Abstract: According to one embodiment, a magnetic head includes a slider including an air bearing surface which includes a plurality of uppermost surfaces each constituting a pressure generating surface and a plurality of other surfaces different in height from the uppermost surfaces, an inflow end, and an outflow end, and a head portion provided at the outflow end. The air bearing surface includes a negative pressure generating groove, a leading pad having the uppermost surface, and a trailing pad having the uppermost surface. The uppermost surface in a region between a tip portion of the trailing pad and the outflow end includes only the trailing pad.

Abstract: A substrate for suspension comprises a metallic substrate, an insulating layer formed on the metallic substrate, a conductor layer formed on the insulating layer, and a cover layer covering the conductor layer. The insulating layer and the cover layer are formed from different materials, whose coefficients of hygroscopic expansion are in the range between 3×10?6/% RH and 30×10?6/% RH. The difference between the coefficients of hygroscopic expansion of the two materials is 5×10?6/% RH or less.

Abstract: A production method of a base plate for a disk drive made by aluminum die casting which can reduce scattering of particles and minimizes particle contamination is provided. The production method of a base plate for a disk drive includes a forming step for forming a base member by aluminum die casting, a coating step for coating the base member with a resin film, a machining step for removing a part of the resin film and a surface layer of the base member in order to expose the aluminum surface, a pretreatment step for immersing the base member with the exposed aluminum surface in a pretreatment solution containing no fluoride, and a metal film forming step for coating the exposed aluminum surface with a metal film.

Abstract: The present invention provides a substrate for suspension that includes a first structural part including a metal supporting substrate, an insulating layer, a wiring layer, and a cover layer, and a second structural part formed so as to extend continuously from the first structural part and has no metal supporting substrate. A position of an edge of an upper surface of the insulating layer coincides with a position of an edge of the lower surface of the cover layer or the position of the edge of the upper surface of the insulating layer is positioned on a side closer to the wiring layer than to the position of the edge of the lower surface of the cover layer at a boundary region between the first structural part and the second structural part.

Abstract: A bottom surface of an optical component is bonded to a mounting surface. The bottom surface includes a first opaque feature and the mounting surface includes a second opaque feature. The first and second opaque features are hidden between the bottom surface and the mounting surface after the bonding. An infrared image is obtained through a top surface of the optical component that is opposed to the bottom surface. The infrared image includes a view of a region proximate first and second opaque features. One or more of an optical alignment and a bond line thickness between the optical component and the mounting surface is determined via the infrared image.

Abstract: A thin film piezoelectric element of the present invention includes a substrate and a piezoelectric thin film stack formed on the substrate. The piezoelectric thin film stack includes a top electrode layer, a bottom electrode layer and a piezoelectric layer sandwiched between the top electrode layer and the bottom electrode layer, wherein the piezoelectric layer includes a first piezoelectric layer and a second piezoelectric layer whose compositions have different phase structures. The present invention can obtain high piezoelectric constants, enhanced coercive field strength, thereby enabling larger applied field strength without depolarization and achieving a large stroke for its applied device.

Abstract: A magnetic head inspection method is provided with the step that an area smaller than a half of a scanning and measurement area of a magnetic probe in a cantilever unit of the MFM is set as a scanning and measurement area on a surface of a recording portion of the magnetic head that is scanned by the AFM, so as to greatly reduce the inspection time (tact time) of the AFM.

Abstract: An object is to provide a sintered body causing less chipping and having a sufficiently higher polishing rate than a conventional AlTiC sintered body, and providing a sufficiently smooth air bearing surface. The sintered body according to the present invention consists of Al2O3, a compound represented by the chemical formula (1) below, and a composite oxide containing Al and Ti, TiCxOy??(1) wherein x+y?1, x>0 and y>0.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a slider body having a leading edge and an opposite trailing edge, as well as a top face and a bottom face each extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge. The slider body further includes a plurality of protrusions extending from the bottom face, a first recess defined on one of the protrusions, and a sacrificial layer deposited on the slider body in the recess. A bottom surface of the sacrificial layer extends at least as far from the bottom face as bottom surfaces of the plurality of protrusions. In another aspect, a first blocking feature is located at a first uptrack edge on an air bearing surface of a slider, with the first blocking feature being substantially continuous along the first uptrack edge and protruding outwardly from the air bearing surface to reduce particle interaction with the air bearing surface.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a slider body having a leading edge and an opposite trailing edge, as well as a top face and a bottom face each extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge. The slider body further includes a plurality of protrusions extending from the bottom face, a first recess defined on one of the protrusions, and a sacrificial layer deposited on the slider body in the recess. A bottom surface of the sacrificial layer extends at least as far from the bottom face as bottom surfaces of the plurality of protrusions. In another aspect, a first blocking feature is located at a first uptrack edge on an air bearing surface of a slider, with the first blocking feature being substantially continuous along the first uptrack edge and protruding outwardly from the air bearing surface to reduce particle interaction with the air bearing surface.

Abstract: A substrate for a magnetic read/write head is disclosed. The substrate can reduce detachment of crystal grains when unexpected vibrations or impacts are applied. The substrate may be machined when the substrate is cut into strips or a flow path surface recess is formed to produce the magnetic read/write head. The reduced detachment of crystal grains makes the magnetic read/write head more resilient to chipping, which allows the magnetic read/write head to have good performance in read/write.

Abstract: A card activated automated banking machine is operative to conduct transactions for authorized users based on data read from cards through operation of a card reader. The machine includes a deposit accepting device. The deposit accepting device is operative to receive a stack of sheets and to separate each sheet from the stack through operation of a picker. Each sheet is aligned with the sheet path and analyzed by analysis devices including at least one magnetic read head, an imager and/or a validation device. Sheets determined not to have at least one property of a genuine sheet are returned to a user of the machine. Sheets determined to have at least one property of genuine sheets are processed and stored in the machine.

Abstract: A ceramic substrate material has good thermal conductivity and machinability, which are high enough to apply it to thin-film magnetic heads, and low particle generation. A ceramic substrate material for a thin-film magnetic head includes 25 vol % to 70 vol % of WC and the balance consisting essentially of Al2O3. The WC includes at most 0.1 mass % of a metal, at most 0.5 mass % of oxygen and at most 0.5 mass % of nitrogen. And the WC has a mean particle size of 0.6 ?m or less.

Abstract: A lubricant is provided that achieves a sufficiently small one-molecule-layer film thickness even when it has a high molecular weight, and has an increased reliability in a wide temperature range environment without losing the flying stability, by making the film thickness of a lubricant layer very small when it is used for the magnetic recording medium lubricant layer and/or head slider lubricant layer of a magnetic recording device. This lubricant comprises a fluorine-containing polymer, the lubricant having a relationship: Y<?1.4475X+2.815, wherein Y is a natural logarithm of diffusion coefficient at 23° C. (unit:?m2/s); and X is a viscosity at 20° C. (unit: Pas), or it comprises a fluorine-containing polymer having a particular structure, and with molecular chains between adjacent polar groups that have a number-average molecular weight of not less than 500.

Abstract: In a magnetic recording medium which comprises a substrate (1), a magnetic layer (3) formed on the substrate, a carbon-based protection layer (4) comprising carbon and formed on the magnetic layer, and a lubrication layer (5) formed on the carbon-based protection layer, the carbon-based protection layer comprises a hydrogenated carbon protection layer (4a) facing the magnetic layer and a nitrogenated carbon protection layer (4b) facing the lubrication layer. The hydrogenated carbon protection layer (4a) comprises carbon and hydrogen. The nitrogenated carbon protection layer (4b) includes no hydrogen but comprises carbon and nitrogen.