Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a head gimbal assembly (HGA) capable of effecting solder ball connection with use of low energy. In one embodiment, the HGA includes a head/slider. In the head/slider, slider pads and lead wire pads are connected to each other by reflow of solder balls under the radiation of a laser beam. Lead layers are connected to a magnetic head and electrode studs are connected to the lead layers, respectively, and are also connected to the slider pads. The diameter R (m) of a solder ball and a sectional area S (m2) of an electrode stud are in a relation of R2?4S.

Abstract: The present invention provides a hub/clamp assembly for holding a disk hub in position when the hub is spin in a high speed. The hub/clamp assembly comprises of: a removable disk hub having a shaft for stacking a plurality of storage disks, a flange portion integrally attached to one end of the shaft, and an extension shaft integrally attached to the flange portion opposite to the shaft; wherein the axes of the shaft, the flange portion, and the extension shaft are in alignment; and a hub clamp housing having a housing with side walls and top and bottom surfaces, and a clamp means disposed within the cavity formed within the housing. The present invention also provides a multi-disk servowriter for writing servo information onto multiple storage disks at the same time.

Abstract: A read sensor with a uniform longitudinal bias (LB) stack is proposed. The read sensor is a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensor used in a current-in-plane (CIP) or a current-perpendicular-to-plane (CPP) mode, or a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) sensor used in the CPP mode. The transverse pinning layer of the read sensor is made of an antiferromagnetic Pt—Mn, Ir—Mn or Ir—Mn—Cr film. In one embodiment of this invention, the uniform LB stack comprises a longitudinal pinning layer, preferable made of an antiferromagnetic Ir—Mn—Cr or Ir—Mn film, in direct contact with and exchange-coupled to sense layers of the read sensor. In another embodiment of the present invention, the uniform LB stack comprises the Ir—Mn—Cr or Ir—Mn longitudinal pinning layer exchange coupled to a ferromagnetic longitudinal pinned layer, and a nonmagnetic antiparallel-coupling spacer layer sandwiched between and the ferromagnetic longitudinal pinned layer and the sense layers.

Abstract: A rotating disk storage device is provided with a charging filter capable of efficiently removing dust staying in the interior of the device. In one embodiment, a charging filter is disposed below a magnetic disk and on a bottom of a base. The charging filter has plural through holes by forming a fibrous electret filter medium in a pleat shape. The through holes are formed so as to face a flowing direction of air. Dust, which is moving together with the air flow, is polarized and is attracted to the charging filter. The charging filter can collect even very fine particles without causing such problems as clogging and pressure loss. The pleat portion, which forms the through holes, further exhibits an air flow uniforming effect.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium comprises a magnetically soft underlayer having a plurality of cavities in a surface thereof, and a magnetic recording material in the cavities, wherein a surface of the magnetic recording material in the cavities is substantially coplanar with the surface of the soft underlayer. A recording system that includes the recording medium is also included.

Abstract: Apparatus are presented for electrically coupling a slider to ground. In one embodiment, a bonding pad is provided on a side of the slider body separate from the bonding pad(s) used for read/write signals. This separate bonding pad is electrically coupled within the slider body to components that are to be coupled to ground. A separate conductor provided on the suspension (e.g., a trace, a flex circuit, etc.) may be electrically coupled to the separate bonding pad via gold ball bonding. The conductor is also coupled to ground in the hard-disk drive device (e.g., via the preamplifier). The use of the separated bonding pad and trace may negate the need to use a conductive adhesive to electrically ground the slider via its attachment to the tongue of a slider.

Abstract: A disk cartridge including a lower case member in which a space portion to receive an optical disk is formed; an upper case member, joined to the lower case member, an opening portion to allow a reading/recording device to obtain access to the optical disk; a multi-shutter member, including shutters, installed at the lower case member to be able to slide, and to allow the opening portion to be exposed to the outside when the multiple-shutter member is moved in a direction of the insertion direction of the disk cartridge into a disk drive, such that the shutters overlap each other; and a locking member, installed at the lower case member, to fix the multiple-shutter member to the lower case member so that the multiple-shutter member cannot move arbitrarily.

Abstract: A transport apparatus for a disc-shaped recording medium (2) includes a first transport mechanism (9a) for transporting a first disc (2L) and a second disc (2S) smaller in diameter than the first disc (2L) from a loading position to a reproducing or recording position, and a second transport mechanism (9b) arranged at a position spaced from the second disc (2S) transported to the reproducing or recording position. The second transport mechanism transports the first disc-shaped recording medium, transported by the first transport mechanism (9a) to the reproducing or recording position, to a housing position, and performs control over similar transport of the second disc (2S).

Abstract: The problem of increasing the output signal from a CCP-CPP GMR device without having it overheat has been overcome by placing materials that have different thermoelectric potentials on opposing sides of the spacer layer. Heat from the hot junction is removed at the substrate, which acts as a heat sink, resulting in a net local cooling of the confined current spacer layer, enabling it to operate at both higher input voltage increased reliability.

Abstract: A perpendicular writer includes a write coil and a main pole having a pole tip for conducting magnetic flux to write data to a magnetic medium. The pole tip includes a plurality of magnetic layers that are magnetically coupled and biased so that their magnetic moment orientations are substantially parallel to an external surface when no write current is applied to the write coil. The pole tip is partially embedded in the yoke, such that portions of the yoke surrounding the pole tip help direct magnetic flux to the pole tip. The pole tip extends beyond the yoke, with a first end located outside the yoke and a second end located within the yoke.

