Drive integration of Active Flying-height Control Slider with Micro Thermal Actuator

To achieve ultra-low flying height, we have developed a thermal flying-height control (TFC) slider that carries a micro-thermal actuator. Using the actuator, the magnetic spacing of these sliders can be controlled in-situ while the drive is operating. The previous component-level prototype had insufficient actuator characteristics. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to improve the actuator characteristics and to verify the drive-level feasibility of TFC technology.