JPH06231555A - Assembly and apparatus for microhead/ flexible body/conductor made as gimbals - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain the assembly of a head/flexible body/conductor with low mass for reading and writing information related with a hard magnetic recording disk. CONSTITUTION: This assembly is constituted of a read/write converter unit 84, a slim flexible body, and a ginbal structural body 88 which allows limited relative rolling and pitching selected without any relative yawing in which the converter unit 84 and the flexible body are mutually connected and jointed. Conductive ribbons 94 and 96 forming one part of the ginbal structural body form one part of a conductive circuit provided at this assembly. The assembly has an effective mass not larger than about 1.5mm gram. Plural quenched abrasive resistant legs are formed in the converter unit for enabling slide contact with the recording face of a disk 24.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to rigid disc information storage devices, and in particular to a compact, low mass gimbaled head / flexure for use in and with such devices. Body / conductor assembly.

For purposes of the description herein, a preferred embodiment of such an assembly and apparatus employing it is a very compact, highly contained storage system that employs one or more rotary rigid magnetic recording disks. It is disclosed in the system settings. Those skilled in the art will understand from reading the contents of this specification that the present invention can be applied to a rigid magnetic recording device of any size.

The quest for increasing storage density and reducing cost in rigid media disk drive data storage devices has focused on the spacing between the head (transducer) and the media, or the conventional air bearing slider. There was a need to minimize the so-called "fly-ing height". The slider and associated manufacturing improvements with improved media surface properties have allowed the flying height of the rigid disk drive used to be reduced to about 0.1 micrometers. Many efforts are still underway to further reduce flight heights to 0.05 micrometers or less. A major challenge faced and presented by these efforts is the problem of mass production of sliders, suspensions, media and their assembly and operation in disk drive devices.

Significant advances have been made to this prior art with respect to flying head technology issues, and the background description has shown that some of these major advances are in US Pat. No. 5,041,
No. 932 is disclosed.

In the aforementioned patent, the patentee describes a very low mass integrated head / flexure / conductor structure for continuous sliding contact operation with a rigid medium, whereby The smallest possible head / medium separation and the highest attainable recording performance can be realized. By reducing the "effective mass" and applied load by a few orders of magnitude compared to conventional air-bearing sliders and suspensions, the local pressure exerted on the irregularities or microcontaminants causes the head / medium interface to collapse. It can be kept well below the level of occurrence of destructive physical and chemical drooling phenomena obtained. Such a reduction in local pressure also serves to reduce the wear rate of the head and media to prolong the useful operating life.

The validity of the logic as the basis for the developments mentioned in the above patents has been demonstrated in more than 200,000 hours of wear testing of Flexhead ™ integrated head / suspension structures on a number of test devices. (Flexhead ™ is San Jose,
It is a registered trademark owned by Censtor, Inc. of California). Similarly, read / write tests of these structures employing, for example, a probe-type head with dual layer perpendicular recording media have demonstrated their ability for very high recording densities. Moreover, the extremely small mass of these structures and the stiffness of the suspension result in high resonant frequencies in lateral and torsional bending modes, which allows for significant improvements in actuator and servo system design and performance.

Other advances proposed in the prior art include, for example, areas in contact with the medium (during contact recording).
Selected wear resistant material in the form of wear resistant contact pads
Has been done for the adoption of. In the case of this type of construction, appropriate limits on the length and width of such wear resistant contact pads must be adhered to, but these limits are either axial run-out or Due to the need to minimize signal modulation resulting from other mechanical variations in the drive provided for the disc.

Although the present invention relates to this latter, it also addresses the desire to increase the performance tolerances of the integrated head / suspension structure to mechanical variations in disk drive manufacturing and assembly.

Therefore, important objects of the present invention are: disk surface non-flatness, accumulated assembly tolerances, disk
Minimize signal modulation resulting from improper alignment of the spindle and actuator support bearings or other mechanical imperfections that can increase unwanted dynamic separation between the transducer and the recording surface of the media A new low mass gimbaled micro-head / flexure / conductor assembly is provided.

A related object of the present invention in the foregoing setting is to increase tolerances for disk run-out, spindle alignment, etc. without compromising the performance of the integrated head / suspension structure. .

Another primary object of the present invention is in the assembly of integrated head / suspension structure and disk drive media to achieve optimum performance with minimal adjustment and run-in time. To increase the allowable size and alignment tolerance.

Yet another object of the present invention is to expand the contact pad size limit without causing deleterious signal modulation resulting from disk run-out or other mechanical imperfections.

It is another object of the present invention to minimize head and media wear by allowing large contact pad areas to reduce local pressure at the head / media interface.

Yet another object of the present invention is to separate the manufacture of the head structure and the flexible / conductor structure as well as their integrated head / flexible / conductor structure. It is to facilitate automatic assembly.

The object related to the above is to increase the number of heads that can be manufactured by a vapor deposition process on a wafer, thereby correspondingly reducing the manufacturing cost.

Another related object of the present invention is to facilitate independent optimization of materials, configurations and processes in the manufacture of head structures and flexible / conductor structures.

Although proposed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a micro-head / flexible / conductor assembly or texture (for reading and writing information with respect to the recording surface of a rigid magnetic recording medium), The assembly includes a read / write transducer unit, an elongated carrier unit for supporting the transducer unit, and these two units are interconnected and articulated for selected, limited relative movement. It has a gimbal structure. Significantly, the materials of construction and dimensions for these assembly units are selected so that the effective mass of the assembly is no greater than about 1.5 milligrams. The "effective mass" of an assembly of the type referred to is equal to the effective free mass that accelerates at the same speed as when the head structure of the assembly is exposed to a given net inertial force in the direction perpendicular to the disk plane.