Abstract: Provided is a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head capable of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head with as high performance as possible. A magnetic pole layer is formed so as to have a laminate structure in which an auxiliary magnetic pole layer (including an adjacent portion and a nonadjacent portion) extending from a first flare point to the rear and a main magnetic pole layer (including a front end portion and a rear end portion) extending from an air bearing surface to the rear through the first flare point are laminated in this order. As (1) a recording track width is controlled with high precision through forming the main magnetic pole layer with high precision, (2) recording is stably performed by an increase in the amount of magnetic flux contained in the main magnetic pole layer, and (3) information recorded on a recording medium is stably maintained through preventing information erasing without intention, the thin film magnetic head can achieve higher performance.

Abstract: According to an embodiment, a method for accessing a cell includes: a first access step of taking out a cartridge from the cell or inserting the cartridge into the cell in an initial stop position; and a second access step of taking out the cartridge from the cell or inserting the cartridge into the cell in one or more positions in the vicinity of the initial stop position until the taking-out or insertion operation succeeds in a case where the first access step has failed.

Abstract: A disk apparatus comprises a slot for inserting a disk-shaped recording medium therethrough, a first guide member for guiding one side of the disk inserted through the slot, a second guide member for guiding the other side of the disk inserted through the slot, a disk abutting portion for abutting the disk inserted through the slot, a disk support arm for carrying the disk by supporting and swinging the disk and a recording/reproducing unit for recording and/or reproducing information on and/or from the disk carried into the apparatus by the disk support arm, wherein a first disk having a diameter dA is loaded or unloaded by swinging the disk support arm, and wherein the disk support arm is disposed such that the disk abutting portion abuts and the disk support arm inhibits further insertion of a second disk having a diameter dB that is smaller than dA before the entire insertion of the second disk into the apparatus through any place of the slot while waiting for the insertion of the first disk through the s

Abstract: A magneto-resistance device is composed of an anti-ferromagnetic layer (5), a pinned ferromagnetic layer (20), a tunnel insulating layer (9) and a free ferromagnetic layer (21). The pinned ferromagnetic layer (20) is connected to the anti-ferromagnetic layer (5) and has a fixed spontaneous magnetization. The tunnel insulating layer (9) is connected to the pinned ferromagnetic layer (20) and is non-magnetic. The free ferromagnetic layer (21) is connected to the tunnel insulating layer (9) and has a reversible free spontaneous magnetization. The pinned ferromagnetic layer (20) has a first composite magnetic layer (6) to prevent at lest one component of the anti-ferromagnetic layer (5) from diffusing into tunnel insulating layer (9).

Abstract: Provided is a magnetic recording head including a return pole, a writing pole spaced by a predetermined distance from the return pole, an induction writing coil for inducing a magnetic field to be formed across the writing pole, and a plurality of shield layers formed on the writing pole. Accordingly, magnetic fields generated inside and outside the magnetic recording head are prevented from concentrating on the return pole, and information is effectively written on and erased from an information recording media.

Abstract: Techniques for reducing adjacent track erasure include: a bucking coil having a lower number of turns than the write coil for bucking out a portion of the field induced by the write coil; a hybrid solenoid coil that includes turns that are in a pancake arrangement and turns that are in a solenoid arrangement; a P2 write pole tip with an increasing amount of flare as the distance from the ABS increases; a notch along an edge of the ABS surface of the P1 write pole adjacent to a tooth that extends closest to the P2 write pole; a back notch adjacent to the tooth on the P1 write pole that has a width generally corresponding to the width of the tooth; and a layered structure on the pole tip of the P1 write pole adjacent to the tooth, the layers having at least one of decreasing amounts of saturation magnetization, decreasing amounts of permeability, or alternating layers of magnetic and nonmagnetic material, where the width of the magnetic and nonmagnetic layers in controlled or the characteristics of the magnetic

Abstract: A pair of members opposed to each other via a gap are commonly used as an evanescent light probe and a writing magnetic head. When the spacing and width of the gap are smaller than the wavelength ? of injected light, highly intensive evanescent light is generated from the gap position of the opposite surface. Magnetic writing is carried out by applying a recording magnetic field from the pair of members to a medium heated by the evanescent light.

Abstract: According to the present invention, there is provided a disk cartridge capable of being made compact although the disc cartridge has double structure, which cartridge is improved in light blocking effect and dustproof property, and is particularly suitable for use as a media disk. In this disk cartridge, a shutter is slidably mounted between an inner case and an outer case, and a joint surfaces of upper and lower halves of the inner case, and joint surfaces of upper and lower halves of the outer case are provided at positions at different heights. Light incidence preventing parts which consist of sets of a plurality of lines of ribbed projections are formed on an inner surface of the upper half and an inner surface of the lower half of the outer case.

Abstract: A method for producing a magnetic tape and method for improving a winding form of the magnetic tape are provided. These methods comprises a stage for winding a magnetic tape around a tape reel; and a stage for thermally treating the magnetic tape wound around the tape reel under preset thermal treatment conditions to impart the magnetic tape to winding habit. In the winding state, the magnetic tape is wound around a tape reel whose hub circumference is formed into a tapered state in the stage for winding a magnetic tape.

Abstract: A thin film magnetic head having a high write-in accuracy can be produced by suppressing a magnetic field leak between upper and lower magnetic poles. The method of producing the thin film magnetic head, in which a head substrate, magnetoresistance effect element, lower magnetic pole, write gap layer and an upper magnetic pole are formed in this order, has the lower magnetic pole patterned with a larger width than that of the upper magnetic pole in a write magnetic pole after the lower magnetic pole is formed. An insulation layer is formed in the same layer as the lower magnetic pole such that the insulation layer is flattened with the lower magnetic pole. The upper magnetic pole is formed on a surface of the write gap layer after the write gap layer is formed, and a protrusion of the lower magnetic pole is removed from a side face thereof.