Abstract: A head gimbal assembly for a disk drive includes a read head and a suspension assembly. The suspension assembly includes a load beam and a laminate flexure. The laminate flexure includes a structural layer, a dielectric layer, and a conductive layer. The laminate flexure includes a tongue portion that connects to the read head and a flexure tail that extends away from the tongue portion. The flexure tail includes a plurality of flexure bond pads. Each of the plurality of flexure bond pads is folded upon itself.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a head gimbal assembly with a laser light source that is disposed on a back face of the slider (opposite an air bearing surface). The laser light source is attached to the flexure tongue. The flexure includes a plurality of bends that offset a flexure bond pad shelf from a flexure tongue by an offset distance (measured in a direction that is normal to the air bearing surface). The offset distance may be approximately equal to the thickness of the laser light source. A plurality of flexure bond pads on flexure bond pad shelf is electrically connected to respective ones of a plurality of head bond pads.

Abstract: A method and system for providing a head gimbal assembly (HGA) for an energy assisted magnetic recording (EAMR) disk drive including media is described. The HGA includes a slider, a laser assembly, and a flexure. The slider has a front side, a back side, and at least one EAMR transducer residing in proximity to the front side. The front side corresponds to an air-bearing surface (ABS) that resides in proximity to the media during use. The laser assembly includes a laser for providing energy to the EAMR transducer and is mounted on the back side of the slider. The flexure has at least one laser lead and a through-hole therein. The through-hole is configured to accommodate the laser assembly. A portion of the at least one laser lead extends over the through-hole and electrically connects the at least one laser lead with the laser.

Abstract: A head gimbal assembly for a disk drive includes a read head and a suspension assembly. The suspension assembly includes a load beam and a laminate flexure. The laminate flexure includes a structural layer, a dielectric layer, and a conductive layer that includes a plurality of electrical traces. The laminate flexure includes a tongue portion that connects to the read head and a flexure tail that extends away from the tongue portion. The flexure tail includes a plurality of flexure bond pads. Each of the plurality of flexure bond pads includes a widened region of a corresponding one of the plurality of electrical traces in the conductive layer, and a corresponding one of a plurality of segments or discontinuous islands in the structural layer.

Abstract: A novel head gimbal assembly (HGA) for use in a disk drive is disclosed. Each of a plurality of electrically conductive traces of a flexure of the HGA includes a connection region that is aligned with and connected to a corresponding one of a plurality of electrically conductive bonding pads of a head. Each of the plurality of electrically conductive traces further includes a heating pad that is offset from its connection region by an offset distance. A dielectric layer of the flexure includes a first opening over the heating pad, a support layer of the flexure includes a second opening over the heating pad, and a load beam of the HGA includes a third opening disposed over the heating pad. During assembly, light may be shined through the openings and onto the heating pad until solder located in the connection region that is offset from the heating pad melts.

Abstract: A head gimbal assembly for a disk drive includes a read head and a suspension assembly. The suspension assembly includes a load beam and a laminate flexure. The laminate flexure includes a structural layer, a dielectric layer, and a conductive layer that includes a plurality of electrical traces. The laminate flexure includes a tongue portion that connects to the read head and a flexure tail that extends away from the tongue portion. The flexure tail includes a plurality of flexure bond pads. Each of the plurality of flexure bond pads includes a widened region of a corresponding one of the plurality of electrical traces in the conductive layer, and a corresponding one of a plurality of segments or discontinuous islands in the structural layer.

Abstract: A head stack assembly (HSA) for a disk drive includes an actuator body, at least one actuator arm extending from the actuator body, and a flexible printed circuit (FPC). The FPC includes first and second pluralities of electrically conductive FPC traces, each having a distal portion that terminates at a respective one of a plurality of FPC bond pads. The HSA also includes a head gimbal assembly (HGA) having a laminate flexure with a plurality of electrically conductive flexure bond pads that are bonded to the plurality of FPC bond pads. A width of at least one of the first plurality of FPC traces is greater than a width of at least one of the second plurality of FPC traces. The distal portion of at least one of the first plurality FPC traces includes a first opening therethrough, for example less than 1 mm from its corresponding FPC bond pad.