The conductor structure required to be included in the assembly described above is employed to cooperate with the magnetic members within the transducer unit and to communicate with the "outside world." Part of this conductor structure in the preferred embodiment, which is uniquely in the form of two laterally spaced conductive ribbons, is:
It also forms part of the gimbal structure that connects to each other. In a modification of the invention, a gimbal ribbon of dielectric material carries conductive traces. The gimbal structure couples the transducer unit and the carrier unit in a generally parallel planar relationship, allows limited relative pitch and roll between these two units, and Prevents relative yaw between the two units.

The leverage projections formed on the surface of the transducer unit make a swinging contact with the surface area provided on the carrier unit, these two units cooperating with the electrically conductive ribbons forming a gimbal structure. Forming, the structure allows pitch and roll that can occur between these two units.

Feet of preferably hardened wear resistant material projecting from the opposite surface of the transducer unit are provided for making sliding contact with the recording surface of the disk medium.

These and other important features, objects and advantages achieved by the present invention will become more fully apparent when the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Attention is now directed to the drawings, first with reference to FIGS.
Referring to FIG. 1, designated generally by 10 is an information storage device in the form of a rigid disk drive magnetic recording system for storing digital information, which device is constructed in accordance with the present invention. There is.

[0023] Included in the device 10 (eg employing a silicone rubber hidden gasket) base 12 a and sealingly bonded thereto a housing 12 of a two-split, including the cover 12 b. The housing 12 encloses all of the other components that make up the device 10 with it. In the preferred embodiment described below, the interior of the sealed housing is maintained essentially at equilibrium with atmospheric pressure. However, it may be desirable to evacuate the housing to enhance certain performance behaviour, with a compatible degassing pressure of approximately zero.
It is 05 atm.

[0024] The housing 12 has a low output brushless DC spindle motor 14 is arranged, the motor is adapted to the outer side of the cylindrical support bosses 12 c of the hollow formed in the housing base 12 a mounting A stator 14 with a coil attached. The motor 14 is also a permanent magnet rotor
14b , which is fitted and coupled to the lightweight rotary spindle 16 in the arrangement shown. Spindle 16
By a journal bearing 20 located within the hollow interior of the boss 12 c, it is mounted for rotation about an axis represented by 18.

During drive operation, the motor 14 is driven by a suitable connection (not shown) with conventional control / feedback electronics.
Maintains an accurate and constant spindle rotation speed of about 4800 rpm.

Supported by the adapted clamp 22 on the upper side of the spindle 16 (for rotation as a unit therewith) is a rigid magnetic recording disk (media) 24,
This disk has magnetic layer surface structures on both sides for reading and writing digitized information on two sides. These two sides of the disc 24 are 24 a ,
It has been shown in 24 b. Information is recorded on concentrically adjacent recording tracks on this surface structure.

To further describe the disk 24, each recording surface has a soft magnetic flux return underlayer having magnetic anisotropy, preferably in the radial direction in the plane, and a hard magnetic recording film outer layer having magnetic anisotropy intersecting the plane. In other words, it takes the form of the upper layer. This magnetic recording film is protected by a smooth protective film made of a wear resistant material (such as carbon) and a lubricant layer for minimizing the wear of the head and the disk.

Due to the fact that it becomes apparent below that the load applied to the disk 24 is much less than that applied to prior art flying head drive type disks, the disk center support substrate It can optionally be made thinner than the substrate employed in prior art disks. For example, in the device described below, the transducer or transducer unit (described below) used is approximately 40-12
The recording surface of the disc is contacted with a load of about 0 milligram. Such loads are approximately several orders of magnitude less than the load forces that characterize transducer / disk loading in prior art flying head designs.

In all of these end results, not only is head / disk wear significantly reduced, but also all of the equipment size and equipment required operating forces.

[0030] is to cooperate with the disk 24 of the recording surface 24 a, 24 b device in the embodiment described here the digital information to read and write with respect to 10,
Two read / write structures or micro-head / flexible / conductor assemblies 26, 28, which are made in accordance with the features of the present invention. Each of the assemblies 26, 28 has a gimbal structure, as described in detail below, and also has a gimbal structure at the end of an elongated carrier unit or flexure that is cantilevered and laterally tapered. containing a terminal assembly (end 26 a, 28 a) in adjacent supported read / write transducer unit (i.e. the slider). Each of these elongated assemblies has its fixed end mounted at an angle of about 3 degrees with respect to the engaging recording surface of disk 24, and each has an effective mass of about 1.5 milligrams or less, as noted. Is not too big. The transducer units of these assemblies contact the engaged disk surfaces with the aforementioned forces through the hardened wear feet or pads.

Continuing with the general description of the other components included in device 10, a servo-controlled actuator, generally designated 60 in FIGS. 1 and 2, is a voice coil actuator. Operates in cooperation with the motor 62 and includes two head / flexure / conductor assemblies (26, 2
8) supporting and moving in an arc over the opposite recording surfaces of the disk 24, thereby causing the transducers of these assemblies to move to any selected concentric leads / disks on the disk surface.
Position with respect to the light track.

