Abstract: An improved negative pressure air bearing (NPAB) slider for rotating disk drives provides an easy means of controlling the slider characteristics including roll, pitch, fly height and skew sensitivity. The NPAB slider has positive pressure, negative pressure and transition regions whereby the shape of the regions determine the direction and amount of air flowing into the negative pressure region and thus the magnitude and distribution of negative pressure generated. The regions can be formed during a single etch to a single etch depth simplifying manufacturing. One embodiment includes a third rail located within the negative pressure region. Other embodiments include side rails with leading edge tapers or alternatively leading edge steps.

Abstract: An improved negative pressure air bearing (NPAB) slider for rotating disk drives provides an easy means of controlling the slider characteristics including roll, pitch, fly height and skew sensitivity. The NPAB slider has positive pressure, negative pressure and transition regions whereby the shape of the regions determine the direction and amount of air flowing into the negative pressure region and thus the magnitude and distribution of negative pressure generated. The regions can be formed during a single etch to a single etch depth simplifying manufacturing. One embodiment includes a third rail located within the negative pressure region. Other embodiments include side rails with leading edge tapers or alternatively leading edge steps.

Abstract: For a slider having convex curvature along its length, or "crown", a method for reducing fly height variation due to crown by shifting the peak of the crown toward the leading end, and the resultant slider structure. In a preferred method, peak shifting is accomplished in a slider with symmetrical crown by affixing a suspension to the bonding surface of the slider near the leading end. The bonding process creates a displacement force upon the slider to effect the shift. An alternative approach reshapes a row of sliders prior to rail shaping, e.g., by sand or bead blasting.

Abstract: An air bearing slider for use in carrying a transducer adjacent a recording medium exhibits reduced sensitivity to variations in roll, crown, and skew. In one embodiment, the slider comprises an air bearing slider having a pair of substantially coplanar side rails disposed along the sides of the air bearing surface so as to form a recessed section between the side rails. The recessed section is open at both the leading and trailing ends of the slider while each side rail has a tapered section or etched step at the leading edge of the slider. One rail carries the transducer and extends for the entire length of the slider body. The rail without a transducer extends from the leading edge toward the trailing edge, but does not extend all the way to the trailing edge. Under some skew, accessing, and crash stop impact conditions, the resulting slider roll causes the flying height of the inactive rail to drop.

Abstract: For a slider having convex curvature along its length, or "crown", a method for reducing fly height variation due to crown by shifting the peak of the crown toward the leading end, and the resultant slider structure. In a preferred method, peak shifting is accomplished in a slider with symmetrical crown by affixing a suspension to the bonding surface of the slider near the leading end. The bonding process creates a displacement force upon the slider to effect the shift. An alternative approach reshapes a row of sliders prior to rail shaping, e.g., by sand or bead blasting.

Abstract: An air bearing slider for use in carrying a transducer adjacent a recording medium exhibits reduced sensitivity to variations in roll, crown, and skew. In one embodiment, the slider comprises an air bearing slider having a pair of substantially coplanar side rails disposed along the sides of the air bearing surface so as to form a recessed section between the side rails. The recessed section is open at both the leading and trailing ends of the slider while each side rail has a tapered section or etched step at the leading edge of the slider. One rail carries the transducer and extends for the entire length of the slider body. The rail without a transducer extends from the leading edge toward the trailing edge, but does not extend all the way to the trailing edge. Under some skew, accessing, and crash stop impact conditions, the resulting slider roll causes the flying height of the inactive rail to drop.