Multi-Valued Air-Bearing Surface for Hard Disk Drive Slider
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional slider fabrication techniques impose limitations on the design of air-bearing surfaces (ABS) in magnetic storage systems, leading to issues such as inconsistent flying height, lubricant pickup, and restricted feature types, which affect the performance and aerodynamics of magnetic storage systems.
Innovation Solution
The development of novel slider designs with multi-valued air-bearing surfaces (ABS) that allow for more complex geometries and features, such as perpendicular and parallel orientations of surfaces, enabling improved aerodynamics and reduced sensitivity to intermolecular forces, through advanced fabrication processes that allow for both material removal and addition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional slider fabrication techniques are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but the air-bearing surface design is restricted and performance is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from conventional single-sided material removal to multi-directional fabrication, adding vertical dimension complexity to create overhanging features and three-dimensional ABS geometries that cannot be achieved with traditional planar etching processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs nested support structures and sacrificial materials that are deposited, patterned, and removed in sequential layers, allowing complex internal cavities and three-dimensional features to be formed through multiple nested fabrication cycles
2Reliability
If conventional single-valued ABS designs are used, then fabrication is simpler, but flying height consistency and aerodynamic performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements multi-valued ABS functions where different regions of the air-bearing surface have distinct vertical positions and geometries, allowing localized optimization of aerodynamic properties across the slider surface to improve flying height consistency and reduce vibration
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces curved and three-dimensional surface geometries in the ABS design, replacing conventional flat planar surfaces with contoured shapes that enhance aerodynamic performance and stabilize flying height through improved air flow characteristics
3Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional ABS designs are used, then manufacturing is easier, but lubricant pickup and particle interference increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the ABS into multiple discrete geometric features with controlled orientations and spacing, creating a structured surface topology that reduces lubricant accumulation zones and minimizes particle adhesion areas compared to conventional smooth surfaces
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
These designs enhance the stability and performance of magnetic storage systems by reducing vibration, improving head transfer, and increasing robustness to particle and lubrication interference, while enabling features that were previously impractical or impossible with prior-art techniques.
Implementation Method 1
The ABS is designed to generate an air-bearing force that counteracts a preload bias that pushes the slider toward the disk. The ABS causes the slider to fly above and out of contact with the disk.
Implementation Method 2
The slider rides on a cushion or bearing of air created above the surface of the disk as the disk rotates at its operating speed.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a hard disk drive slider having an extended three-dimensional air-bearing surface (ABS). The slider has an ABS and a back surface opposite the ABS, where at least a portion of the back surface defines a plane (i.e., if the back surface is substantially flat, the back surface itself defines the plane). Defined herein is an ABS function, which describes the characteristics of a portion of the ABS in a two-dimensional plane made by taking a cross-section of the slider perpendicular to the plane defined by the at least a portion of the back surface. The cross-section of the slider taken perpendicular to the plane has an ABS function that is a multi-valued function, which is defined herein as a relation for which, for at least one possible input value along the selected axis in the plane, the relation evaluates to two or more distinct nonzero values.