The actuator is a relatively lightweight assembly (approximately 1.5 grams) that pivots on an axis designated 63, which includes upper and lower radially extending arms 60a ,
60b , but with these arms extending in a cantilevered radial direction as described above for the micro head / flexure / conductor assembly.
It carries 26 and 28 respectively. These arms are supported at the center of the rotary hub 60 c, the hub is journaled inside the hollow cylindrical boss 12 d formed in the housing base 12 a. The matching journal connection is made by a journal bearing 64 similar to bearing 20 described above.

The actuator 60 is the arm 60a, 60bAnd
The cantilevered mass of the assemblies 26 and 28 is the balancing mechanism 60.dBy
It is a balanced mass balance rotary design,
This balancing mechanism is described above in the described embodiment.
The "rotor" in the voice coil motor 62 of
Take the form of the coil winding to be formed. Position limiting pin 66 (Fig.
1) refer to the swiveling of the transducers of the assemblies 26, 28 by approximately 30 degrees.
Limited to arcs, which allows these transducers to
a,twenty fourbCan be swiveled to the operating position over the entire recordable area of
It Specifically, the pin 66 has the transducer inwardly from the shaft 18 to about 9
turning to a distance of mm and about 23 m from the coaxial to the outside
Allows turning to a distance of m. Therefore, those skilled in the art
The device of the present invention is based on a conventional flying head device.
The innermost radial position that is typically used
The data inside the radial direction on the disk near the pin axis
Read (regardless of media form factor)
You will understand that you can take and write.

[0034] While forming the stator of the motor 62 which cooperates with the rotor 60 d is a permanent magnet such as a magnet 62 a, the magnets are coupled to conform to the base 12 a of the lower rotor .

The associated mechanism selected for the rotary actuator and device 10 is essentially a read / write transducer unit located adjacent one end and a voice coil motor located adjacent the other end. Can be viewed as taking the form of a pivotally supported girder. If activated during system operation, the actuator 60 moves the transducer unit onto the recording surface of the disk 24 in an arcuate path that approximates the radial path. Conventional flying head
In a drive, such arcuate movement by a rotary actuator causes a head straining effect, which causes significant variations in air bearing stiffness and head / medium spacing variations. However, the device of the present invention is
Head strain is largely irrelevant because it does not rely on air-bearing effects to maintain the disk interface, and actuator 60 is used to transport the transducer radially inward to a position very close to spin axis 18. Can be used successfully.

In device 10, the movement of actuator 60 provides conventional servo positioning data recorded in the data tracks of disk 24 to form a feedback loop that ensures accurate transducer unit positioning. It is controlled using closed loop servo technology.

A conventional high data rate data channel structure (not shown) provides an electrical connection between the head / flexure / conductor assembly and conventional interface electronics that connect the apparatus 10 to external devices. Adopted to provide interconnection.

The device 10 as described herein includes only a single recording disc. However, it should be understood that similar devices can be made for multiple disks, and such devices are described in the above-referenced patent application '586.

Turning now to the structure of the assemblies 26, 28, and with particular attention to FIGS. 3-7, each of these assemblies is essentially identical in structure, and therefore the following description will be directed to the assembly 26. Only the structure of is targeted.
The assembly includes a generally flat read / write transducer unit or slider 84 and an elongated generally flat carrier unit or flexible body 86, the distal end of which is a transducer unit as described below. It is coupled to the transducer unit by a gimbal structure 88 for limited relative articulation between the and flexible body. Unit 84,
86 is herein assumed to be arranged in a generally parallel-plane relationship in which the carrier unit supports the transducer unit.

Unit 84 includes well known thin film deposition, patterning and etch-release of suitable dielectric materials such as aluminum oxide, diamond like carbon (DLC), a combination of the two, or other materials. ) Process (each process described in the '932 patent) includes a three-dimensional body formed entirely. This body is here 84
Although in the form of three protruding feet, designated a 1 , 84 b , and 84 c , they function as contact pads that form three areas of sliding contact with the media surface during normal operation. Regardless of the material constituting the majority of the body of the unit 84, preferably, also the legs 84 a, as disclosed herein, 84 b, 84 c
Is a hardened wear resistant material such as DLC (1000 kg / mm
4 and 5 on the surface of the unit 84 which is adapted to face the recording surface of the medium, ie the surface of the unit facing the observer of FIG.
From the surface which is the lower surface of the unit 84 seen in
Protruding 15 micrometers. The protrusion distance allows for normal wear of these feet and also ensures that the engaging "opposing" surfaces of the unit 84 are always sufficiently far from the media recording surface to avoid unwanted air bearing effects. Have been selected for.

Embedded and enclosed in unit 84 is an electromagnetic read / write head or head structure and pole tip, which is generally designated 89 in FIGS. 3 and 5. It is sealed to the foot 84 c to. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any one of a wide variety of electromagnetic read / write heads may be employed in the structures described herein, and these may be, for example, inductive type heads, cross field type heads, or magnetoresistive heads. It will be appreciated that it can take the form of a type of head. In the preferred embodiment described herein, the head structure employed within the body of unit 84 is the same as the aforementioned US Pat.
2 and the inductive probe type described in '351.

