Abstract: An air bearing slider includes a slider body, a head stack portion attached to a rear portion of the slider body, and a transducer contained within the head stack having a pole tip for communicating with a disc. A distance separates a plane containing the bottom surface of the pole tip and a plane containing the bottom surface of the slider body. The head stack portion includes a material that is semi-permanently deformable, and a deformation of the material changes the distance. A method for adjusting a pole tip position in an air bearing slider includes providing an air bearing slider having a material within a head stack portion. A distance separates a plane containing the bottom surface of the pole tip and a plane containing the bottom surface of the slider body. The method includes semi-permanently deforming the material to change the distance.

Abstract: A slider includes a slider body having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a first side edge, a second side edge and a center line extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge, which define a disc-facing surface having a bearing plane. A protrusion is positioned on the disc-facing surface along the first side edge and has a protrusion surface. The protrusion surface is tilted with respect to the bearing plane about the center line and towards the first side edge.

Abstract: A magnetic head includes core blocks having a medium sliding surface formed on one surface of the core blocks, the medium sliding surface having a slender convex curved shape formed along a sliding direction of a recording medium from the upstream side of the sliding direction to the downstream side, and the medium sliding surface having a magnetic gap formed thereon, wherein the medium sliding surface is shaped along a longitudinal direction thereof like a circular arc with a radius of curvature R while being shaped along a width direction like a circular arc with a radius of curvature r, which is smaller than the radius of curvature R, so that the radius of curvature r is continuously reduced with closer distance to the downstream end of the recording medium sliding direction from a vicinity of the magnetic gap, so that by employing the above magnetic head, a long life magnetic head with small damage due to foreign material adhesion as well as small abrasion can be provided.

Abstract: A highly reliable magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus is provided. In the magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, a spin-valve film is used as a magnetic sensor element for detecting magnetic signals. By defining the corrosion potential of this spin-valve film, and further by specifying the residual magnetization of a magnetic recording medium used as well as the product of the residual magnetization and the thickness of the magnetic layer to a range that is numerically optimal, the occurrence of corrosion on the surface of a magnetoresistive head that contacts the medium is prevented, and the occurrence of electromagnetic discharge is avoided. Further, by numerically specifying the surface resistivity of the metal magnetic thin film of the magnetic recording medium, as well as the roughness of the surface on which the metal magnetic thin film is formed, electrostatic discharge preventing effects and wear resistance are improved.

Abstract: A data transducer is used for writing data to a disc and has an air bearing surface. The data transducer also includes a bottom pole and a top pole separated from the bottom pole at the air bearing surface by a write gap. A core is formed between the bottom pole and the top pole and a conductive coil is positioned within the core. The data transducer further includes an insulator conformed to turns of the conductive coil and a core fill deposited within the entire core wherein the core fill is a high-thermal conductivity material. The insulator and core fill dissipate thermal energy away from the conductive coil.

Abstract: An electronic apparatus includes a recording medium container into which a recording medium unit is detachably loaded and that has an insertion inlet through which the recording medium unit is loaded. A cover is detachably attached to the insertion inlet of the recording medium container. A first detector is configured to detect a first state in which the cover is removed from the insertion inlet. A second detector is configured to detect a second state in which the recording medium unit is unloaded from the recording medium container. Stopping means is configured to stop supplying power from a power supply to a load if at least one of the first and second detectors detect at least one of the first and second states.

Abstract: A thin film magnetic recording head utilizing a timing based servo pattern is fabricated using a focused ion beam (FIB). The recording head is fabricated by sputtering a magnetically permeable thin film onto a substrate. A gap pattern, preferably a timing based pattern, is defined on the thin film and the FIB cuts a gap through the thin film based on that pattern. Once completed, the recording head is used to write a servo track onto magnetic tape. The timing based servo track then allows for the precise alignment of data read heads based on the positional information obtained by a servo read head which scans the continuously variable servo track.

