Single crystal disk drive mini actuators

摘要

As hard disk drive areal densities increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60%, disk drives must position the head over increasingly small areas while moving more rapidly to reach the desired position. This results in an increase in vibration disturbance. To meet this demand, many hard disk drive manufactures have created prototype dual-stage actuators employing piezoelectric ceramics for the second stage. These are an attractive means of obtaining higher-bandwidth control due to the low inertia and size of the actuator element. As the technology improves, the next limiting factor will be the amount of displacement obtainable with traditional piezoceramic elements. Under the AXIS (Advanced Crystal Integrated System) Consortium program funded by DARPA, the application of PZN-PT single crystal piezoceramic as a second stage disk drive actuator was studied, based on the fact that the single crystal material provides larger stroke than its traditional PZT counterparts. The transverse (d31) strain of PZN-PT single crystal was measured to be about two times larger than that of PZT-5H ceramic. Both materials were integrated into a disk drive system and compared as second stage actuators. The methodologies used and the servo control techniques applied are also discussed in the paper.