Drive Integration of Active Flying-Height Control Slider With Micro Thermal Actuator

To attain ultra-low flying height, we have developed a thermal flying-height control (TFC) slider that contains a micro-thermal actuator. Using the device, the magnetic spacing of these sliders can be controlled in situ during operation of the drive. A previous prototype had shown insufficient characteristics when evaluated at the component level. The purpose of this research is to develop an improved TFC slider and verify its drive-level feasibility. After designing analytically by simulation of heat transfer and thermal deformation, a prototype of the TFC device was fabricated. Component-level evaluation showed that the actuator characteristics met the requirements necessary for the development of drives with controllable flying-height sliders. Drive-level evaluations showed remarkable effectiveness in the TFC slider in reducing the magnetic spacing