Abstract: A disk drive includes a disk drive base and a spindle motor including a spindle motor hub, a spindle motor shaft and a stator. The hub includes an upper end and a lower end. The hub is rotatably coupled to the base via the shaft for rotating the hub about an axis of rotation. The lower end is disposed towards the disk drive base. The stator is attached to the base adjacent the lower end. A balancing ring is attached to the lower end of the hub about the shaft. The disk drive further includes a balancing weight attached to the ring. The weight is attachable to the ring through the disk drive base with the ring attached to the lower end of the hub. A method of balancing the hub is further provided using the ring and the weight.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a spindle motor, a pivot bearing cartridge, and a laminated cover. The laminated cover includes a first cover layer attached to the spindle motor, and a second cover layer attached to the pivot bearing cartridge. The cover further includes a damping layer disposed between the first and second cover layers for mechanically insulating the spindle motor and the pivot bearing cartridge from each other to mitigate vibration through the cover.

Abstract: A novel air bearing can be used in a magnetic hard disk drive or other information storage device. The novel air bearing includes a central cavity having a bottom surface, a leading pad adjacent to the central cavity, a trailing center pad having a top surface, and two inter-projection step regions. The trailing center pad has an aft region adjacent to the transducer and three projections extending from the aft region towards the central cavity. The central cavity separates the three projections from the leading pad. Each of the two inter-projection step regions lies at least partially between the projections, and each includes a surface at an intermediate level between a level of the top surface and the level of the bottom surface. The novel air bearing may be adequately insensitive to one or more factors affecting flying height variation in a micro-drive utilizing ramp load/unload of the slider.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a disk clamp for clamping a plurality of disks to a spindle motor, and a disk spacer positioned between first and second disks. The first disk has a plurality of first disk through apertures adjacent its inner diameter. The first disk through apertures are circumferentially spaced-apart and extend longitudinally through the first disk. The disk spacer has a plurality of spacer apertures that are circumferentially spaced-apart and extend longitudinally through a portion of a thickness of the disk spacer. The disk clamp is adjacent to the first disk and has a plurality of clamp through apertures adjacent an outer diameter of the disk clamp. The clamp through apertures are circumferentially spaced-apart and extend longitudinally through the disk clamp. The first disk through apertures, the spacer apertures, and the clamp through apertures are aligned for allowing airflow to pass through when the plurality of disks is rotating.

Abstract: A magnetic sensor is disclosed that is disposed between top and bottom magnetic shield layers, the sensor comprising: a nonferromagnetic layer disposed beneath the top shield layer; a magnetically soft layer disposed beneath the nonferromagnetic layer, the magnetically soft layer having a magnetization that rotates in response to an applied magnetic field; a ferromagnetic pinned layer disposed beneath the magnetically soft layer; an antiferromagnetic layer disposed beneath the ferromagnetic layer; and an aluminum-nitride seed layer disposed between the antiferromagnetic layer and the bottom shield layer. The aluminum-nitride seed layer decreases sense current shunting, increases pinning strength, increases magnetoresistance and/or increases yield.

Abstract: An aspect of the invention can be regarded as a disk drive that includes a disk drive base and a spindle motor hub rotatably coupled to the disk drive base. The disk drive further includes a first disk disposed about the spindle motor hub and having a first disk stiffness. The disk drive further includes a second disk disposed about the spindle motor hub and having a second disk stiffness different than the first disk stiffness. According to another aspect of the present invention, the second disk has a second disk thickness different than a first disk thickness. According to another aspect of the present invention, the second disk is formed of a second material having a second material stiffness different than a first material stiffness.

Abstract: An actuator arm assembly for a disk having a recording surface, the actuator arm assembly includes an actuator body including a bore defining a longitudinal pivot axis and an actuator arm cantilevered from the actuator body. The actuator arm includes an arm major portion cantilevered from the actuator body, an arm tip portion, and an arm tip supporting portion integrally formed with the arm major portion and the arm tip portion, wherein the arm major portion is longitudinally spaced-apart at a greater distance from the recording surface than the arm tip portion.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a base, a cover, a spindle motor attached to the base, a disk supported by the spindle motor, a subassembly for attachment to the base, and a compressible element positioned between the cover and the subassembly. The compressible element is in compression for attaching the subassembly to the base.

Abstract: A Head Gimbal Assembly (HGA) for use in a disk drive and comprising an ESD-protected slider comprising a head formed on a slider substrate. The slider may comprise an electrical-isolation circuit; an electrically-resistive path between head input connections and the slider; or both isolation circuits and resistive paths for reducing electrostatic charge on the slider while remaining connected during disk drive operations.

Abstract: A slider is formed of an air bearing surface coated with a wear limiting coating that substantially limits surface wear of the air bearing surface encountered in proximity recording. The wear limiting coating is comprised of a wear inhibiting layer formed on the air bearing surface and a sacrificial layer formed on the wear inhibiting layer. The two coatings of the wear limiting coating have different mechanical properties so that the sacrificial layer is burnished, exposing the wear inhibiting layer. This design substantially limits the surface wear of the air bearing surface typically encountered in proximity recording, resulting in less debris accumulation, which could otherwise adversely affect the performance of the proximity recording head. This self-limiting burnishing action overcomes the flying height variation due to manufacturing tolerances and provides extremely small and uniform magnetic spacing, which greatly enhances the proximity recording.

Abstract: A head stack assembly for a disk drive includes a rotary actuator assembly. The rotary actuator assembly includes an actuator body having a bore defining a pivot axis, an actuator arm cantilevered from the actuator body, and a coil portion cantilevered from the actuator body in a direction opposite from the actuator arm. The coil portion includes a coil support, a flat coil supported by the coil support, the flat coil including a coil surface generally perpendicular to the pivot axis, and a constrained layer damper attached to the coil surface. The constrained layer damper includes a stiffening layer having a coil-facing planar surface generally perpendicular to the pivot axis and an adhesive layer positioned between the coil-facing planar surface and the coil surface.

Abstract: An enhanced inductive coil design for use in data storage magnetic disk drives with areal density over 35 Gb/in2, features a double wound twin coil that is able to achieve a yoke length of 15 ?m or less by reducing the insulation spacing between the two coils. The coil further presents improved reliability by reducing the possibility of occurrence of electrical shorting. The coil is made by forming two interleafing conductors on the same layer with a demesne process. A tri-level process is implemented in the layout of the first conductor to ensure that the coil width and spacing are uniform and even, in order for the second conductor to be wound therebetween. A conformal dielectric layer of approximately 0.1 to 0.2 ?m in thickness is deposited between the two conductors and serves as insulation. The two conductors are formed by a copper seed layer plating process that eliminates potential damage to the conductors during production.