Patent ID: 6038102
Filing Date: 2000-03-14
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
An integrated load beam assembly for supporting a read/write head/slider assembly adjacent to a rotating data storage medium of a hard disk drive and for electrically interconnecting the head to read/write circuitry of the drive, the load beam assembly comprising:a flexure including:a generally planar conductive member extending in the proximity of the read/write head/slider assembly;a first electrical insulation layer disposed on the conductive member;a plurality of electrical traces disposed on the first electrical insulation layer and connected to read and write elements of the head/slider assembly, the flexure being secured to a load beam, anda trace conductor array interconnecting connection pads of the electrical traces and the read/write circuitry and comprising:an electrically insulative support substrate;a plurality of electrical signal trace conductors formed along substantially parallel paths in a single layer on the electrically insulative support substrate,the electrical signal trace conductors each having a plurality of spaced apart trace conductor segments, andpassive electrical trace conductors formed on the substrate in spaces between adjacent ones of the spaced apart trace conductor segments, and spaced apart therefrom, and generally following a geometry of the spaced apart trace conductor segments.