JP2002343049A - Negative pressure slider having floating height regulating mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simultaneously realize the higher capacity and higher reliability of a magnetic disk device by lowering a floating height only in recording and reproducing. SOLUTION: The negative pressure slider having a magnetic head has a movable section which is expandable and contractrable in the height direction of the slider at the air outflow end of the negative pressure slider. When this movable section extends, the end face of the movable section retracts from the floating surface of the negative pressure slider and when the movable section does not extend, the end face of the movable section exists approximately flush with the negative pressure groove surface of the negative pressure slider or retracts therefrom. In addition, the magnetic head performs recording and reproducing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a negative pressure slider for a magnetic disk drive, and more particularly to a flying height control type in which a gap between a magnetic head and a disk can be reduced by increasing a negative pressure only during recording / reproducing. Related to a negative pressure slider.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to increase the recording density of a magnetic disk drive, it is important to reduce a flying height defined as a gap between a magnetic head slider having a magnetic head and a rotating magnetic disk.

As the flying height becomes narrower, the possibility that the magnetic head slider contacts the magnetic disk during the operation of the magnetic disk device increases. If the contact state between the two is extremely poor, the magnetic head slider may crash and the recorded information on the magnetic disk may be destroyed.

A conventional technique for achieving both high recording density and reliability by reducing the flying height only at the time of recording / reproducing and increasing the flying height at other times is disclosed in JP-A-5-2506.
No. 43 is disclosed.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 5-250643, a piezo element is arranged at an outflow end of a slider, a magnetic head is provided integrally with the piezo element, and the piezo element is expanded and contracted by a bias voltage to connect the piezo element and the magnetic head. There is disclosed a method of adjusting the gap between the magnetic disk and the magnetic head by projecting from the air bearing surface.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-144799 discloses a method of incorporating a piezoelectric element into a slider and using the deflection of the piezoelectric element to bend the slider itself to adjust the gap.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The aforementioned Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 5-250
In the slider disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 643, the magnetic head integrated with the piezo element can be expanded and contracted by the expansion and contraction of the piezo element provided at the outflow end, and the gap between the magnetic head and the disk can be adjusted.

However, it is difficult to integrally form the piezo element and the magnetic head in the first place, and no consideration is given to this point.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-144799A discloses a method in which a piezoelectric element is incorporated into a slider and the gap is adjusted by bending the slider itself by using the deflection of the piezoelectric element.

In recent years, sliders have been increasingly miniaturized, and it has become extremely difficult to incorporate a piezoelectric element into the slider. Therefore, means for adjusting the flying height with a simple configuration has been desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned demands. The flying height can be adjusted with a simple structure, and the flying height is reduced only during recording / reproducing, thereby achieving high recording density and high reliability. It is an object of the present invention to provide a negative pressure slider capable of satisfying both requirements.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a negative pressure slider provided with a magnetic head, wherein the slider can expand and contract in the height direction of the slider at the air outflow end of the negative pressure slider. A negative pressure slider characterized in that the movable portion has a movable end, and when the movable portion is extended, the end face of the movable portion is retracted from the floating surface of the negative pressure slider.

A negative pressure slider provided with a magnetic head, further comprising a movable portion at the air outflow end of the negative pressure slider which can expand and contract in the height direction of the slider. When the end surface of the movable portion is retracted from the floating surface of the negative pressure slider and the movable portion is not extended, the end surface of the movable portion is substantially flush with the negative pressure groove surface of the negative pressure slider. Thus, a negative pressure slider is provided.

Furthermore, a negative pressure slider provided with a magnetic head, further comprising a movable portion at the air outflow end of the negative pressure slider which can expand and contract in the height direction of the slider. The end surface of the movable portion is retracted from the floating surface of the negative pressure slider, and when the movable portion is not extended, the end surface of the movable portion is substantially flush with the negative pressure groove surface of the negative pressure slider, A negative pressure slider characterized in that the magnetic head performs recording and reproduction.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a negative pressure slider according to the present invention.

As shown in the drawing, the negative pressure slider 1 of the present embodiment includes an air inflow end 2, an air outflow end 3, a floating surface 4, a movable portion 5, and a conductive layer 14 connecting the air outflow end 3 and the movable portion 5. It is configured with. In this embodiment, the movable section 5 is composed of a bulk piezo element. The size of the piezo element is 0.8 mm in width, 0.04 mm in thickness, and 0.29 mm in height.
Here, the air bearing surface 4 is a pair of inflow pads 6, 7 and a center pad 10 that generate air force closest to the magnetic disk when facing the magnetic disk (not shown), and a step bearing further away from the magnetic disk. The surfaces 8 and 11 are provided with a negative pressure groove surface 9 which is further away from the magnetic disk surface than the step bearing surface and generates a negative pressure. The center pad 10 includes a reproducing magnetic gap 12 and a recording magnetic gap 13.

