Patent Publication Number: US-2019189151-A1

Title: Slider adhesion system

Description:
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with some embodiments, a data storage device employs a slider adhesion system with a flexure suspended from a load beam and a slider mounted to a gimbal tongue of the flexure. The slider is aligned with an aperture of the gimbal tongue and attached to an adhesion feature of the gimbal tongue with an adhesive layer. The adhesion feature consists of a plurality of cantilevered tabs extending into the aperture of the gimbal tongue. 
     A slider adhesion system, in other embodiments, has a flexure suspended from a load beam and a slider mounted to a gimbal tongue of the flexure. The slider is aligned with an aperture of the gimbal tongue and a microactuator physically connects the gimbal tongue to a flexure body. An adhesive layer attaches the slider to an adhesion feature of the gimbal tongue where the adhesion feature is configured as a plurality of cantilevered tabs extending into the aperture of the gimbal tongue. 
     Various embodiments suspend a flexure from a load beam and mount a slider to a gimbal tongue of the flexure with an adhesive layer with the slider aligned with an aperture of the gimbal tongue. The adhesive layer attaches the slider to an adhesion feature of the gimbal tongue with the adhesion feature consisting of a plurality of cantilevered tabs extending into the aperture of the gimbal tongue. Activation of a transducing component of the slider conducts data access operations on a data storage medium separated from the slider by an air bearing. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block representation of an example data storage device in which various embodiments may be practiced. 
         FIG. 2  displays a line representations of portions of an example data storage device arranged in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  respectively show portions of an example transducing assembly configured in accordance with assorted embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates portions of an example transducing suspension capable of being employed in the data storage devices of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
         FIGS. 5A and 5B  respectively depict portions of an example transducing suspension operated in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 6  displays a cross-sectional line representation of an example transducing suspension configured in accordance with various embodiments 
         FIG. 7  provides a flowchart of an example data access routine that can be carried out by the assorted embodiments of  FIGS. 1-6 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments are generally directed to data transducing assemblies of a data storage device that have optimized adhesion through the use of one or more adhesion features. 
     The evolution of data storage devices over time has resulted in greater data capacities, but necessitate data accessing components to be more precise to provide accurate and efficient data accesses. Technological advancements that can increase the areal data density of a data storage device can be difficult to implement, practically, while maintaining precise and efficient data access operation. For instance, implementation of write-assist technology to a transducing head can increase data access speed and resolution, but can correspond with a slider that is physically larger than conventional slider components, which can be difficult to reliably adhere to a gimbal tongue in a head gimbal assembly. 
     With these issues in mind, a data storage device, in some embodiments, has a gimbal flexure with an adhesion feature that optimizes the mounting and use of a slider to conduct data access operations. The ability to customize the number and configuration of adhesion features on a gimbal flexure provides reliable physical connection despite the flexure having reduced surface area due to the configuration of the slider. For example, the flexure can be configured with an aperture that reduces the amount of surface area available to attach the slider and a plurality of cantilevered tabs can be utilized to increase slider-flexure adhesion and provide precise slider movement, along with accurate data access operations. 
     Turning to the drawings,  FIG. 1  is a block representation of an example data storage device  100  in which various embodiments may be practiced. The data storage device  100  may be employed in a stand-alone capacity, such as in a desktop computer, or in a network capacity, such as in a cloud computing rack with other devices. 
     The data storage device  100  can have at least one local controller  102 , such as a microprocessor or programmable processor, that directs data access operations to, and from, magnetic data storage media  104 . The media  104  can be rotated as directed by the controller  102  to allow a transducing suspension  106  to position a transducing head  108  over a selected region of the media  104  to write, or read, data. It is contemplated that the data storage device  100  can concurrently employ other types of data storage, such as volatile or non-volatile solid-state memory, but such arrangement is not required. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a line representation of portions of an example data storage device  120  configured in accordance with some embodiments. The data storage device  120  has a plurality of separated data storage media  104  mounted on a central spindle  122 . The transducing suspension  106  can position a transducing head  108  proximal to respective top and bottom recording surfaces  124  of each data storage medium  104 . 
