Glide head for asperity detection

• US 6,899,456 B2
• Filed: 10/21/1998
• Issued: 05/31/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Sundaram, Ramesh, Yao, Wei H.
• Primary Examiner(s): VERBITSKY, GAIL KAPLAN
• Application Number:
  US09/176,580
• Publication Number:
  US 20020018508A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,414 Days
• Field of Search: 374/4, 374/7, 731/05, 296/031.2, 296/031.6, 296/030.7, 295/95
• US Class Current: 374/4
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 25/72 Investigating presence of flaws
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2005/001 Controlling recording characteristics of record carriers or transducing characteristics of transducers by means not being part of their structure
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/505 of disk carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/10 Indicating arrangements; Warning arrangements G11B15/04, G11B19/04, G11B27/34, G11B27/36 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/012 Recording on, or reproducing or erasing from, magnetic disks G11B17/00, G11B19/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/6076 Detecting head-disk contact
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49041 with significant slider/housing shaping or treating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49048 Machining magnetic material [e.g., grinding, etching, polishing]

Abstract

Glide heads for the detection of asperities on a storage disc have a thermal transducer oriented along the air bearing surface. The thermal transducer generally is in electrical contact with a circuit to measure the electrical resistance of the thermal transducer. Preferred methods of depositing the thermal transducer involve the deposition of the thermal transducer on the smooth surface of a wafer prior to the slicing of individual sliders.

Claims

1. A glide head comprising:

a glide body including a leading edge, a trailing edge and a contoured surface having a raised bearing surface elevated from a recessed bearing surface;

at least one thermal transducer fabricated on the raised bearing surface having a surface portion extending along the raised bearing surface to form a glide interface to detect asperities and the at least one thermal transducer being in electrical contact with an electrically conductive pad proximate to the trailing edge of the glide body; and

a conductive strip conductively coupled to the at least one thermal transducer and the conductive pad to provide an electrical contact between the at least one thermal transducer and the conductive pad.

2. A glide head comprising:

a glide body including a leading edge, a trailing edge and a contoured surface having a raised bearing surface elevated from a recessed bearing surface; and

at least one thermal transducer fabricated on the raised bearing surface having a surface portion extending along the raised bearing surface to form a glide interface to detect asperities wherein the at least one thermal transducer extends along at least half of a length distance between the leading edge and the trailing edge of the glide body.

3. A glide head comprising:

a glide body including a leading edge, a trailing edge and a contoured surface having a raised bearing surface elevated from a recessed bearing surface; and

a plurality of thermal transducers including at least one thermal transducer fabricated on the raised bearing surface having a surface portion extending along the raised bearing surface to form a glide interface to detect asperities wherein the plurality of thermal transducers comprise a first thermal transducer and a second thermal transducer and the first and second thermal transducers share a common electrical ground.

4. A glide head comprising:

a glide body including a leading edge, a trailing edge and a contoured surface having a raised bearing surface elevated from a recessed bearing surface; and

a plurality of thermal transducers including at least one thermal transducer fabricated on the raised bearing surface having a surface portion extending along the raised bearing surface to form a glide interface to detect asperities wherein the plurality of thermal transducers are spaced along the raised bearing surface and the glide head further comprises electrically conductive strips in electrical contact with the plurality of thermal transducers, the strips being formed on the recessed bearing surface offset from the raised bearing surface.

5. A method of fabricating a glide head from a wafer comprising;

slicing a plurality of glide bodies from the wafer; and

depositing thermal transducers on the plurality of glide bodies sliced from the wafer.

6. The method of claim 5 and further comprising:

fabricating air bearing surfaces on the plurality of glide bodies sliced from the wafer including a raised bearing surface and a recessed bearing surface prior to depositing the thermal transducers; and

depositing the thermal transducers on the raised bearing surfaces of the plurality of glide bodies sliced from the wafer.