Abstract: The present invention is a side-by-side inductive head structure having a considerably reduced separation between the read and write elements of the head structure. The present invention also provides a thin film inductive head design to minimize rework during a fabrication process.

Abstract: A magnetic disk cartridge for use in a disk drive having both a slot and a guide portion. The magnetic disk cartridge comprises a generally disk-shaped housing in which a magnetic disk is rotatably housed, and protrusions. The protrusions are formed on the main surface of the housing and are used for positioning the magnetic disk cartridge in a direction capable of recording and reproduction in cooperation with the guide portion of the disk drive when the magnetic disk cartridge is loaded in the disk drive.

Abstract: This invention is a rewritable near-field optical medium using a zinc oxide nano-structured thin film as the localized near-field interaction layer. This rewritable near-field optical medium is a multilayered body at least comprising: (a) a substrate of transparent material; (b) a first protective and spacer layer formed on one surface of the substrate, which is made of transparent dielectric material; (c) a zinc oxide nano-structured thin film which is capable of causing localized near-field optical interactions; (d) a second protective and spacer layer formed on the localized near-field optical interaction layer, which is also made of transparent dielectric material; (e) a rewritable recording layer; (f) a third protective and spacer layer formed on the rewritable recording layer, which is also made of transparent dielectric material.

Abstract: A magnetic disk drive having a high recording density and enabling high speed transfer is achieved by reducing vibration of a carriage arm assembly to reduce a positioning error. The disk drive is configured so that a carriage arm is configured by two arm portions, the arm portions being coupled to each other by a restraint member through a viscoelastic material, the restraint member being supported on a carriage body or an area of the carriage arm in the vicinity of the body by means of adhesion or a viscoelastic material. By providing a high damping effect against various vibration modes in which in-plane bending and out-plane bending of the carriage arm are generated, vibration of the carriage arm assembly is suppressed, so that the positioning error is reduced, thereby the magnetic disk drive having a high recording density can be achieved.

Abstract: An electronic apparatus, such as an on-vehicle navigation system, is provided. The apparatus comprises a hard disc container (2) and a contacting piece (31) for grounding. The hard disc container contains a hard disc unit (7) detachably loaded thereinto. A loading/unloading passage (21) through which the hard disc unit is loaded and unloaded is formed in the container. The contacting piece is disposed in the loading/unloading passage. When the hard disc unit is loaded into the container, the hard disc unit is made to come into contact to the contacting piece before an electrical connection between the hard disc and the hard disc container is realized. Thus, even if static electricity is charged on the hard disc unit, the static electricity is grounded steadily prior to the electrical connection, thereby no harm being given to data stored by a hard disc incorporated in the hard disc unit.

Abstract: In a magnetic head, a center pad provided with a magnetic core is formed at the center of an edge at a trailing side of the recording medium opposing surface of a slider body. Two side pads are formed at both ends in the direction of the width at positions closer to a leading side than the center pad is located. A total value of the areas of the recording medium opposing surfaces of the two side pads is set to be larger than a value of the area of the recording medium opposing surface of the center pad. Each of the side pads has, at the leading side, a front stepped surface that is lower than the remaining portion.

Abstract: A video camera having a camera body unit including a lens, a view finder, and a group of operation buttons. Also included is a battery housing unit that can function as a grip unit and that is provided to be rotatable in a vertical direction to one side of the camera body unit through a rotational axis and that is equipped with a lock mechanism so as to be maintained in a lock state at a preset position. In this way the camera body unit can be miniaturized to be convenient for carrying, and further the battery housing unit can be used as the grip unit, so that it is possible to improve the operability without destroying the design.

