HARD DISK DRIVE SUSPENSION FINE ACTUATOR WITH MINIATURIZED SINGLE-LAYER PIEZOELECTRIC ELEMENTS

1 . A hard disk drive (HDD) suspension assembly comprising:

a load beam;

a multi-layer flexure coupled with the load beam, the flexure comprising a gimbal structure comprising a flexure tongue to which a head slider is mounted; and

a microactuator mechanically configured to directly move the flexure tongue to move the head slider mounted thereto, the microactuator comprising:

single-layer piezoelectric elements coupled with the flexure tongue and each recessed in a pocket in the flexure tongue, and

wherein each piezoelectric element comprises a continuous bottom electrode spanning a substantially entire length of a bottom surface of the piezoelectric element and a continuous top electrode spanning a substantially entire length of a top surface of the piezoelectric element.

2 . The HDD suspension assembly of claim 1 , wherein each piezoelectric element is coupled with the flexure tongue via a non-conductive adhesive, at a proximal end of the piezoelectric element, configured to insulate the bottom electrode from electrically connecting with the top electrode.

3 . The HDD suspension assembly of claim 2 , wherein the non-conductive adhesive is further configured to fill a gap between the piezoelectric element and a metal layer of the flexure tongue for piezoelectric-to-flexure tongue load transfer effectiveness.

4 . The HDD suspension assembly of claim 2 , wherein the bottom electrode is electrically connected with a conductive layer of the flexure tongue beneath the pocket at the distal end of the piezoelectric element.

5 . The HDD suspension assembly of claim 4 , wherein the top electrode is electrically connected, via an electrically-conductive adhesive at a proximal end of the piezoelectric element, with the conductive layer of the flexure tongue.

6 . The HDD suspension assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pocket is formed in a metal layer of the flexure tongue.

7 . The HDD suspension assembly of claim 6 , wherein each piezoelectric element is recessed in a respective pocket in the flexure tongue.

8 . The HDD suspension assembly of claim 1 , wherein the top electrode is electrically connected, via an electrically-conductive adhesive at a proximal end of the piezoelectric element, with a conductive layer of the flexure tongue beneath an opening in a metal layer of the flexure tongue.

9 . The HDD suspension assembly of claim 8 , wherein:

the opening in the metal layer is separate from the pocket in which the piezoelectric element is recessed; and

the electrically-conductive adhesive is configured to bridge a metal gap separating the pocket and the opening.

10 . A hard disk drive comprising the HDD suspension assembly of claim 9 .

11 . The HDD suspension assembly of claim 1 , wherein the top electrode is electrically connected to ground via an electrically-conductive adhesive at a proximal end of the piezoelectric element to a gold plating on a top surface of a metal layer of the flexure tongue.

12 . The HDD suspension assembly of claim 1 , wherein each piezoelectric element is composed of at least one from a group of materials consisting of PZT, PMN-PT, and PIN-PMN-PT.

13 . A hard disk drive (HDD) comprising:

disk media rotatably mounted on a spindle;

a plurality of head sliders, each head slider housing a read-write transducer configured to read from and to write to a disk medium of the disk media;

means for moving the plurality of head sliders to access portions of the disk media; and

suspension assemblies coupled with the means for moving, each suspension assembly comprising:

a multi-layer flexure comprising a gimbal structure comprising a flexure tongue to which a head slider of the plurality of head sliders is mounted, and

a microactuator system mechanically configured to directly move the flexure tongue to move the head slider mounted thereto, the microactuator system comprising:

single-layer piezoelectric elements coupled with the flexure tongue and each recessed in a pocket in the flexure tongue, and

wherein each piezoelectric element comprises a continuous bottom electrode spanning a substantially entire length of a bottom surface of the piezoelectric element and a continuous top electrode spanning a substantially entire length of a top surface of the piezoelectric element.

14 . The HDD of claim 13 , wherein:

each piezoelectric element is coupled with the flexure tongue via a non-conductive adhesive at a proximal end of the piezoelectric element; and

the non-conductive adhesive is configured to:

insulate the bottom electrode from electrically connecting with the top electrode, and

fill a gap between the piezoelectric element and a metal layer of the flexure tongue for piezoelectric-to-flexure tongue load transfer effectiveness.

15 . The HDD of claim 14 , wherein:

the bottom electrode is electrically connected with a conductive layer of the flexure tongue beneath the pocket at the distal end of the piezoelectric element; and

the top electrode is electrically connected, via an electrically-conductive adhesive at a proximal end of the piezoelectric element, with the conductive layer of the flexure tongue.

16 . The HDD of claim 13 , wherein the top electrode is electrically connected with, via an electrically-conductive adhesive at a proximal end of the piezoelectric element, a conductive layer of the flexure tongue beneath an opening in a metal layer of the flexure tongue.

17 . The HDD of claim 16 , wherein:

the opening in the metal layer is separate from the pocket in which the piezoelectric element is recessed; and

the electrically-conductive adhesive is configured to bridge a metal gap separating the pocket and the opening.

18 . The HDD of claim 13 , further comprising:

electronic controller circuitry configured to operate each piezoelectric element with an alternating-current (AC) voltage and without a direct-current (DC) bias voltage.

19 . The HDD of claim 13 , wherein the top electrode is electrically connected to ground via an electrically-conductive adhesive at a proximal end of the piezoelectric element to a gold plating on a top surface of a metal layer of the flexure tongue.

20 . A method of manufacturing a hard disk drive (HDD) microactuator system, the method comprising:

placing a single-layer piezoelectric element, configured to directly move a flexure tongue of a gimbal structure of a multi-layer flexure, into a pocket in the flexure tongue, wherein:

the pocket is formed in the metal layer of the flexure tongue, and

the piezoelectric element comprises a continuous bottom electrode spanning a substantially entire length of a bottom surface of the piezoelectric element and a continuous top electrode spanning a substantially entire length of a top surface of the piezoelectric element;

attaching the piezoelectric element to the flexure tongue via a non-conductive adhesive at a proximal end of the piezoelectric element, wherein the non-conductive adhesive is positioned to insulate the bottom electrode from electrically connecting with the top electrode and to fill a gap between the piezoelectric element and the metal layer for piezoelectric-to-flexure tongue load transfer effectiveness;

electrically connecting the bottom electrode, via an electrically-conductive adhesive, to a conductive layer of the flexure tongue beneath the pocket at a distal portion of the piezoelectric element; and

electrically connecting the top electrode, via an electrically-conductive adhesive, to the conductive layer of the flexure tongue beneath an opening in a metal layer of the flexure tongue at a proximal direction from the piezoelectric element, wherein:

the opening in the metal layer is separate from the pocket in which the piezoelectric element is placed, and

the electrically-conductive adhesive is configured to bridge a metal gap separating the pocket and the opening.