     Movement of the transducing assembly  106  can be facilitated by a voice coil motor  126  that articulates to position each head  108  over a selected data track  128 , which may have user data regions  130  as well as servo region  132  protected from user use. As shown, the servo regions  132  can be collectively arranged in servo tracks that radially extend from the spindle  122  while the user data regions  130  are circumferentially arranged relative to the spindle  122 . It is noted that the entirety of the data storage device  120  of  FIG. 2  can be collectively stored in a single housing, but such configuration is not required. 
     In the line representations of  FIGS. 3A and 3B , portions of an example transducing suspension  140  are displayed. The air bearing view of  FIG. 3A  conveys how a slider  142  can be mounted to a gimbal flexure  144 . The slider  142  is shaped to physically support an on-board data writer  146 , a data reader  148 , and a write-assist assembly  150  to allow efficient and accurate data access operation. That is, the slider  142  can have a length (L), width (W), and height (H) that allow the writer  146 , reader  148 , and write-assist assembly  150  to fly on an air bearing of a predetermined size despite encountering aspects that can degrade the air bearing size. 
     Coarse resolution movement of the slider  142  can be facilitated by the voice coil motor  126  fine resolution slider movement in the X-Y plane can be facilitated via microactuation from first  152  and second  154  actuating layers. As shown, the actuating layers  152 / 154  can physically extend from a gimbal tongue  156  portion of the flexure  144  to a body  158  portion of the flexure  144  to allow tilting of the slider  142 , as illustrated by arrow  160 . That is, a local, or remote, controller can activate one or more actuating layers  152 / 154  to induce physical movement, as displayed by segmented lines, which corresponds with gimbal tongue  156  movement. 
     It is contemplated that the slider  142  consists of a heater feature that can selectively articulate the slider  142  in the Y-Z plane, which can selectively control the size of the air bearing between the slider  142  and the underlying data storage medium. The write-assist assembly  150  is not limited to a particular type of technology or a number of constituent components, but can, in some embodiments, consist of a laser directed towards the data storage medium  104  via a waveguide in order to temporarily heat the medium  104  above its&#39; Curie temperature. 
       FIG. 3B  illustrates how the incorporation of the write-assist assembly  150  into the slider  142  can cause a varying slider/flexure interface. In other words, incorporation of the write-assist assembly  150  into the slider  142  results in a greater slider height than if the writer  146  and reader  148  where the only occupants of the slider  142 . 
     It is noted that the increased slider height may result in a uniform or varying slider top surface  162  that is accommodated by an aperture  164  in the gimbal tongue  156 . As displayed, but not required, portions of the slider  142 , such as the top surface  162 , can extend into, or through, the aperture  164 . Alternatively, the gimbal tongue aperture  164  can be present without any of the slider  142  extending through. Regardless of the position of the slider top surface  162  relative to the tongue aperture  164 , the presence of the aperture  164  decreases the amount of tongue  156  surface area available to mount the slider  142 , which can result in degraded structural performance during operation. 
       FIG. 4  displays portions of an example transducing suspension  170  configured in accordance with various embodiments to accommodate a slider  142  with a write-assist assembly comprising at least a laser. The gimbal tongue  172  has a central aperture  174  that is aligned with the slider  142  so that less than all of the top surface of the slider  142  can be physically attached to the gimbal tongue  172 . 
     The gimbal tongue  172  is arranged with a reduced width pivot region  176  that allows the respective actuating layers  152 / 154  to more efficiently enact slider  142  rotation in the X-Y plane. The reduced width region  176  and the aperture  174  provides relatively minimal tongue surface area for adhesive material to physically connect the slider  142  to the tongue  172 , as shown by the exemplary cross-hatched region  178 . Such reduced tongue-slider adhesive region  178 , compared to if the tongue  172  had no aperture  174 , can jeopardize the durability, reliability, and data access performance of the writer, reader, and write-assist components resident on the slider  142 . 