Abstract: A head gimbal assembly for a disk drive includes a read head, a load beam, and a laminate flexure. The laminate flexure includes a structural layer, a dielectric layer, and a conductive layer that includes a plurality of electrical traces. The laminate flexure includes a tongue portion that connects to the read head, and a flexure tail that extends away from the tongue portion and includes a plurality of flexure bond pads that may facilitate ultrasonic or ACF bonding. Each of the plurality of flexure bond pads consists of a widened region of a corresponding one of the plurality of electrical traces in the conductive layer, and a gold coating upon the widened region. The widened region of each of the plurality of electrical traces extends transverse to the flexure tail's longitudinal axis at least 2.5 times more than it extends parallel to the flexure tail's longitudinal axis.

Abstract: A method of assembling a head stack assembly (HSA) includes securing a flex cable to an actuator including an actuator arm having a side slot with a slot end. A first head gimbal assembly (HGA) is attached to the actuator arm. The first HGA includes a first laminated flexure having a first flexure tail with a first raised region that includes an out-of-plane bend. The first raised region is squeezed while inserting the first flexure tail partially within the side slot with the first raised region adjacent the slot end. The first raised region is allowed to expand into contact with the side slot adjacent the slot end. The first flexure tail is electrically connected to the flex cable.

Abstract: A flexure tail of a head gimbal assembly (HGA) is aligned with a flex cable of a head stack assembly (HSA). At least one solder ball is adhered to a bond pad on the flex cable. The solder ball is entered into a first alignment hole in the flexure tail while the solder ball is solid.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are embodiments directed to a head gimbal assembly including a novel suspension assembly that includes a flexure tail with a first plurality of apertures in its structural layer. Each of the first plurality of apertures underlies a first trace but not a second trace. Each of a second plurality of apertures in the structural layer underlies a second trace but not the first trace. Each of the first plurality of apertures includes a corresponding region of maximum width, and each of the second plurality of apertures includes a corresponding region of maximum width, as measured in the width direction. None of the corresponding regions of maximum width of the first plurality of apertures is disposed in an overlapping position along the long axis as any of the corresponding regions of maximum width of the second plurality of apertures.

Abstract: A novel head gimbal assembly (HGA) for use in a disk drive is disclosed. Each of a plurality of electrically conductive traces of a flexure of the HGA includes a connection region that is aligned with and connected to a corresponding one of a plurality of electrically conductive bonding pads of a head. Each of the plurality of electrically conductive traces further includes a heating pad that is offset from its connection region by an offset distance. A dielectric layer of the flexure includes a first opening over the heating pad, a support layer of the flexure includes a second opening over the heating pad, and a load beam of the HGA includes a third opening disposed over the heating pad. During assembly, light may be shined through the openings and onto the heating pad until solder located in the connection region that is offset from the heating pad melts.

Abstract: A novel head stack assembly (HSA) includes a flex cable with a first side and an opposing second side, and having a hole therethrough. The HSA also includes a head gimbal assembly (HGA) having a load beam, a laminated flexure attached to the load beam, and a head attached to the laminated flexure. The laminated flexure includes a flexure tail with a snap-through feature. The snap-through feature has a plurality of windows in the flexure tail, a snap-through feature central portion that is centric to the plurality of windows, and a plurality of lobes. Each lobe extends out from the snap-through feature central portion radially into one of the plurality of windows. The laminated flexure overlies and contacts the flex cable on its first side, but the snap-through feature is disposed through the hole so that each of the plurality of lobes contacts the flex cable on its second side.

