Abstract: There is provided a magnetic recording/reproduction device which can appropriately supply lubricant to a metal-thin-film magnetic tape (1) containing no binder in a recording/reproduction surface even when the magnetic recording/reproduction device needs to be continuously performing recording/reproduction by using the magnetic tape (1) for a long time. The magnetic recording/reproduction device includes a lubricant supplier (10) which can supply lubricant to the magnetic tape (1) while the magnetic head (2) performing recording/reproduction on the magnetic tape (1). With this configuration, the lubricant supplier (10) can appropriately supply lubricant during recording/reproduction even to the magnetic tape (1) used in a magnetic recording/reproduction device that needs to keep continuously operating for a long time.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a spindle motor attached to a disk drive base. The spindle motor includes a hub that rotates about a spindle rotation axis. An annular disk is mounted on the hub. A clamp is attached to the hub. The clamp has a body portion that is stamped from a metal sheet. The clamp also includes an annular rib that protrudes from the stamped sheet metal body portion towards the annular disk. The annular rib includes an annular contact surface that may be lapped to enhance flatness and that contacts the annular disk. The annular rib also includes inner and outer side walls that are each normal to the annular contact surface.

Abstract: In a disc drive, a slider having electronic communication with the surface of a data disc, the slider having a first up-track mill transition that has a transition mill to remove oblique mill transitions so that the transition has a substantially perpendicular portion that impacts contaminant particles on or near the disc surface. In other embodiments, other edges of the slider have transition mills to remove oblique transition mills from possible impact with such particles.

Abstract: A tape cartridge library that is equipped with a cleaning device is described. The tape cartridge library essentially includes a plurality of tape cartridges each possessing recording tape media. A plurality of tape drives that read and write data to and from each of the tape cartridges. A tape cleaning drive incapable of transferring data to and from the recording tape media which is independent of the tape drives, the tape cleaning drive disposed entirely within the tape cartridge library. The tape cleaning drive automatically receives one of the tape cartridges and cleans its respective recording tape medium when a predetermined reason for cleaning the tape cartridge is justified.

Abstract: A slider comprising a contact sensor element configured to respond to a change in resistance due to a change in temperature, and a shield structure. The shield structure comprises a lower thermal conductivity than the contact sensor element and a greater hardness than the contact sensor element.

Abstract: A magnetic recorder includes: a magnetic recording medium; a reproducing head; a magnetic recording head including: a main magnetic pole; a first magnetic layer containing a TM alloy; a second magnetic layer containing a TM alloy or an RE-TM alloy; a third magnetic layer containing an RE-TM alloy; a first intermediate layer provided between the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer; and a second intermediate layer provided between the second magnetic layer and the third magnetic layer; and a signal processing portion which performs signal writing into the magnetic recording medium by using the magnetic recording head and reading from the magnetic recording medium by using the reproducing head.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a recording head includes a main pole configured to apply a recording magnetic field to a recording medium, a trailing shield opposed to the main pole with a gap therebetween, a spin-torque oscillator at least a part of which is located between the main pole and the trailing shield and configured to apply a high-frequency magnetic field to the recording medium, and an auxiliary oscillator configured to apply an auxiliary magnetic field to the spin-torque oscillator.

Abstract: A multi-layer circuit such as for a disk drive suspension has two regions: a supported region in which first and second stacked signal conductors are supported on a stainless steel support layer and an insulating layer, and an unsupported region having flying leads in which the flying leads are not supported below by the support layer. The two stacked signal conductors are formed by two separate plating operations, the two plating operations simultaneously creating the flying leads and the unsupported portions of the signal conductors, such that the flying leads have thicknesses that are the sum of the thicknesses of the individual conductors. Crossbars and vias allow the different plating layers to be connected together. This construction allows the individual conductors to be relatively thin and flexible for good electrical and mechanical performance, while creating relatively thick flying leads that are resistant to handling damage.

Abstract: A magneto-resistive effect (MR) element includes a magneto-resistive (MR) stack with a magnetization free layer, a bias magnetic field application layer positioned on a side of the MR stack, and an insulation film insulating the bias magnetic field application layer. The bias magnetic field application layer includes hard magnetic layer positioned on the side of the magnetization free layer and formed of iron-platinum (FePt) alloy and Pt seed layer provided between the MR stack and the hard magnetic layer and on a lower surface of the hard magnetic layer in contact manner with the hard magnetic layer and formed of platinum (Pt). The insulation film is a MgO insulation film formed of oxide magnesium (MgO), provided on a surface of the Pt seed layer in contact manner with the Pt seed layer, the surface being opposite to another surface of the Pt seed layer contacting the hard magnetic layer.

Abstract: An integrated disk driving module is disclosed, the module including a base unit including an opening-formed upper plate, a lateral surface plate bent from an edge of the upper plate to form an accommodation space, and a first motor fixture concavely formed from the upper plate to the accommodation space, and a second motor fixture bent from the upper plate to the accommodation space, wherein the first and second motor fixtures are integrally formed to the upper plate; a spindle motor fixed inside the first motor fixture to rotate a disk; a stepping motor rotatably fixed to the second motor fixture; a circuit substrate arranged at the base unit to be electrically connected to the spindle motor and the stepping motor, and encoder module including an encoder base coupled to an encoder opening formed at the upper plate of the base unit, an encoder coupled to a through hole of the encoder base to sense revolution of the disk, and an encoder circuit substrate electrically connected to the encoder and coupled to th