The depth from the inflow pads 6, 7 and the center pad 10 to the step bearing surfaces 8, 11 is 150 nm,
The depth from the inflow pads 6, 7 and the center pad 10 to the negative pressure groove surface 9 is 1 μm. The length of negative pressure slider 1 is 1.25m
m, width 1.0 mm, thickness 0.3 mm.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the negative pressure slider according to the present invention as viewed from the back surface (suspension mounting surface). On the back of the negative pressure slider, a coil 1 for generating a write magnetic field is provided.
5 are provided. The surface on which the coil member 15 is provided is substantially parallel to the air bearing surface 4 shown in FIG. Further, a conductor 16 for supplying a current to the coil and an electrode pad 17 serving as an electrical contact from the outside are provided.

A conductor wired on a suspension (not shown) is electrically connected to the electrode pads 17 to transmit and receive recording / reproducing signals. Generally, the electrode pad 17 is often provided so as to be exposed on the air outflow end 3. In the present invention, since the movable portion 5 is provided from the air outflow end via the conductive layer 14, the electrode pad 17 is connected to the air outflow end 3. Since it is difficult to form the negative pressure slider, it is formed on the back surface of the negative pressure slider. Further, for the same reason, the coil member 15 was also formed on the back surface of the slider. With the above configuration, electrical connection between the electrode pad 17 and the conductor on the suspension can be easily performed.

The conductive layer 14 adjacent to the air outflow end can be formed, for example, by sputtering Au. In particular, if the wafer is sputtered, a thin conductive layer can be formed very easily. Conductive layer 14 and movable part 5
Are connected using, for example, a conductive adhesive. By using a conductive adhesive, conduction between one of the electrodes of the piezo element and the conductive layer 14 can be achieved.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining a method of connecting the negative pressure slider 1 and the suspension 20 according to the present invention. The negative pressure slider 1 is adhesively fixed on a suspension 20. Electrode pad 1 formed on suspension 20
8a and the conductive layer 14 are electrically connected using the conductor 19a. As described above, since the conductive layer 14 and the piezo element that is the movable portion 5 are bonded using a conductive adhesive, the electrode 23a (non-conductive) formed on the surface of the piezo element facing the conductive layer 14 is used. (Shown) and the conductive layer 14 are electrically connected. Therefore, the electrode 23a of the piezo element and the electrode 18a on the suspension are electrically connected. Also,
The conductor 19a can be formed by using, for example, a method such as wire bonding. Further, the electrode pad 18b formed on the suspension and the electrode 23b formed on the piezo element 5 which is a movable portion and formed on the surface opposite to the electrode 23a are electrically connected by the conductor 19b. A conductor 22 continuing from the electrode 18a and a conductor 21 continuing from the electrode 18b are connected to a voltage source, and a voltage can be applied between the electrodes 23a and 23b of the movable portion 5. When a voltage is applied, the piezo element 5 as a movable part can expand and contract in the direction of arrow A.

On the slider bonding surface of the suspension, four electrodes are formed for connection to electrode pads 17 formed on the back surface of the slider flying surface, and each electrode is electrically connected to the electrode pad 17. I have. Conductive wires 24 are connected to each of the electrodes so that recording / reproducing signals can be transmitted and received.

FIG. 4 is a side view for explaining the operation when the negative pressure slider 1 according to the present invention performs recording and reproduction on the magnetic disk 25. When performing recording / reproducing, it is desired to reduce a gap (flying height) h between the recording / reproducing magnetic gaps 12 and 13 and the magnetic disk 25. In the present invention, at the time of recording / reproduction, the length of the movable portion is reduced to the natural length by stopping the application of the voltage to the piezo element 5 as the movable portion, so that the movable portion is substantially flush with the negative pressure groove surface 9. I have to. By doing so, the negative pressure generated on the negative pressure groove surface 9 increases, and the flying height of the slider decreases. Since recording / reproduction is performed with the flying height reduced, the recording density can be increased.

FIG. 5 shows a negative pressure slider 1 according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a side view for explaining the operation when recording / reproducing is not performed on the magnetic disk 25. When recording / reproduction is not being performed, it is desired to increase the flying height as much as possible in order to avoid the possibility of contact between the negative pressure slider and the magnetic disk. In the present invention, when recording / reproducing is not performed, the movable portion is extended by Δs by applying a voltage to the piezo element 5 which is a movable portion so that the movable portion has substantially the same height as the step bearing surface 11. ing. By doing so, the flow rate of the air flowing out from the air outflow end can be restricted, the negative pressure generated on the negative pressure groove surface 9 decreases, and the flying height of the negative pressure slider 1 can be increased by Δh.

In this embodiment, when the voltage is applied, the height of the end surface of the movable portion is made substantially the same as the height of the step bearing surface. good. If it protrudes from the center pad 10, the gap between the end face of the movable portion and the magnetic disk becomes smaller than the gap between the recording / reproducing magnetic gap and the magnetic disk, which is not preferable in terms of the reliability of the apparatus.

Further, in the present embodiment, the applied voltage is set to zero during recording / reproducing and the voltage is applied when recording / reproducing is not performed.・ During playback, lower the voltage than the set bias voltage to shorten the length of the movable part. Conversely, when not recording / reproducing, increase the voltage further than the bias voltage to increase the length of the movable part. It does not matter.

