| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20100061005 | High speed digital signaling apparatus and method using reflected signals to increase total delivered current - A signaling apparatus and method are described that use reflected signals to increase the total current delivered to a receiver. Dynamic source-side transmission line termination control is employed to generate reflected signals that constructively add to a nonreflected signal to enhance the signal at the receiver. Switching controls selectively connect and disconnect the transmission line source-side termination resistors to either provide signal termination or remove it. Driver designs using either voltage or current sources for use in signaling systems (including, for example, magnetic storage devices with inductive coil based write heads) are described. | 03-11-2010 |
| 20100142096 | INTEGRATED SLIDER BIAS CONTROL - In a method of biasing a slider, a bias voltage is generated for biasing a slider. The bias voltage is integratedly coupled to a conductive body of the slider via an existing signal path of the slider such that the slider is biased with the bias voltage. The existing signal path is primarily used for conveying another signal to or from the slider but at least sometimes conveys the bias voltage to the conductive body in an integral fashion along with another signal. | 06-10-2010 |
| 20100157457 | Electrical Interconnect system with integrated transmission- line compensation components - Impedance compensation features are used along the transmission-line path between a transmitter/driver/source and the receiver/transducer to compensate for the impedance discontinuities or mismatches (for example, those caused by physical interconnection features) and/or to improve the frequency response of the signal transfer along the transmission line. The impedance compensation features are non-uniformities with impedance characteristics selected to compensate for the target impedance discontinuities. The compensation features can be non-uniformities (geometric structures designed to have specific impedance characteristics) in the electrically conductive traces that are integrated in the interconnect transmission line between the transmitter/driver/source and the receiver/transducer. The effective impedance level of the transmission line can be lowered or raised using the compensation features. | 06-24-2010 |
| 20110149443 | TUNABLE MICROSTRIP TRANSMISSION PATH IN A HARD DISK DRIVE - A disk pack, comprising at least one hard disk, is rotatably mounted to a housing. The disk pack defines an axis of rotation and a radial direction relative to the axis. At least one actuator mounted to the housing is coupled with a suspension and is movable relative to the disk pack. A slider, comprising a slider body and a head configured to read data from and write data to at least one hard disk, is coupled with the suspension. A first suspension electrical interconnect is configured to electrically couple a first signal conducting pathway with the slider and with a first non-terminated signal pathway. A second suspension electrical interconnect is configured to electrically couple a second signal conducting pathway with the slider and with a second non-terminated signal pathway. The length of the second non-terminated signal pathway is selected to achieve a desired impedance level. | 06-23-2011 |
| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20100007993 | INTEGRATED LEAD SUSPENSION WITH MULTIPLE CROSSOVER COPLANAR CONNECTION OF THE ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE TRACES - An integrated lead suspension (ILS) or flexure has a connection scheme that allows for coplanar and interleaved conductive traces between read/write circuitry and a read/write head in a magnetic recording disk drive. The flexure has an electrically conductive substrate and insulator layer with the traces formed on the insulator layer. At each end of the flexure there is an island of substrate material with vias in the insulator layer that permit electrical connection to the islands. The conductive traces are grouped into two sets and extend generally parallel along the length of the flexure, with the traces from one set being interleaved with traces from the other set and each set carrying one of the positive or negative signals. At one of the ends, all of the traces from one set are connected through the vias to the island at that end, and at the other end all of the traces from the other set are connected through the vias to the island at that end. Each signal is distributed among the multiple traces of a set by means of connection through the vias to the island. | 01-14-2010 |
| 20100128397 | FLEX CABLE AND METHOD FOR LOWERING FLEX CABLE IMPEDANCE - A flex cable comprises a base film, a first adhesive layer coupled with the base film, and at least two signal traces coupled with the first adhesive layer. The flex cable comprises a second adhesive layer coupled with the signal traces and the first adhesive layer, and a cover film coupled with the second adhesive layer. The flex cable comprises an electrically conductive layer adjacent to the signal traces, and parallel with the base film and the cover film. | 05-27-2010 |
| 20100240327 | ANTENNA ARRAY WITH FLEXIBLE INTERCONNECT FOR A MOBILE WIRELESS DEVICE - An antenna array can be mounted on a flexible substrate and connected by a flexible interconnect to an integrated circuit such as a radio frequency front end. The antenna array can be mounted in a device housing that includes radio frequency interference (RFI) shielding. The antenna array is aligned with and next to an area of the housing that is not shielded against RFI. | 09-23-2010 |
| 20110090584 | Signaling method and apparatus for write assist of high coercivity media using integrated half coil - A signaling method and apparatus for providing two write assist components for perpendicular thin film heads writing to high coercivity media is disclosed. The two components provided by the present invention include a media writing assist component and a head switching assist component. Circuit wiring configurations and waveforms for driving an auxiliary half coil are disclosed. These include configurations for connecting the auxiliary half coil in parallel with the main data coil, or connecting the auxiliary half coil to the thermal flight control system. Provision for both common mode signals as well as differential mode signals are disclosed. RF sinusoidal waveforms between 1 and 5 GHz have been found suitable for head switching assist functions for either symmetric current feed and common mode current configuration, or asymmetric current feed and differential mode current configuration. RF sinusoidal waveforms between 10 and 50 GHz have been found suitable for media writing assist functions for either asymmetric or symmetric current feed and differential mode configuration. Data derived signals obtained by passing the data pulse train though high pass filtration has been found to provide both head switching assist and media writing assist functionality. Data derived signals can be used with or without the RF signals. | 04-21-2011 |
| 20110090596 | Integrated half coil structure for write assist of high coercivity media - A structure for providing two write assist components for perpendicular thin film heads writing to high coercivity media is disclosed. The two components provided by the present invention include a media writing assist component and a head switching assist component. The structure includes an auxiliary half coil surrounding the pole tip at the ABS, and includes conductive elements running parallel to the pole layer which are connected to the auxiliary half coil. Integrated heat sinks located at either the ABS or at a recessed position are provided. The conductive elements can prove either symmetric or asymmetric current feed geometries, which allow differential or common mode current flow to the half coil. | 04-21-2011 |
| 20110141626 | MAGNETIC RECORDING DISK DRIVE WITH INTEGRATED LEAD SUSPENSION HAVING MULTIPLE SEGMENTS FOR OPTIMAL CHARACTERISTIC IMPEDANCE - An integrated lead suspension (ILS) in a magnetic recording disk drive has the transmission line portion of the ILS between the flex cable and the gimbal formed of multiple interconnected segments, each with its own characteristic impedance. At the interface between any two segments there is a change in the widths of the electrically conductive traces of the transmission line. The change in impedance of a fixed-length segment is a function of the change in its trace width. The number of segments and their characteristic impedance values are selected to produce the largest frequency bandwidth with a substantially flat group delay from the write driver to the write head. | 06-16-2011 |
| 20110149428 | SLIDER FLY-HEIGHT CONTROL IN A HARD DISK DRIVE - In fly-height control system, a slider comprises a spin torque oscillator that is configured for generating an RF carrier signal which is out-of-band of a frequency band of read data, write data, and control signals in a hard disk drive. | 06-23-2011 |