Extending from the opposing faces of the body of the unit 84 at the positions shown are two protruding posts 84 d , 84 e , which are made of a high conductor metal such as gold. These posts function as part of the conductor structure in assembly 26 and also as bond pads that create a bond area between unit 84 and flexible body 86 as described below. These two posts conductively connect to a conductive structure embedded within the body of unit 84, which structure extends to form a coil which functions as part of the read / write head structure described above. To do. Protruding from the same surface as the post is a somewhat central pivot pin or aluminum oxide or DLC lever structure 84 f , which functions as part of the gimbal structure 88 described above.

The posts 84 d , 84 e project from their mating surfaces on the body of the unit 84 by about 10 to 15 micrometers, which also applies to the pins 84 f .

Flexible body 86 is also formed by thin film deposition, patterning, and etch release steps to have an elongated laterally tapered shape as partially shown in FIGS. 3 and 6. Two elongated conductors or conductor structures 9 are deposited or encapsulated in the body of flexible body 86, preferably in the form of a dielectric material as previously described.
0 and 92. These conductors are made from gold etc. by thin film deposition and patterning processes.
0 and 92 each have distally extending leaf spring extensions or ribbons 94 and 96 of gold or other compatible conductive material such as tantalum which is an antisolvent in the etch release bath. The ends of these ribbons 94, 96 are conductively joined to the posts 84 d , 84 e of the unit 84, respectively. These laterally spaced ribbons are also part of the gimbal structure 88 and of the conductor structure in the assembly 26 interconnecting the conductor structure in the unit 84 and the conductor structure in the flexible body 86. It also works as a part.

As can be seen in particular from FIGS. 3 and 6, the distal end 86a of the flexible body 86 projects like a central cutting edge, and the surface area of this extension facing the unit 84 is the pin.
84 to end the rocking dynamically contact f, function as part of the gimbal structure 88 for transmitting a normal force to the unit 84.

Compatible gimbal action is gimbal structure
With 88 prevents all movement in their parallel faces of the unit 84 relative to the flexible member 86, respectively the axis 98 by rocking dynamic interaction between the pin 84 f and the structure end 86 a,
It is necessary to allow limited free relative pitch and roll of the transducer unit around 100. The projected distances mentioned for the posts 84 d , 84 e and the pins 84 f allow such a range of pitch and roll motion adaptation. Ribbons 94, 96 prevent yaw between the transducer unit and the flexible body about an axis, such as axis 102 (see FIG. 3).

Turning now to the structural organization of the present invention and turning again to the manufacture of the assembly of the present invention as previously pointed out, the transducer unit and carrier
Most manufacturing processes, materials, etc. for the unit are well understood by those skilled in the art, including well-known material deposition and photolithographic patterning processes. However, what has not been specifically considered, or not necessarily fully known in the prior art, are the steps employed to achieve interconnection of gimbal structures. The remaining figures in this disclosure, discussed below, namely Figures 8-14, relate to this point.

Preferably, the juxtaposed flexible and composite rows of engaging ribbons are prepared simultaneously. The formation of the gimbal ribbon is initiated by depositing aluminum oxide, DLC or other compatible dielectric material 120 on the polished surface of the etch release layer 121 (eg, copper) on the host wafer 122. This is done in the manner described above (in the cited materials) and to a thickness of about 30 micrometers (see Figure 8). An insulating wall 124 of the same etch release material can be formed prior to deposition of the flexure material with planarization defining the lateral boundaries of each flexure, as described in the cited material. . Alternatively, these lateral dimensions can be defined later in the work by a selective etch process. In the case of DLC, the choice of plasma ashing or oxidation of carbon provides a very effective means of insulating the individual flexures.

[0049] If attention to FIG. 9, this way the copper layer 126 to the planar rise surface is formed is deposited and patterned, and finally the end 86 a of the flexible element is formed To be done. The additional dielectric material is deposited and the surface is replanarized, resulting in a thickness of about 3-5 micrometers for the copper layer 126. Then, a gold layer 130 (see FIG. 10) having a thickness of about 3-5 micrometers is deposited and patterned,
The members to be the flexible conductors 90 and 92 and the ribbons 94 and 96 are formed. The gold mating pins, two of which are represented by 132 (illustrated in a deliberately distorted proportion in Figure 11), are mounted on an external flexible support structure consisting of the transducer unit posts and actuator arms. The ends of the flexible ribbon and the flexible conductor (this end is not shown) are deposited to facilitate the subsequent bonding of the flexible body to the respective conductor.

The wafer is now ready to be cut into bars between laterally adjacent rows of flexible bodies in preparation for joining the transducer unit and flexible bodies (gimbal interconnection). . Optionally, the "conductor" of layer 130
The section can be covered with a thin layer of dielectric material 134, leaving the "ribbon" section, and the mating pins at the opposite ends of each flexure are exposed as shown in FIG.

On a temporary note, the fabrication of the transducer unit for the assembly is accomplished in a compound row of juxtaposed units, which is almost the same as that described in patent '932 on the formation of an integrated head. It is done in the same way, but in reverse order. That is, a contact pad of wear resistant material is first deposited on the polished surface of the etch release copper layer on top of the host wafer. Since each transducer unit has a gimbal suspension, three contact pads are formed instead of one. Dielectric materials, high permeability materials and electrical conductors are deposited and patterned to form transducers in the form of probe-type vertical heads with helical coils as described in the cited '932 patent. If desired, a conventional multi-layer pancake type coil structure can also be formed. Alternatively,
The transducer unit could also be manufactured with a conventional ring structure head format for use with longitudinally oriented media. The final wafer-level deposition process leaves a surface as shown in Figure 13, so gold bond pins (with deliberately distorted proportions) 136 (post 84 d ,
84 the same post and e) and the same pivot pin and the load pivot pin 138 (pin 84 f formed of a dielectric material) appears.