Further, in this embodiment, a bulk piezo element is used as the movable portion 5, but a thin film piezo element formed by using a thin film forming process may be used. In addition, not limited to the piezo element, any mechanism can be used as long as the magnitude of the negative pressure can be controlled by a mechanism that expands and contracts in the direction of arrow A.

FIG. 6 is a diagram specifically illustrating the effect of the present invention. When the movable part 5 is on the same plane as the negative pressure groove face 9;
This is the result of calculating the flying height at a position protruding from the negative pressure groove surface 9 by 500 nm under a 2.5-inch disk condition. At the time of recording / reproduction, that is, when the voltage applied to the movable portion 5 is zero, the flying height is 9 nm, and the negative pressure at this time is 3.3 g. On the other hand, when not performing recording / playback,
That is, the flying height when a voltage is applied to the movable part is 20
nm and the negative pressure is 2.9 g. That is, in the present embodiment, the magnitude of the negative pressure is increased or decreased by 0.4 gf by expanding or contracting the movable part 5 by 500 nm, and the floating amount is set to 11 nm.
Can be changed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a magnetic disk drive 26 incorporating the negative pressure slider 1 and the suspension 20 according to the present invention. According to the present invention, the flying height can be reduced only during recording / reproduction, and the flying height can be increased when recording / reproduction is not performed, so that the capacity and reliability of the magnetic disk device can be simultaneously increased.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, the flying height can be adjusted with a simple structure, and the flying height is reduced only during recording / reproducing, thereby achieving both high recording density and high reliability. There is an effect that can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a negative pressure slider according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the negative pressure slider according to the present invention as viewed from the back surface.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a method of connecting a negative pressure slider and a suspension according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the negative pressure slider according to the present invention during recording / reproduction.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the negative pressure slider according to the present invention when recording / reproduction is not performed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the difference between the flying height and negative pressure during recording / reproduction and non-recording / reproduction of the negative pressure slider of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a magnetic disk drive having a negative pressure slider and a suspension according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: negative pressure slider, 2: air inlet end, 3: air outlet end,
4 air bearing surface, 5 movable part, 6, 7, inflow end pad, 8
... step bearing surface, 9 ... negative pressure groove surface, 10 ... center pad, 11 ... step bearing surface, 12 ... reproduction magnetic gap, 13 ... recording magnetic gap, 14 ... conductive layer, 15 ... coil, 16 ... conductor, 17 ... Slider electrode pad, 18
a, 18b: Suspension electrode pads, 19a, 1
9b: conductor, 20: suspension, 21, 22 conductor,
23a, 23b: electrode pad of movable part, 24: conductive wire, 2
5 ... magnetic disk, 26 ... magnetic disk device.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Masaaki Matsumoto 2880 Kozu, Odawara-shi, Kanagawa F-term in the Storage Division, Hitachi, Ltd. F-term (reference) 5D042 NA02 PA01 PA05 QA01 QA10

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A negative pressure slider provided with a magnetic head, comprising: a movable portion that can expand and contract in a height direction of the slider at an air outflow end of the negative pressure slider; A negative pressure slider, wherein an end face of the movable portion is recessed from a floating surface of the negative pressure slider. 2. A negative pressure slider provided with a magnetic head, comprising: a movable portion that can expand and contract in a height direction of the slider at an air outflow end of the negative pressure slider; When the end surface of the movable portion is retracted from the floating surface of the negative pressure slider and the movable portion is not extended, the end surface of the movable portion is substantially flush with the negative pressure groove surface of the negative pressure slider. A negative pressure slider characterized by the following. 3. A negative pressure slider provided with a magnetic head, wherein the negative pressure slider has a movable portion at the air outflow end thereof which can expand and contract in the height direction of the slider, and when the movable portion is extended, The end surface of the movable portion is retracted from the floating surface of the negative pressure slider, and when the movable portion is not extended, the end surface of the movable portion is substantially flush with the negative pressure groove surface of the negative pressure slider, A negative pressure slider characterized in that the magnetic head performs recording / reproduction. 4. The negative pressure slider according to claim 1, wherein said movable portion is a bulk piezo element. 5. The negative pressure slider according to claim 1, wherein said movable portion is a thin-film piezo element. 6. The negative pressure slider according to claim 1, wherein expansion and contraction of the movable portion is controlled by turning on and off a voltage. 7. The negative pressure slider according to claim 1, wherein the electrode pad of the magnetic head is formed in a surface opposite to the air bearing surface. 8. The negative pressure slider according to claim 1, wherein a conductive layer is formed between the negative pressure slider and the movable part. 9. A negative pressure slider according to claim 1, wherein:
In a head suspension assembly including a suspension for applying a load to the negative pressure slider, an electrical connection for applying a voltage to the movable portion;
A head suspension assembly characterized in that all electrical connections for recording / reproducing by the magnetic head are made using conductive paths formed on the suspension. 10. A magnetic disk drive having the negative pressure slider according to claim 1.