Patents Assigned to Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
  • Method for providing a magnetoresistive element having small critical dimensions
    Patent number: 9196270
    Abstract: The method and system for providing a magnetoresistive device are described. The method and system include depositing a plurality of magnetoresistive element layers which cover at least one device area and at least one field area. The method and system also include providing a single layer mask. The single layer mask covers a first portion of the magnetoresistive element layers in the device area(s) and exposes the magnetoresistive element layers in the field area(s). The method and system include defining the magnetoresistive element(s) using the single layer mask and depositing a hard bias layer on the device area(s) and the field area(s) after the magnetic element(s) are defined. The method and system further include performing a planarization after the hard bias layer is deposited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Danning Yang, Guanghong Luo, Yun-Fei Li
  • Method for providing a magnetic recording transducer using a chemical buffer
    Patent number: 9196283
    Abstract: A method for fabricating a magnetic recording transducer is described. The magnetic recording transducer has an underlayer and at least one layer on the underlayer. The layer(s) are capable of including an aperture that exposes a portion of the underlayer. The method includes providing a neutralized aqueous solution having a chemical buffer therein. The chemical buffer forms a nonionic full film corrosion inhibitor. The method also includes exposing a portion of the magnetic recording transducer including the layer(s) to the neutralized aqueous solution including the chemical buffer. In one aspect this exposure occurs through a chemical mechanical planarization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Masahiro Osugi, Lily Yao, Ming Jiang, Guanghong Luo, Wai-Ming J. Kan
  • Method and system for providing a magnetic transducer having an improved hard bias seed layer
    Patent number: 9190080
    Abstract: A method and system for providing a magnetic transducer is described. The method and system include providing an underlayer, a seed structure, and a magnetically hard layer. The underlayer has a surface. The seed structure resides on the surface and includes an amorphous layer and a seed layer. The amorphous layer wets the surface of the underlayer. The seed layer having a natural growth texture. The magnetically hard layer resides on the seed structure. The seed layer resides between the magnetically hard layer and the amorphous layer. The magnetically hard layer has a desired crystal orientation corresponding to the natural growth texture of the seed layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Anup Ghosh Roy, Xiaozhong Dang
  • Air bearing area configuration for contaminating particle removal
    Patent number: 9190089
    Abstract: A disk drive for redirecting contaminating particulate matter away from an area bearing of a slider element. At least two etched channels are provided in the slider element of the disk drive. The at least two etched channels direct incoming air flow to a leading edge of the slider element from the leading edge towards respective sides of the slider element. Particulate matter that may be progressing towards the air bearing are redirected by virtue of the incoming air flow to the leading edge and expelled from the air bearing via the at least two etched channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventor: Shuyu Zhang
  • Multi step lube blocking air bearing area configuration
    Patent number: 9190090
    Abstract: A disk drive is provided having one or more structural air bearing surface (ABS) features that can block particulate matter, such as lube droplets that may enter the air bearing from the trailing edge or rearward portion of the slider. Moreover, such structural ABS features can influence air flow within or about the air bearing to prevent or at least reduce the accumulation of particles and/or droplets in one or more areas of the air bearing to reduce the reliability problems induced by particle contamination and lube pick-up.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Shuyu Zhang, Lanshi Zheng
  • Waveguide with reflective grating for localized energy intensity
    Patent number: 9190085
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a waveguide with first and second sections, and a junction coupling the first and second waveguide sections together. The first waveguide section has a first reflective device and the second section comprising a second reflective device arranged to generate a standing wave in the waveguide with maximum energy wave intensity at a target region of the waveguide in response to an incident energy wave being provided into at least one of the waveguide sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Hongxing Yuan, Jinshan Li, Zhong Shi
  • Magnetic write pole having engineered radius of curvature and chisel angle profiles
    Patent number: 9190079
    Abstract: A magnetic transducer has air-bearing surface (ABS) and includes a main pole and at least one coil. The coil(s) energize the main pole. The main pole includes a yoke and a pole tip having an ABS-facing surface. The pole tip includes a sidewall having a radius of curvature and a chisel angle. The chisel angle is measured between a yoke direction perpendicular to the ABS and a tangent the sidewall. The chisel angle for the pole tip continuously increases in the yoke direction to a maximum a first distance from the ABS-facing surface in the yoke direction. The radius of curvature for the pole tip has a minimum radius of curvature a second distance from the ABS-facing surface in the yoke direction. The first distance is greater than the second distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Feng Liu, Tao Pan, Hai Sun, Zhigang Bai, Yang Xiang, Yugang Wang, Ling Wang