     Accordingly, some embodiments are generally directed to incorporating adhesion features into the transducing suspension to increase the integrity of adhesion between the slider  142  and the gimbal tongue  172 .  FIGS. 5A and 5B  respectively depict line representations of a portion of an example transducing suspension  190  that employs one or more adhesion features to optimize slider-tongue adhesion despite the presence of a tongue aperture  192 . A first adhesion feature  194  is positioned at the boundary  196  of the tongue aperture  192  and consists of a plurality of cantilevered tabs  198 . 
       FIG. 5A  displays the how the aperture  192  is positioned on the gimbal tongue  172  of the flexure  144  from a corresponding data storage medium. Although not required or limiting, the aperture  192  has a rectangular shape and continuously extends from a leading edge  200  of the gimbal tongue  172  towards the reduced width pivot region  176 . It is contemplated that the plurality of cantilevered tabs  198  can extend from any portion of the aperture boundary  196 , such as throughout the entire length of the boundary  196  in the X-Y plane or less than all of the length of the boundary  196  in the X-Y plane. 
     The cantilevered tabs  198  can be tuned for size and shape to provide optimized adhesion between the gimbal tongue  172  and the slider  142 . For instance, a cantilevered tab  198  can have a pointed shape, as shown in solid line, or have a rectangular shape, as shown in segmented line. Some embodiments configure the boundary  196  with differently configured cantilevered tabs  198 , as illustrated by segmented lines, to increase the adhesion strength of an adhesive layer, such as heightened peel strength. 
     The cantilevered tabs  198  of the first adhesion feature  194  may be complemented, or replaced, by a second adhesion feature  202 . While not required or limiting, the second adhesion feature  202  may be a hole that continuously extends through the gimbal tongue  172  at a position separated from the tongue aperture  192 . The hole of the second adhesion feature  202  can be located anywhere on the gimbal tongue  172 , as illustrated by segmented regions  204 ,  206 , and  208 , but is positioned symmetrically about a longitudinal axis (LA) of the gimbal tongue  172  and slider  142  in various embodiments, as shown by region  210 . 
     Region  210  may partially, or completely, be covered by the slider  142  where the features  208 / 202  are vertically aligned with the slider  142  along the Z axis. The cross-sectional view of  FIG. 5B  conveys how the first  194  and second  202  adhesion features increase the surface area available for an adhesive layer  212  to bond the slider  142  to the gimbal tongue  172 . In contrast to a continuous slider/tongue interface, the cantilevered tabs  198  of the first adhesion feature  194  allow the material of the adhesive layer  212  to continuously adhere to the bottom  214 , sidewall  216 , and top  218  surfaces of the gimbal tongue  172 . 
     While a linear aperture boundary  196  without cantilevered tabs  198  may allow adhesion material to flow to the top gimbal surface  218 , it can be appreciated that each cantilevered tab  198  increases the amount of top surface  218  area that can be utilized by the adhesive layer  212 . The hole of the second adhesion feature  202  can also allow the adhesive layer  212  to continuously flow and adhere to the top tongue surface  218 , which may result in an adhesion lug  220  bulging from the second adhesion feature  202  hole with a width  222  that is greater than the hole width  224 . 
     It is contemplated that multiple separate second adhesion features  202  can be incorporated into various portions of the gimbal tongue  172 . Such features  202  can have matching, or dissimilar, dimensions configured to provide optimized adhesion of the slider  142  to the tongue  172  without degrading the integrity or structural response to microactuation from the actuating layers  152 / 154 . 