Abstract: An improvement in the corrosion resistance of a magnetoresistive head is aimed for, and a high magnetoresistivity ratio is maintained. In a magnetoresistive head equipped with, as a magnetic sensor element for detecting magnetic signals while in contact with a magnetic recording medium, a spin-valve film, which has a structure where an anti-ferromagnetic layer, a pinned layer in which the direction of magnetization is pinned in a predetermined direction by an exchange-coupling magnetic field at work between itself and the anti-ferromagnetic layer, a free layer in which the direction of magnetization changes in accordance with an external magnetic field, and a non-magnetic layer for magnetically isolating the pinned layer and the free layer are layered, the corrosion potential of the spin-valve film relative to a standard hydrogen electrode measured while immersed in a NaCl solution of a concentration of 0.1 mol/L is specified at +0.4 [V vs. SHE] or above.

Abstract: The layer system having an increased magnetoresistive effect contains at least one soft magnetic detection layer, a non-magnetic decoupling layer, which rests on the detection layer, and a layer partial system, which is located at a distance due to the decoupling layer, forms an artificial antiferromagnet, and which is decoupled from the detection layer. This partial system comprises a first ferromagnetic and a second ferromagnetic layer. The first ferromagnetic layer should be antiferromagnetically coupled (K2) to the second ferromagnetic layer via a non-magnetic coupling layer. In addition, the side of the first ferromagnetic layer facing away from the coupling layer should be provided with an antiferromagnetic additional layer and be exchange-coupled (K3) thereto and, in addition, should have a material composition that differs from the second ferromagnetic layer.

Abstract: A GMR sensor has a head surface with an active region and first and second inactive regions along the head surface with the active region being located between the first and second inactive regions, and includes an antiparallel (AP) coupled free layer structure having an active portion and first and second inactive portions located in the active region and the first and second inactive regions respectively. The free layer structure has a free layer, an antiparallel (AP) coupling layer and a ferromagnetic bias layer wherein the AP coupling layer is located between the free layer and the bias layer wherein each of the free layer, the AP coupling layer and the bias layer has an active portion and first and second inactive portions which are located in the active region and the first and second inactive regions respectively.

Abstract: A head suspension or head suspension component article configured for solder ball bonding of a head slider to electrical traces on article. The article including electrical traces formed from electrically conductive material with the electrical traces having a bonding region adapted for electrical bonding to a head slider. Also included is a support structure providing support for at least portions of the electrical traces and including a head slider mounting region adapted to receive the head slider. This structure is configured to mechanically and thermally isolate the bonding region of the electrical traces from the head slider mounting region to reduce mechanical and thermal effects of a solder ball bonding process on the article during solder ball bonding of the head slider to the electrical traces. The support structure may be reduced at or around the bonding region, or the conductive material may be increased to dissipate more heat.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a head gimbal assembly that includes structure that decreases the pitch angle of the load beam, which decreases disk flutter induced track mis-registration. According to one embodiment, the disk drive includes a body portion including a bore defining a pivot axis; an actuator arm cantilevered from the body portion and a head gimbal assembly (HGA) supported at the actuator arm. The HGA includes a load beam having a first end and a second end, the first end being attached to the actuator arm, the load beam defining a load beam feature near the second end, at least a portion of the load beam feature defining an extension that is parallel to the pivot axis and that has a rectangular cross-section having a length to width aspect ratio that is greater than 1. A slider is coupled to a free end of the load beam extension, and a gimbal coupled to the second end of the load beam and to the slider.

Abstract: A magnetic recording head includes a first pole having multiple magnetic layers separated by multiple gap layers. The multiple magnetic layers make up a write pole which produces a first hard axis field and a first auxiliary pole that produces a first auxiliary field that opposes the first hard axis field resulting in a reduced net hard axis field. The write pole and the first auxiliary pole are separated by a first gap layer made of a material that is less magnetically conducting than the write pole and the first auxiliary pole. The write pole is located upstream from the first auxiliary pole relative to a perpendicular magnetic recording medium. A portion of the first auxiliary pole exists in a region between a surface of the perpendicular magnetic recording medium and five microns from a surface of the perpendicular magnetic recording medium.