  • HAMR writer pole length characterization
    Patent number: 9183859
    Abstract: The present disclosure generally relates to a HAMR head and techniques and apparatus for HAMR writer pole length characterization. One or more bits may be magnetically written on a disk using a leading edge of the writer pole at a first polarity. The disk may be moved under a body of the writer pole to magnetically write the one or more bits in the disk at a second polarity that is opposite to the first polarity to generate a feedback pulse having a signal amplitude. The signal amplitude of the feedback pulse may be measured as a function of writing frequency. A first effective length of the writer pole may be determined based on the measurements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Michael Alex, Bogdan F. Valcu, David E. Wachenschwanz, Andreas Moser
  • Method to make interferometric taper waveguide for HAMR light delivery
    Patent number: 9183854
    Abstract: A method for making an interferometric taper waveguide (I-TWG) with high critical dimension uniformity and small line edge roughness for a heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head, wherein the method includes creating an I-TWG film stack with two hard mask layers on top of an I-TWG core layer sandwiched between two cladding layers, defining a photoresist pattern over the I-TWG film stack using deep ultraviolet lithography, transferring the pattern to the first hard mask layer using reactive ion etching (RIE), forming a temporary I-TWG pattern on the second hard mask layer using RIE, transferring the temporary pattern to the I-TWG core using RIE, refilling the cladding layer, and planarizing using chemical mechanical planarization (CMP).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Dujiang Wan, Ge Yi, Lijie Zhao, Hai Sun, Yunfei Li
  • Patterned metal layer to control solder connection between laser and submount in a magnetic head
    Patent number: 9171562
    Abstract: A laser diode device is affixed to a mounting face of a slider, opposite the air bearing surface. The laser includes a submount having an electrically conductive surface layer that is normal to the mounting face. The electrically conductive surface layer is a patterned metal layer that includes a lateral probing region and a laser mounting region to which a laser is soldered. The laser mounting region is connected to the lateral probing region by a bridge portion of the patterned metal layer. The laser mounting region is otherwise separated from the lateral probing region by a solder blocking gap in which the submount lacks the patterned metal layer, and which is adjacent to the laser. The solder blocking gap defines a solder blocking gap height normal to the mounting face that is in the range of ?rds to ?ths of a total height of the laser mounting region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Wachira Puttichaem, Bin Ouyang
  • Air bearing area configuration for reducing flying height hump across a stroke
    Patent number: 9165579
    Abstract: A disk drive is provided having a dynamic flying height or touch down power profile that is substantially flat across its stroke along the radius of a recording medium. At least two air-channeling elements are provided in a slider of the disk drive, that with the read/write head, flies above a surface of the recording medium. At an inner diameter and an outer diameter of the recording medium, the at least two air-channeling elements direct incoming air flow to an air bearing space defined by a bottom surface of the slider and the surface of the recording medium, increasing the flying height of the slider/read/write head at the inner diameter and outer diameter of the recording medium, thereby negating the effect of a middle diameter flying height hump of the recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventor: Shuyu Zhang
  • Method for controlling camber on air bearing surface of a slider
    Patent number: 9165573
    Abstract: A method of a parting a slider from a slider bar is disclosed. The method includes receiving a slider bar comprising a plurality of sliders and having an air bearing surface (ABS) side and a back side opposite to the ABS side and parting at least one slider from the slider bar with a cutter, wherein the cutter enters the slider bar at least in part on the backside and exits the slider bar at least in part on the ABS side and the ABS side is facing away from the cutting direction by a predetermined acute angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Mark D. Moravec, Chirawat Srisang, Anucha Nontprasat
  • Micrometer scale components
    Patent number: 9159345
    Abstract: Micrometer scale components comprise a component body comprising an alloy of a first solder metal and a second solder metal, the alloy having a higher liquidus temperature than the second solder metal; and a base region of the structure body wetted to a substrate, wherein the component body has a molded surface profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Zongrong Liu, Lei Wang
  • Near field transducer using dielectric waveguide core with fine ridge feature
    Patent number: 9159346
