Abstract: A micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) disc drive includes high-precision and integrated components to allow for increased functionality, robustness and reduced size as compared to currently produced disc drives. Integrating multiple subcomponents of the disc drive using batch processing provides low manufacturing costs. Furthermore, using MEMS techniques, new features can be added to disc drives. For example, an environmental control component, an accelerometer and/or a thermometer may be integrated into the housing of the disc drive.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a drive circuitry, a storage disk and a slider. The storage disk has a data surface, and the slider magnetically interacts with the storage disk to transmit a signal between the storage disk and the drive circuitry. The slider includes a leading surface, an opposed trailing surface, a data transducer positioned near the trailing surface, and a piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric element receives a driving voltage from the drive circuitry to adjust a distance between the data transducer and the data surface. The piezoelectric element can form a portion of the trailing surface. The slider includes a slider body that forms a portion of the trailing surface, and a portion of the piezoelectric element can be coplanar with the portion of the trailing surface formed by the slider body. Further, at least a portion of the piezoelectric element can be constrained by the slider body.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a drive circuitry, a storage disk and a slider having a slider body. The storage disk has a data surface, and the slider magnetically interacts with the storage disk to transmit a signal between the storage disk and the drive circuitry. The slider includes a leading surface, an opposed trailing surface, a data transducer positioned near the trailing surface, and a piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric element receives a driving voltage from the drive circuitry to adjust a distance between the data transducer and the data surface. The slider includes a piezoelectric element supporter having a modulus of elasticity of less than that of the slider body and/or the piezoelectric element. In one embodiment, the piezoelectric element supporter is positioned between the slider body and the piezoelectric element and/or the data transducer. Further, in this embodiment, the piezoelectric element may or may not have one or more exposed surfaces.

Abstract: A write head includes a write return yoke, a write yoke connected to the write return yoke, conductive coils surrounding the write yoke, a write pole tip, and a non-magnetic spacer connecting the write pole tip to the write yoke. The non-magnetic spacer allows for reducing a magnetization of the write pole tip due to a remnant magnetic field in the write yoke. In another embodiment, the write head comprises a write shield, a write return yoke, a write yoke, conductive coils, a write pole tip, and a saturable yoke shunt connecting the write pole tip and the write shield. The saturable yoke shunt directs a limited amount of magnetic flux from the write pole tip to the write shield, such that when there is a remnant magnetic field in the write pole tip, the magnetic flux is directed to the write shield rather than to a disk.

Abstract: A disk drive head-gimbal assembly includes a flexure that is modified to address the effects that the operating temperature of the disk drive may have on fly height. Generally, the flexure tongue is split into a leading edge flexure tongue section and a trailing edge flexure tongue section that are separated by a slider decoupling section. The slider decoupling section structurally interconnects the leading and trailing edge flexure tongue section, and further provides a reduced contact area with the slider. This reduced contact limits the ability of the flexure tongue to induce a positive crown on the air bearing surface of the slider.

Abstract: A disk drive for storing data includes a rotating storage disk and a slider positioned near the storage disk. The slider has a flying side and a read/write head. The flying side includes a leading bearing surface and a leading recessed surface positioned near a leading edge of the slider. The leading bearing surface can include a leading transverse section that is positioned within approximately 20 and 200 microns of the leading edge. The leading recessed surface is positioned between the leading transverse section and the leading edge. The leading bearing surface and the leading recessed surface cooperate to form a relatively high pressure area near the leading edge that facilitates a relatively rapid take-off of the slider away from the storage disk during start up of the disk drive.

Abstract: A method for preventing electrical overstress from interfering with a magnetic read-write device by identifying one or more characteristic functions of the device that characterize electrical overstress, generating a wave form representative of the electrical overstress by using the one or more characteristic functions and enabling the generated wave form to be combined with a read signal to counteract the electrical overstress. The method can be implemented with a crosstalk cancellation circuit that includes a coupler filter configured to receive signals from the write driver, a differentiator to differentiate the signal, a gain adjust coupled to the coupler filter configured to adjust gain on the received signal, a phase adjust configured to adjust the phase to match the crosstalk, and an inverter coupled to invert the matched signal to enable cancellation of the crosstalk.