The wafer is diced between the rows of transducer units to form a bar of laterally adjacent transducer units, where the registration of each unit is adjacent flexure on the bar of laterally adjacent flexures. It exactly matches that of the body. The cut surface of each "transducer" bar that exposes the end of the magnetic core of the internal transducer has been prepared in preparation for deposition of the pole and yoke structure and protective coating as described in the '958 patent. To be polished.

The next operation (see FIG. 14) involves joining the flexible body of one bar to the transducer unit of another bar.
Converter unit bar 140 so as to project slightly from the upper surface 142 a of the joining pin 136 is attached member 142 (FIG. 14), is placed in a compatible attachment member 142. The flexure unit bar 144 is mounted so that the flexure mating pin 132 rests on top of the mating pin 136 that projects over the bar 140.
It will be installed at 142. The transducer unit and flexible unit on bars 140 and 144, respectively, are now joined by pressure welding (or other suitable means), thus providing a mechanical and electrical connection between the facing mating pins. To be done.

In the final manufacturing step, the two unit-bearing bars supported by the so-attached mounting body 142 are dipped in an acid etch solution which simultaneously simultaneously transforms the transducer unit and the flexure unit. To move away from those bars, the transducer unit will be attached to the flexible unit by a gimbal ribbon. During this step, the copper layer 126 melts, freeing the gimbal ribbon from the support member so that the transducer unit can swing about the pivot pin.

Attention is now directed to FIGS. 15 and 16.
A structural modification to the flexible body 86 and the gimbal structure 88 is shown therein. In this modification, the rest of the flexure of the body cutting edges shaped to its end 86 a is inserted in the transverse direction (first case of the described embodiments) rather than the flexible body (see FIG. 15) to also stepped clogging shoulder 86 b is formed to have a lateral width that enters smoothly with a width, also the end it is attached to the main unit and the vertical body
(See in particular FIG. 16) to the extent that it "covers" the mating slider 84 to which it is mounted and the interconnecting gimbal ribbon extending to the end. Slider 84
While being formed next to the "stepped" end 86 a is a central cylindrical projection 86 c, the pin of the projection slider 84 facing the
It provides a suitable surface area forming the rocking contact with 84 f.

[0056] spanning from the side to the protrusion 86 c, further ribbon to form a portion of the as well as the gimbal structure 88
94, 96, but their structure is substantially the same as their counterparts described with the same numbers in the previously described embodiments of the invention. Ribbon 94 is within a protected area by end 86 a as seen from FIG.

In the modification described here, the flexible body 86 and the slider 84 are arranged in a substantially parallel planar relationship as before. If See these planes perpendicular as in FIG. 15, the edge boundary of the end 86 a is substantially slider
It can be seen that it is coextensive with that of 84.

The manufacture of the variations described herein is
It is only slightly different from that described in the previously mentioned process. Identical to those forming a space between the ribbons 94 and 96 surrounding the terminal 86 a and the protrusion 86 c In the embodiment described herein, shown as the lower surface of the main body of the flexible member 86 in FIG. 16 Copper is vapor-deposited, preferably flat, during the initial manufacturing steps. The conductors (discussed with respect to the previous embodiments) extending longitudinally from the ribbons 94, 96 and the body of the flexible body (as described with respect to the previous embodiments) are formed by vapor deposition of gold, tantalum, etc. Located on the surface of.

The structure of slider 84 has not changed.

The juxtaposed slider and flexible bar are bonded as described above, a copper etch step frees these structures from restraint, and the flexible and flexible coating between the extending ribbons. the space in the end 86 a is performed to remove the filled copper occupied until then.

This variation of the present invention provides a structure that further enhances the resistance to damage that may occur during shipping, handling or assembly operations.

17 to 20 show two other variants of the assembly according to the invention, FIGS. 17 to 19 showing one of them and FIG. 20 showing the other thereof. The converter unit and carrier unit that make up these variations consist of a dielectric body, conductor structure and read / write converter similar to the previously described members of the same function, and are manufactured in the same thin film deposition as described above. , Patterning and etch release processes. Of course, the particular patterning employed will be different and will be associated with the particular different contours and shapes that characterize these variations.

A transducer unit or slider is shown in FIG. 17 as 150, but is shown separately from the other structures. The slider 150 has a body 150 a, it is generally a planar (in particular shown in FIG. 17 (B) refer), three are from the one surface of the wear foot 150 b, 150
c, 0.99 d, but also from the other side protruding the lever pin 0.99 e and post 0.99 f. 15 read / write converters with appropriate read / write pole tips
0 d is formed, also conductive traces embedded therein extending from the coil included in the converter continues to the pair of conductive bonding pads 152 (ratio does not match).

If we focus on FIG.
And elongated, generally planar dielectric flexible body or carrier unit
Knit is shown, but for the slider 150
Functions as a joining member. The flexible body 154 has two
Ribbons laterally apart 154bBody 154 that is sticking out
aThe ends of these ribbons
154cAre joined together by an intervening structure including. also
Included in flexible body 154 and with tongs 154cStick out in the direction
Blade 154 occupies the central position in the lateral directiondIs
However, the surface in (A) of FIG. 18 (the lower surface of FIG.
(B)) Lever pin 150 of slider 150eOscillating contact with
To form part of the gimbal structure
Has been done. One of them is 156 in Figures 18 and 19.
The conductive traces marked as
158 (proportions do not match), but these pads
The pad is suitable for bonding to the bonding pad 152 described above.
There is.