Abstract: A novel suspension assembly includes a flexure tail with a first plurality of apertures in its structural layer. Each of the first plurality of apertures underlies a first trace but not a second trace. Each of a second plurality of apertures in the structural layer underlies a second trace but not the first trace. Each of the first plurality of apertures includes a corresponding region of maximum width, and each of the second plurality of apertures includes a corresponding region of maximum width, as measured in the width direction. None of the corresponding regions of maximum width of the first plurality of apertures is disposed in an overlapping position along the long axis as any of the corresponding regions of maximum width of the second plurality of apertures.

Abstract: A suspension for a disk drive includes a gimbal, a load beam and a constraint layer. The gimbal is configured to receive a head. The load beam has a first end and a second end and defines a longitudinal axis between the first end and the second end. The load beam is coupled to the gimbal proximate the first end and includes a base region proximate the second end, the base region having a first lateral section to one side of the longitudinal axis and a second lateral section to another side of the longitudinal axis. The first and the second lateral sections define a gap therebetween, and the base region has a bridge section extending across the gap between the first lateral section and the second lateral section. The constraint layer overlays at least a portion of the base region.

Abstract: A method to fabricate a damped suspension assembly includes providing a suspension assembly including a mounting plate, a bend region, and a load beam. A first thinned area of the load beam is partially-etched. The bend region does not include the first thinned area. A constrained-layer damper is adhered to the first thinned area of the load beam without being adhered to the bend region.

Abstract: A suspension assembly includes a read head clamp attached to a flexure that includes structural, dielectric, and conductive layers. The clamp includes a cantilevered clamping arm sized so that its distal end is positioned to contact a leading face of a read head. The clamp also includes a wall positioned to face a trailing face of the read head. Each of a plurality of conductive probes defined in the structural layer is electrically connected to a corresponding one of a plurality of conductive traces defined in the conductive layer, by a plurality of conductive vias through the dielectric layer. Each of the plurality of conductive probes is bent out of the flexure plane and is positioned to contact the trailing face of the read head. A method for temporarily holding a read head is also disclosed.

Abstract: A novel head stack assembly (HSA) is disclosed and claimed. The HSA includes an actuator including an actuator body and an actuator arm extending from the actuator body, and a flexible printed circuit (FPC) adjacent the actuator body. The FPC includes a slit therethrough. A head gimbal assembly (HGA) is attached to the actuator arm. The HGA includes a load beam, a laminated flexure attached to the load beam, and a head attached to the laminated flexure. The laminated flexure has a flexure tail that includes an intermediate region that is disposed adjacent the actuator arm, and a terminal region that is electrically connected to the FPC. The terminal region is substantially orthogonal to the intermediate region. The intermediate region of the flexure tail extends into the slit, interferes with the slit, and contacts and deforms the FPC adjacent the slit.

Abstract: A novel method and device to align a flexure tail of a head gimbal assembly (HGA) to a flex cable of a head stack assembly (HSA) is disclosed. An alignment pin is passed through a first alignment hole in the flex cable, and a second alignment hole in the flexure tail. The second alignment hole is disposed in a region of the flexure tail that lies in a flexure tail plane that is approximately parallel to the flex cable plane adjacent the first alignment hole. A novel head gimbal assembly (HGA) has a flexure tail that includes a first bend line. The flexure tail is bent out-of-plane about the first bend line to create a residual bend angle in the range 10° to 80°. The first alignment tab is abutted against a first guide surface of an alignment fixture.

Abstract: A novel head stack assembly (HSA), and method for HSA assembly, are disclosed and claimed. A first flexure tail has a long axis approximately parallel to a side of the actuator arm. The actuator arm includes a slot in the side having a slot end. The first flexure tail is disposed partially within the slot. The first flexure tail includes a first raised region in contact with the slot adjacent the slot end. The first raised region includes an out-of-plane bend with cross-sectional curvature along the long axis. The first raised region may be squeezed while inserting the first flexure tail partially within the side slot, with the first raised region adjacent the slot end, and then allowed to expand into contact with the slot adjacent the slot end.