Patent ID: 8064172

Claim:
A method, comprising the step of: operating a hard disk drive including a head gimbal assembly ( 160 ) further including a flexure layer ( 990 ) further including a piezoelectric device ( 300 ) mechanically coupled to a mounting face ( 1020 ) and a slider ( 500 ) mechanically coupled to a slider mounting face ( 1010 ), further comprising the step of moving said slider by applying potential differences across terminals ( 306 , 308 ) of said piezoelectric device to apply asymmetric forces across said mounting face ( 1020 ), comprising the steps of: applying a first potential difference to electrically stimulate said piezoelectric device to contract and apply a first asymmetric force across said mounting face to move said slider in a first direction ( 1080 ) through a mechanical coupling ( 960 ); and applying a second potential difference to electrically stimulate said piezoelectric device to expand and apply a second asymmetric force across said mounting face to move said slider in a second direction ( 1082 ); wherein said flexure layer is primarily composed of a stiff material; and wherein said mounting face includes a first notch and a slot providing said asymmetry.