In FIG. 19, slider 150 and flexible body 154 are shown joined in a generally parallel plane relationship by mating mating members of mating pads 152,158.

Turning now to FIG. 20, which is drawn from the same perspective as shown in FIG. 19, a gimbaled head / flexure / conductor assembly is shown as 160, It includes a substantially planar transducer unit or slider 162 and an elongated generally planar flexible or carrier unit 164.

[0067] The slider 162 includes a main body 162 a, 3 single wear foot 162 b, 162 c, 162 d, and projecting lever pin
Including 162 e . Foot 162 d carries a transducer embedded including the required coils but a pair of conductive bonding pads 166 conductive traces adapted formed in the body 162 a from the transducer face to the viewpoint of Figure 20 Has been extended to.

[0068] The flexible member 164 adjacent to its distal end spaced pair of laterally including ribbons 164 a projecting distally extending portion 164 a 1 These ribbons extending proximally on the slider 162 including. Extending in the flexible body and passing through the ribbons and overhangs are conductive traces, such as trace 168, but also toward conductive bond pads 170 that also face the viewpoint of FIG. Overhang 16 in FIG. 20
The surface of 4a 1 is fitted and mechanically bonded to the side of the slider 162 facing the viewpoint of FIG.
Conventional conductive interconnects are formed therebetween by well-known wire bonding techniques. 17 wire-bonded interconnections
It is represented by 2.

[0069] from end of flexible member 164 extend to the edge direction is a blade 164 b occupying a central position in the transverse direction, the blade is extended and therewith swinging dynamically contact with the lever pin 162 e. The slider 162 and the flexible body 164 are arranged in a substantially parallel plane relationship.

The modifications described herein with respect to FIGS. 17-20 provide different types of manufacturing capabilities, tolerances, resonance performance, etc., as compared to the other modifications described herein, which are consistent. Designed to exert special advantages in applications. For example, the modifications described in Figures 19 and 20 allow the transducer unit to be assembled into a carrier unit after each being separated as individual units, as well as in the "bar" format as described above. Interconnecting the two as separate units requires a simple automatic holding device such as is commonly used for aligning and joining dies in, for example, the manufacture of semiconductor devices.

While several embodiments of the novel low mass gimbaled head / flexible / conductor assembly and apparatus incorporating same have been disclosed herein, they provide all of the preferred features. And fulfill all of the above objectives. The proposed gimbal structure offers a decisive advantage in manufacturing, but it allows a significant increase in the dimensional and alignment tolerances in the final assembly of the integrated head / suspension structure and allows for wafer-to-wafer alignment. It is possible to manufacture a large amount with high reliability using the vapor deposition process of and the total manufacturing cost can be reduced. The gimbal structure of the present invention takes advantage of the excellent read and write performance obtained by the contact operation with the recording surface of a rigid disc, but at the same time, the presence of the gimbal structure causes the problem of non-flatness of the disc surface and device operation. Other problems associated with dynamic changes in shape inside are very well addressed. The proposed unique gimbal structure utilizes ribbons that interconnect the transducer unit and the flexible body, but these ribbons have a dual function and, as part of the mechanical gimbal suspension,
Furthermore, the part of the conductive circuit (carrier or other) that connects between the magnetic elements in the read / write head and the outside world.
Also works as.

If special shipping, handling and assembly protection is required for a relatively fragile gimbal ribbon, the modified structure shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 may be utilized, where The end of the flexible body covers the area containing these ribbons. The variations shown in FIGS. 17-20 provide another method of assembly construction in which individual transducer units can be more easily interconnected to individual or juxtaposed carrier units. These modifications also provide the potential for a wide range of changes in dynamic resonance characteristics by means of easily changing the size and shape of the gimbal ribbon. The modification shown in FIG. 20 has the additional capability of providing mechanical interconnections independent of electrical interconnections if required for reliability or other reasons.

In all of the embodiments of the invention disclosed and described herein, the integrated read / write head structure is of the inductive type as previously described for compatible modifications in one of the disclosed embodiments. It can have a structure, a cross-field type structure or a magnetoresistive type structure.

Therefore, the head / gimbal /
While one preferred embodiment and some variations of the flexible body / conductor assembly, apparatus employing the assembly, and particular manufacturing steps are illustrated and described herein, variations and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. It is believed that, and that they can be done without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an open plan view of a small format rigid magnetic disk digital information storage device with a gimbaled micro head / flexure / conductor assembly made in accordance with the present invention. Is. This assembly is depicted in a very schematic form in FIG.
Also, for the sake of clarity, the scale of FIG. 1 does not detail its exact configuration or number of component elements.

2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 1 drawn up on a slightly larger scale than FIG. 1, looking generally upward from the bottom of FIG.

FIG. 3 is surrounded by two curved arrows labeled 3-3 in FIG. 1 showing details of the micro head / flexible body / conductor assembly incorporated into the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2. It is an expansion disassembled top view of an area.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the same scale of FIG. 3 taken generally along line 4-4 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a generally planar read / form forming part of the micro-head / flexure / conductor assembly of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view showing the writing converter unit, that is, the slider, separated from other structures.

