Design and Optimization of Collocated Dual Stage Actuated Suspensions in Hard Disk Drives Using Finite Element Analysis

Higher performance suspensions are necessary to obtain ultra-high magnetic areal density in hard disk drives (HDDs). Currently suspension-based dual stage actuated (DSA) designs utilize two piezoelectric actuators placed at the base of the suspension, allowing for a secondary input that can respond to undesirable off-track motion. Collocated designs are a probable DSA alternative. The design of a collocated head-based dual stage actuator is investigated using finite element analysis. The effect of gimbal design dimensions on the lateral deflection of the read-write element is evaluated. The resonant frequency response and stress distribution are studied. A comparison of the proposed dual stage head-based actuator is made with other suspension-based designs and the collocated design proposed by Lengert et al.[1]. Guidelines for optimization of the designs are presented and discussed.