     In some embodiments, the gimbal tongue  172  can be configured with a varying thickness, parallel the Z axis, to complement one or more adhesion features  194 / 202 .  FIG. 6  displays a cross-sectional view of a portion of an example transducing suspension  230  arranged with a varying gimbal tongue thickness  232 . By reducing the tongue thickness  232  by contouring the bottom surface  214 , as shown, the bonding behavior of the adhesive layer  212  can be controlled in an effort to promote adhesion material flow into each adhesion feature  194  and onto the tongue top surface  218 . 
     That is, the contoured tongue bottom surface  214  can cause the material of the adhesive layer  212  to reliably flow into a single, continuous layer that contacts bottom  214 , sidewall  216 , and top  218  tongue surfaces during initial adhesive layer  212  placement, such as during transducing suspension  230  manufacturing where heat may, or may not, be applied to bond the slider  142  to the tongue  172 . The non-limiting example varying tongue thickness  232  of  FIG. 6  has a continuously curvilinear contour shape in the X-Z plane, as shown by segmented region  234 , which can contain the adhesive layer  212  proximal the slider  142 . However, other contoured shapes can be presented by the varying tongue thickness  232 , such as rectangular, triangular, and combinations with curvilinear portions. 
     Hence, the gimbal tongue  172  can be configured with a number of different features  194 / 202 / 232  to increase the adhesion strength of the slider  142  to the gimbal tongue  172  despite the presence of the tongue aperture  192 .  FIG. 7  is a flowchart of an example transducing suspension fabrication routine  250  that can be conducts to construct a transducing suspension in accordance with the embodiments of  FIGS. 3A-6 . The routine  250  can begin with step  252  designing an adhesion strategy conducive to a data storage environment. That is, step  252  can choose a number, shape, size, and position of adhesion features in view of the size, components, and operation of a slider to be mounted to a gimbal tongue as well as the microactuation characteristics of the gimbal tongue. 
     As a result of step  252 , a gimbal tongue having a tongue aperture, like aperture  192 , can have optimized adhesion with a slider despite the presence of the tongue aperture and cyclic heating from any write-assist aspects of the slider. Step  252  may consider the use of one or more separate contoured tongue regions that are defined by a reduced tongue thickness. Decision  254  determines if contoured region(s) are to be incorporated into the gimbal tongue. If so, step  256  removes portions of the bottom surface of the gimbal tongue to form at least one contoured feature. 
     At the conclusion of step  256 , or if no contoured feature is chosen from decision  254 , a slider is vertically aligned with the gimbal tongue so that the slider overlaps with at least a portion of the tongue aperture in step  258 . Step  260  then positions at least one adhesive layer between the slider and gimbal tongue prior to engaging contact with the tongue in step  262 . It is noted that the adhesive layer may be a lamination of multiple different materials or a single-piece layer of a single material, without limitation. 
     The physical contact of the adhesive layer with the gimbal tongue in step  262  may automatically induce bonding and permanent attachment with the material of the adhesive layer continuously flowing to contact the bottom, sidewall, and top surfaces of the tongue proximal each adhesion feature in step  264 . However, it is contemplated that step  264  provides an elevated temperature to promote flow of the adhesive layer throughout each adhesion feature. Once the adhesive layer sets into each adhesion feature, step  266  activates at least one actuating layer to induce tilting slider motion and precise articulation relative to a corresponding data storage surface of an adjacent magnetic data storage medium that allows data access operations, such as a data read or data write, to a single selected data track in step  268 . 
     Through the customization of a gimbal tongue to incorporate one or more adhesion features, increased amounts of tongue surface area are available for adhesion compared to a feature-less gimbal tongue. The ability to tune the number, size, shape, and type of adhesion feature provides a single-piece adhesive layer to flow and contact bottom, sidewall, and top tongue surfaces to optimize adhesion between the slider and gimbal tongue even though the tongue has an aperture that reduces the potential tongue surface area. By utilizing one or more adhesion features, a slider that is aligned with a tongue aperture can have reliable adhesion to the gimbal tongue without compromising tongue structural integrity or tongue response to microatuation, which corresponds with optimal data access performance from a transducing suspension.