FIG. 6 shows the generally planar carrier unit or flexible body forming part of the micro-head / flexible body / conductor assembly of the present invention, separated from other structures. FIG. 3 is an exploded plan view on a scale somewhat smaller than that adopted in.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view seen from the upper side surface of FIG.

8 (A) and 8 (B) are exploded views showing steps taken in the manufacture of an assembly according to the present invention.

9 (A) and 9 (B) are exploded views showing the steps employed in the manufacture of an assembly according to the present invention.

10 (A) and (B) are exploded views showing the steps adopted in the manufacture of the assembly according to the invention.

11 (A) and 11 (B) are exploded views showing the steps adopted in the manufacture of the assembly according to the invention.

12 (A) and 12 (B) are exploded views showing the steps adopted in the manufacture of the assembly according to the invention.

13 (A) and 13 (B) are exploded views showing the steps adopted in the manufacture of the assembly according to the invention.

FIG. 14 is an exploded view showing the steps adopted in the manufacture of the assembly according to the invention.

FIG. 15 is an exploded view similar to FIG. 3, showing a modification of the gimbaled head / flexible body / conductor assembly.

16 is an exploded view similar to FIG. 4 showing a modification of the gimbaled head / flexible body / conductor assembly.

17 (A) and 17 (B) are an exploded plan view and an exploded side view, respectively, of another modification of the converter unit.

18A and 18B are an exploded plan view and an exploded side view, respectively, of a modification of a flexible body unit that can be used with the converter unit of FIGS. 17A and 17B. .

19 is an assembled view of FIG. 17 and FIG. 18, respectively.
FIG. 3 is an exploded plan view showing the converter unit and the flexible body unit of FIG.

FIG. 20 is an exploded plan view of an assembly made in accordance with the present invention, showing another variation in which wirebonded electrical interconnections are employed.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 information storage device 12 housing 12 a base 12 b cover 18 axis 24 rigid magnetic recording disk 24 a disk side 26, 28 assembly 60 actuator 60 a arm 62 voice coil motor 62 a magnet 84 converter unit 86 carrier unit 88 gimbal Structure 90, 92 Conductor 94, 96 Ribbon

Claims (36)