Abstract: A disk drive device includes: a base member; a hub on which a recording disk is placed; a bearing unit arranged on the base member for rotatably supporting the hub; and a spindle drive unit for rotationally driving the hub, wherein the spindle drive unit includes a stator core having salient poles, a coil wound around each of the salient poles, and a magnet having a plurality of magnetic poles arranged in a circumferential direction opposed to the salient poles, the hub includes an outer cylindrical portion formed of a magnetic material and engaged with an inner periphery of the recording disk, and an inner cylindrical portion fixing an outer periphery of the magnet, the number of magnetic poles is an even number in a range of 10 to 16, and the number of salient poles is a multiple of 3 in a range of 12 to 24.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a magnetic recording device includes a magnetic recording head and a magnetic recording medium. The magnetic recording head includes a main magnetic pole, a shield and a stacked structure. The main magnetic pole has a medium facing surface and a main magnetic pole side surface. The shield has a shield side surface. The stacked structure is provided between the main magnetic pole and shield, and includes first and second magnetic layers, and an intermediate layer. The magnetic recording medium includes a backing layer and a magnetic recording layer. A distance between an end portion of the medium facing surface on a side of the stacked structure and the backing layer is twice or more of a distance between the main magnetic pole side surface and the shield side surface.

Abstract: Described herein is a disk drive having a disk receiving surface with an outer diameter. The drive can include a peripheral edge that extends transverse to the disk receiving surface and circumferentially about at least a portion of the outer diameter of the disk receiving surface. The drive can also include a disk limiter that extends between and transverse to the disk receiving surface and the peripheral edge to provide a transition between the disk receiving surface and a surface of the peripheral edge.

Abstract: An integrated disk driving module is disclosed, the module including a base unit including an opening-formed upper plate, a lateral surface plate bent from an edge of the upper plate to form an accommodation space, and a stepping motor fixture bent from the upper plate toward the accommodation space, wherein the stepping motor fixture is integrally formed with the upper plate; and a stepping motor including a lead screw and a pivot member arranged at a distal end of the lead screw and coupled to the stepping motor fixture, and wherein the stepping motor fixture is formed with an insertion groove into which the pivot member is secured, where width of the insertion groove is larger than a diameter of the pivot member.

Abstract: Described herein is a disk drive having a head stack assembly with an actuator arm that is rotatable about an axis of rotation and has a damping layer disposed on the actuator arm. The damping layer has first and second damping portions, which can include an adhesive or viscoelastic layer. The first damping portion has different damping properties than the second damping portion.

Abstract: A disk spindle assembly cartridge is described. The disk spindle assembly cartridge includes a base, a spindle motor attached to the base, a disk seated on the spindle motor, a disk clamp attached to the spindle motor, wherein the disk clamp secures the disk to the spindle motor, and a cover attached to the base. The base is configured to detachably mount a head stack assembly cartridge, where the disk is accessible to a head stack assembly pivotally mounted in the head stack assembly cartridge via an opening defined by the base and the cover.

Abstract: A magnetic head according to one embodiment includes a side gap layer comprising primarily silicon nitride, wherein outer sides of the side gap layer taper away from one another from a leading end of the side gap layer towards a trailing end of the side gap layer; a seed layer above the silicon nitride side gap layer; and a magnetic pole on the seed layer. A method for forming a magnetic head according to one embodiment includes etching a channel in a silicon oxide layer; forming a side gap layer comprising primarily silicon nitride in the channel; forming a seed layer above the side gap layer; plating a pole on the seed layer; and removing the silicon oxide layer by wet etching. Additional systems and methods are also presented.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a magnetic head includes a barrier layer having a crystalline structure, a first magnetic layer above the barrier layer, a magnetic insertion layer above the first magnetic layer, and a second magnetic layer above the magnetic insertion layer, the second magnetic layer having a textured face-centered cubic (fcc) structure. The first magnetic layer comprises a high spin polarization magnetic material having a crystalline structure and a characteristic of crystallization being more similar to the crystalline structure of the barrier layer than a crystalline structure of the second magnetic layer and the magnetic insertion layer comprises a magnetic material having a crystalline structure and a characteristic of crystallization being more similar to the crystalline structure of the second magnetic layer than the crystalline structure of the barrier layer. Additional magnetic head structures and methods of producing magnetic heads are described according to more embodiments.

Abstract: A disk drive head stack assembly includes a laminar flexible printed circuit (FPC) having first and second conductive layers, with a dielectric layer between. An integrated circuit (IC) chip is mounted to the laminar FPC. The IC chip may have a first plurality of terminals closer to the first conductive layer than to the second conductive layer, and second plurality of terminals that is offset towards the second conductive layer relative to the first plurality of terminals. First and second pluralities of conductive bumps contact and connect conductive traces of the first and second conductive layers to the first and second plurality of terminals, respectively. An average height of the second plurality of conductive bumps may be greater than that of the first plurality of conductive bumps. The second plurality of conductive bumps is aligned with and passes through a plurality of openings through the dielectric layer.

Abstract: A magnetic head includes a main pole and a return path section located above a top surface of a substrate. The main pole has an end face located in a medium facing surface. The return path section is located on the front side in the direction of travel of a recording medium relative to the main pole and is farther from the top surface of the substrate than is the main pole. The return path section has: a front end face located on the front side of the main pole in the medium facing surface; and an inclined surface located on the front side and connected to the front end face. The inclined surface is not exposed in the medium facing surface. An angle greater than 90° is formed between the front end face and the inclined surface.