An active head slider using a piezoelectric cantilever for in-situ flying-height control

This paper describes design and fabrication of MEMS-based active head sliders using piezoelectric unimorph cantilevers for in-situ flying-height control. Silicon sliders with PZT thin films were fabricated monolithically using a micromachining process. A deflection of more than 40 nm was obtained at the cantilever tip by applying a voltage of 4 V. Furthermore, an ABS (air bearing surface) design that makes the reduction of the aerodynamic reaction force possible during the head operation is discussed.