A MEMS-based monolithic electrostatic microactuator for ultra-low magneticdisk head fly height control

A novel MEMS-based electrostatic actuator design is proposed for recording head fly height control below 10 nm. Different from prior work on MEMS-base d electrostatic microactuators designed for magnetic hard disk drives (HDD) , the proposed microactuator is fabricated monolithically with a convention al head/slider design. The actuator is micromachined into the same side as the head element on a slider with a modified CMOS-MEMS process. It has an e xtremely small size, light weight and a very simple structure. The head is suspended and actuated up and down by the actuator during recording process to maintain a constant fly height. A desired range and precision of actuat ion is achieved under control voltages of less than 30 V. A mechanical reso nant frequency of over 100 kHz is obtained.