Patent ID: 8446695

Claim:
A suspension for a hard disk drive, the suspension including: a load beam having a dimple therein; a flexure affixed to the load beam, the flexure including a ring gimbal supporting a slider, wherein the ring gimbal comprises: a pair of outer arms extending in a generally longitudinal direction; a slider bond pad disposed between said outer arms, the slider bond pad being located underneath the load beam dimple, a point of contact between the load beam dimple and the slider bond pad defining a dimple contact point; a pair of flexible torsion arms, each torsion arm extending from a respective one of said outer arms to the slider bond pad on respective lateral sides thereof to support the slider bond pad; an attachment tab disposed distal of the slider bond pad and connected to the outer arms, the attachment tab being affixed to the load beam to provide forward support for the ring gimbal; and electrical circuit traces extending on either side of the slider bond pad for carrying electrical signals to and from the slider, the electrical circuit traces comprising an insulating layer, copper signal conductors thereon, and a protective cover layer thereon; wherein: the torsion arms are attached to the slider bond pad at respective slider bond pad connection points, the slider bond pad connection points being located distal of the dimple contact point; and the electrical circuit traces are affixed to the torsion arms at points where the electrical circuit traces pass underneath the torsion arms, and the electrical circuit traces have stainless steel sections attached thereto in areas adjacent the torsion arms, the stainless steel sections being no longer than approximately three times a width of each respectively adjacent torsion arm, the electrical circuit traces being otherwise unsupported by stainless steel in areas adjacent the torsion arms on either longitudinal side thereof.