    Abstract: An apparatus for energy assisted magnetic recording of a storage disk includes a plurality of dielectric waveguide cores disposed near an air bearing surface of a magnetic recording device. Each waveguide core has a fine ridge feature on a first surface of the waveguide core and configured to receive incident light energy from an energy source. A near field transducer (NFT) is formed at the air bearing surface for focusing light energy received from the waveguide core and transmitting the focused light energy onto the storage disk surface to generate a heating spot. The NFT includes at least one plasmonic metal element disposed above the fine ridge features of the waveguide cores to form an interface for delivering propagating surface plasmon polaritons (PSPPs) to the air bearing surface. Each fine ridge feature is configured with a width approximately equivalent to a width of the heating spot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Jiangrong Cao, Michael V. Morelli, Hongxing Yuan, Peng Zhang, Brad V. Johnson, Matthew R. Gibbons
  • Method for fabricating a magnetic writer having an asymmetric gap and shields
    Patent number: 9153255
    Abstract: A method and system provide a magnetic transducer. An intermediate including multiple sublayers is provided. A trench is formed in the intermediate layer. A main pole having a bottom, a top wider than the bottom, a first side and a second side opposite to the first side is provided in the trench. An asymmetric gap is provided along the first and second sides of the main pole. The asymmetric gap terminates closer to the top of the main pole along the first side than on the second side. The asymmetric gap has a first thickness along the first side and a second thickness different from the first thickness along the second side. An asymmetric shield is provided on the asymmetric gap. The asymmetric shield includes a half side shield having a bottom between the top and the bottom of the main pole and terminating on the asymmetric gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Yi Zheng, Ming Jiang
  • Electronic lapping guide in a magnetic recording transducer
    Patent number: 9153260
    Abstract: A slider includes a transducer including a magnetic structure having a front edge and a back edge. The slider further includes an electronic lapping guide (ELG) substantially coplanar with the magnetic structure and having a top edge and a bottom edge. The slider further includes a plurality of pads configured to calibrate a sheet resistance of the ELG and an offset of the ELG.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Steven C. Rudy, Matthew R. Gibbons, Curtis V. Macchioni, Yun-Fei Li, Changhe Shang, Carlos Corona
  • Method and system for providing a read transducer having a dual free layer
    Patent number: 9147404
    Abstract: A method provides a magnetic transducer having an air-bearing surface (ABS). The method includes providing a read sensor stack for a read sensor of the read device and defining a read sensor from the read sensor stack in a stripe height direction. The stripe height direction is perpendicular to the ABS. At least one magnetic bias structure is also provided. An insulating layer is deposited on the read sensor. The insulating layer has a full film removal rate of not more than fifty Angstroms per minute. The insulating layer also has a top surface. The insulating layer is planarized. At least a portion of the top surface of the insulating layer being exposed at the start of the planarizing step. At least the read sensor is defined in a track width direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Guanghong Luo, Chen-Jung Chien, Ming Mao, Daniele Mauri, Ming Jiang
  • Heated AFM layer deposition and cooling process for TMR magnetic recording sensor with high pinning field
    Patent number: 9147408
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for manufacturing a magnetic recording sensor for use in a magnetic reader, such as a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) readers. The magnetic recording sensor can be manufactured by heating a substrate in a first chamber and depositing an antiferromagnetic (AFM) layer on the heated substrate. Additionally, a first pinned layer is added onto the AFM layer, and the substrate is subsequently cooled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Yuankai Zheng, Qunwen Leng, Tong Zhao, Christian Kaiser, Zhitao Diao, Xin Jiang
  • Heat assisted magnetic recording writer having a recessed pole
    Patent number: 9142233
    Abstract: A heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) write transducer has an air-bearing surface (ABS) configured to reside in proximity to a media during use and is coupled with a laser that provides energy. The HAMR transducer includes a main pole, at least one additional pole adjacent to the main pole in a down track direction, a waveguide and at least one coil for energizing the main pole. The main pole is configured to write to a region of the media and is recessed from the ABS by a first distance. The additional pole(s) are recessed from the ABS by a second distance greater than the first distance. The waveguide is optically coupled with the laser and directs a portion of the energy toward the ABS at an acute angle from the ABS. A portion of the waveguide resides between the additional pole(s) and the ABS.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventors: Matthew R. Gibbons, Hongxing Yuan, Brad V. Johnson, Michael V. Morelli, Lisha Wang, Zhigang Bai, Ge Yi, Yunfei Li, Samuel W. Yuan
  • Current modulation on laser diode for energy assisted magnetic recording transducer
    Patent number: 9135937
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a laser diode, a near field transducer configured to direct light emitted from the laser diode to a magnetic recording medium, and a power source configured to provide modulated current to the laser diode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: Western Digital (Fremont), LLC
    Inventor: Arkadi B. Goulakov