A circular arc slider with a high flying height supported by parallel flat springs for optical disc devices

We have investigated a circular arc slider with a high flying height that is suitable for optical disc devices to reduce the thickness of the device and to achieve a higher recording density over a wider recording area. Our proposed slider was supported by parallel flat springs to reduce the tilting motions of the slider in the pitching and rolling directions. Two types of slider were examined: (1) a positive pressure slider with a single shallow pocket on the slider surface, and (2) a negative pressure slider with two shallow pockets. The static and dynamic characteristics of our proposed slider were investigated both theoretically and experimentally. It was found that our proposed sliders followed a disc surface with the amplitude of axial runout of 100 μm with a focusing error of 30 μm_p-v in the focusing direction and a tilt angle of <6 min_p-v in the pitching and rolling directions.