to corresponding ends of the slider and the center is affixed to the flexure, for obtaining movement of the head transducer to enable fast and accurate tracking of read/write tracks on a high track density disk. Attachment of the one leg of piezoelectric element to the flexure produces translation movement of the slider and head transducer while attachment of the center leg of the element to the flexure and the two ends legs to the slider produces a rotary movement of the head transducer.

Slide microactuator using S-shaped piezoelectric element

A microactuator device for effecting fine positioning of a transducing head with respect to a selected track on a disk, wherein the piezoelectric microactuator element is positioned adjacent to one side of and substantially coextensive with a slider, the slider being attached to the moving end of a flexure, and the two ends of the microactuator element are attached to the moving end and fixed legs of the flexure and provide rotary motion.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Satya Prakash Arya