Micro-actuator for tera-storage

A micro-actuator which can largely improve the capacity and performance of current hard-disk drives (HDDs) was investigated. This micro-actuator is located between a slider and a suspension, and moves the magnetic head (attached on the edge of the slider) with very high speed and accuracy. As a result, extremely high data-track density (thus, high capacity) and fast access time can be achieved. First, requirements for this actuator were investigated, and new design methods and fabrication technologies were developed, including area-efficient electrode design, "integrated traces", 20:1 (40 /spl mu/m thick, 2 /spl mu/m resolution) high-aspect ratio polymer etching, and multi-layer metal structure. The micro-actuator was successfully fabricated and assembled. A servo experiment was carried out by using a commercially available 3.5 inch HDD. High servo bandwidth of 2.4 kHz, high track-following accuracy of 0.0275 /spl mu/m (one sigma) which enables 25 kilo track-per-inch (TPI), and fast P move time of 0.5 mS for 9.8 /spl mu/m- seek were demonstrated.