[Claims] 1. A read / write transducer unit, an elongated carrier unit for supporting the transducer unit in a head / flexible body / conductor assembly for reading and writing information with respect to a rigid magnetic recording medium, and A gimbal structure for interconnecting and articulating the units for selected, limited relative movements, the entire assembly having an effective mass of no more than about 1.5 milligrams. Head / flexible / conductor assembly. 2. The read / write information of claim 1 wherein the gimbal structure includes a pair of laterally spaced elongated ribbons operatively interposed in the unit. Head / flexible / conductor assembly. 3. The carrier unit has an end,
Information rigid according to claim 2, characterized in that the ribbons are joined to the carrier units adjacent to the ends, and these ribbons extend in the end direction with respect to their joint area with the carrier units. Head / flexible body / conductor assembly for reading and writing with respect to the magnetic recording medium of. 4. The carrier unit has an end,
And the ribbon is the carrier adjacent to the end.
3. Rigid information according to claim 2, characterized in that the ribbons are joined to a unit and these ribbons comprise a portion which extends proximally towards their transducer unit relative to their joint area with a carrier unit. A head / flexure / conductor assembly for reading and writing on a magnetic recording medium. 5. The information of claim 1, wherein the gimbal structure includes laterally centered, proximally extending tongs interposed between the ribbon and the transducer unit. A head / flexible / conductor assembly for reading and writing on a rigid magnetic recording medium. 6. The information-rigid magnetic recording medium of claim 5, further comprising a conductor structure, wherein said ribbon and tongs are formed by a conductor that is part of said conductor structure. Head / flexible / conductor assembly for reading and writing with respect to. 7. The information-rigid magnetic recording medium of claim 2, wherein the carrier unit includes a portion extending adjacently and covering an area including the ribbon, thereby protecting the ribbon. Head / flexible / conductor assembly for reading and writing with respect to. 8. The transducer unit and the carrier unit are arranged in a generally parallel planar relationship, and the portion defines an edge boundary of the transducer unit when the assembly is viewed in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the unit. 8. A head / flexure / conductor assembly for reading and writing information with respect to a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 7, having edge boundaries that are substantially coextensive. 9. The information of claim 1 further comprising a conductor structure, at least a portion of said gimbal structure forming a portion of said conductor structure. Head / flexure / conductor assembly for 10. The head / flexure / conductor assembly for reading and writing information to and from a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 2, wherein the ribbon forms a portion of the conductor structure. 11. The units are generally planar and are arranged in a generally parallel planar relationship with each other, and the gimbal structure allows limited relative pitch and roll between the units. Of a head / flexible body / conductor for reading / writing information from / to a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that they are arranged to prevent relative yaw between them. assembly. 12. The transducer unit includes a vertical load transfer leverage structure, the carrier unit includes a planar area disposed in oscillating contact with the leverage structure, further comprising the leverage structure and the surface. A head / flexible body / conductor assembly for reading and writing information to and from a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a zone forms part of said gimbal structure. 13. The transducer unit includes a vertical load transfer leverage structure, the carrier unit includes a planar area disposed in rocking contact with the leverage structure, and further comprising the leverage structure and the surface. A head / flexible / conductor assembly for reading and writing information to and from a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 9, wherein a zone forms a portion of said gimbal structure. 14. The transducer unit includes a vertical load transfer leverage structure, the carrier unit includes a planar area disposed in oscillating contact with the leverage structure, further comprising the leverage structure and the surface. A head / flexible / conductor assembly for reading and writing information to and from a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 11, wherein a zone forms a portion of said gimbal structure. 15. The transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with the recording surface of such media, and the transducer unit is formed with protruding sliding contact feet for this purpose. A head / flexible body / conductor assembly for reading and writing information according to claim 1 or 2 on a rigid magnetic recording medium. 16. A head / flexible body / conductor for reading / writing information from / to a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 15, wherein at least one of said legs is made of a hardened wear resistant material. Assembly. 17. A head / flexible body for reading / writing information from / to a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 15, wherein the foot is made of a hardened wear resistant material.
Assembly of conductors. 18. The wear resistant material has a Knoop hardness not less than about 1000 kg / mm 2.
Or a head / flexible / conductor assembly for reading / writing the information in 17 from / to a rigid magnetic recording medium. 19. A head / flexible body / conductor assembly for reading / writing information from / to a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 15, wherein the number of legs is three. 20. A head / flexible body / conductor assembly for reading / writing information from / to a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 17, wherein the number of legs is three. 21. The transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with the recording surface of such media, and the transducer unit is formed with protruding sliding contact feet for this purpose. A head / flexible / conductor assembly for reading and writing information according to claim 11 on a rigid magnetic recording medium. 22. The transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with the recording surface of such media, and the transducer unit is formed with protruding sliding contact feet for this purpose. A head / flexible body / conductor assembly for reading and writing information according to claim 12 on a rigid magnetic recording medium. 23. The transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with the recording surface of such media, and the transducer unit is formed with protruding sliding contact feet for this purpose. 15. A head / flexible / conductor assembly for reading and writing information according to claim 13 or 14 on a rigid magnetic recording medium. 24. A gimbaled head / flexible / conductor assembly for reading and writing digital information with respect to a recording surface of a rigid magnetic recording medium, comprising a read / write head and associated conductor structure. A slider, an elongated flexible body including a conductor structure connectable to a conductor structure associated with the head, and an operative interconnection of the flexible body and the slider bounded between the two. And a gimbal structure for permitting relative movement, wherein the flexible body carries a slider, the gimbal structure conductively interconnecting the two conductor structures described above. And wherein the slider, flexible body and gimbal structure collectively have an effective mass of no greater than about 1.5 milligrams. Head / flexible / conductor assembly. 25. The digital information of claim 24, wherein the gimbal structure includes a pair of laterally spaced apart elongated ribbons operatively interposed between the slider and the flexible body. A gimbaled head for reading / writing on the recording surface of a rigid magnetic recording medium /
Flexible body / conductor assembly. 26. The ribbon forms a conductor structure included in the gimbal structure.
A gimbaled head / flexure / conductor assembly for reading and writing the described digital information with respect to a recording surface in a rigid magnetic recording medium. 27. The slider and the flexible body are arranged in a plane relationship in which they are substantially plane and substantially parallel to each other,
Also, the gimbal structure is configured to allow limited relative pitch and roll between the slider and the flexible body, but prevent relative yaw between them. A gimbaled head / flexure / conductor assembly for reading and writing digital information according to claim 24 or 25 with respect to a recording surface in a rigid magnetic recording medium. 28. The slider includes a vertical load transfer lever structure, the flexible body includes a planar area disposed in rocking contact with the lever structure, and the lever structure and the surface area further include: 26. A gimbaled head / flexure / conductor assembly for reading and writing digital information with respect to a recording surface on a rigid magnetic recording medium as defined in claim 24 or 25, forming part of said gimbal structure. . 29. The slider is adapted for sliding contact with such a recording surface, and the slider is formed with a protruding sliding contact foot for this purpose. Or a gimbaled head / flexible / conductor assembly for reading and writing digital information according to claim 25 with respect to a recording surface in a rigid magnetic recording medium. 30. A gimbaled head / head for reading / writing digital information with respect to a recording surface of a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 29, wherein the feet are made of hardened wear resistant material. Flexible / conductor assembly. 31. A gimbaled head / flexible body / conductor for reading / writing digital information with respect to a recording surface of a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 29, wherein the number of legs is three. Assembly. 32. A gimbaled head / flexible body / conductor for reading / writing digital information with respect to a recording surface of a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 30, wherein the number of legs is three. Assembly. 33. A read / write system for use with a rigid magnetic recording medium, wherein a gimbaled head / flexible / conductor assembly and about 1.
A read / write texture for use with rigid magnetic recording media comprising sizing and selection of constituent materials to provide an effective mass no greater than 5 milligrams. 34. The assembly includes a pair of units, wherein the units allow a limited amount of relative pitch and roll between them but prevent them from undergoing relative yaw. 34. A read / write texture for use with a rigid magnetic recording medium according to claim 33. 35. In a rigid disk magnetic recording device, a rigid magnetic recording disk having a recording surface, and a gimbaled head / flexible operable on the recording surface for reading and writing magnetic information with respect to the recording surface. A body / conductor assembly, the assembly comprising:
A rigid disk magnetic recording device characterized by an effective mass not greater than 1.5 milligrams. 36. The assembly includes a pair of units, wherein the units allow a limited amount of relative pitch and roll between them but prevent them from undergoing relative yaw. 36. The rigid disk magnetic recording device according to claim 35, wherein: