Increased mechanical spacing through localized continuous carbon overcoat
US6359754B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 10, 1999 |
| Grant date | Mar 19, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 10, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B5/3106
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An air bearing slider for a disc drive has an overcoat localized on the air bearing surface to provide a continuous covering over a leading portion of the air bearing surface. The overcoat terminates in a trailing cut-off line, and a trailing portion of the air bearing surface is not covered by overcoat. The overcoat also covers the pole tips of the transducer at a pole tip recession from the air bearing surface. The leading portion covered by the overcoat includes all of the air bearing surface that contacts the disc during contact/start/stop, which is protected by a uniform continuous overcoat layer. The trailing cut-off line is disposed at an angle to expose the trailing corners of the air bearing surface, such that all of the overcoat is elevated above the lowermost portion of the air bearing surface through pitch and roll angles of flying at inner and outer radii. Methods of applying the localized overcoat include subtractive and additive photolithographic deposition processes. The overcoat over the pole tips protects the pole tips during subsequent processing steps of forming the slider cavity.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.