Dynamic Characterisation of the Head-Media Interface in Hard Disk Drives using Novel Sensor Systems

Hard disk drives function perfectly satisfactorily when used in a stable environment, but in certain applications they are subjected to shock and vibration. During the work reported in this thesis it has been found that when typical hard disk drives are subjected lo vibration, data transfer failure is found to be significant at frequencies between 440Hz and 700Hz, at an extreme, failing at only Ig of sinusoidal vibration. These failures can largely be attributed to two key components: the suspension arm and the hard disk. At non-critical frequencies of vibration the typical hard disk drive can reliably transfer data whilst subjected to as much as 45g. When transferring data to the drive controller, the drive's operations are controlled and monitored using BIOS commands. Examining the embedded error signals proved that the drive predominantly failed due lo tracking errors. Novel piezo-electric sensors have been developed to measure unobtrusively suspension arm and disk motion, the results from which show the disk to be the most significant failure mechanism, with its First mode of resonance at around 440Hz. The suspension arm movement has been found to be greatest at IkHz. Extensive modelling of the flexure of the disk, clamped and unclamped, has been undertaken using finite element analysis. The theoretical modelling strongly reinforces the empirical results presented in this thesis. If suspension arm movement is not directly coupled with disk movement then a flying height variation is created. This, together with tracking variations, leads to data transfer corruption. This has been found to occur at IkHz and 2kHz. An optical system has been developed and characterised for a novel and inexpensive flying height measurement system using compact disc player technology

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL SUSPENSION ARM WITH 2-DIMENSIONAL ACTUATION, FOR USE IN ADVANCED HARD DISK DRIVES

As magnetic computer disks are developed to ever-greater data storage densities, the accuracy required for head positioning is moving beyond the accuracy provided by present technology using single-stage voice-coil motors in hard disk drives. This thesis details work to develop a novel active suspension arm with 2-dimensional actuation for use in advanced hard disk drives. The arm developed is capable of high-bandwidth data tracking as well as precision head flying height control motion. High-bandwidth data tracking is facilitated by the use of piezoelectric stack actuator, positioned closer to the head. The suspension arm is also capable of motion in the orthogonal axis. This motion represents active flying height control to maintain the correct altitude during drive operation. To characterise the suspension arm's structural dynamics, a high-resolution measurement system based on the optical beam deflection technique has been developed. This has enabled the accurate measurement of minute end-deflections of the suspension arm in 2-dimensions, to sub-nanometre resolution above noise. The design process of the suspension arm has led into the development of novel piezoelectric-actuated arms. In the work involving lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thick films as actuators, work in this thesis shows that reinforcing the films with fibre improves the overall actuation characteristics of the thick films. This discovery benefits applications such as structural health monitoring. The final suspension arm design has been adopted because it is simple in design, easier to integrate within current hard disk drive environment and easier to fabricate in mass. Closed-loop control algorithms based on proportional, integral and derivative (PID) controller techniques have been developed and implemented to demonstrate high bandwidths that have been achieved. The suspension arm developed presents an important solution in head-positioning technology in that it offers much higher bandwidths for data tracking and flying height control; both very essential in achieving even higher data storage densities on magnetic disks at much reduced head flying heights, compared to those in existing hard disk drives

Non-contact measurement machine for freeform optics

The performance of high-precision optical systems using spherical optics is limited by aberrations. By applying aspherical and freeform optics, the geometrical aberrations can be reduced or eliminated while at the same time also reducing the required number of components, the size and the weight of the system. New manufacturing techniques enable creation of high-precision freeform surfaces. Suitable metrology (high accuracy, universal, non-contact, large measurement volume and short measurement time) is key in the manufacturing and application of these surfaces, but not yet available. In this thesis, the design, realization and testing of a new metrology instrument is described. This measurement machine is capable of universal, noncontact and fast measurement of freeform optics up to Ø500 mm, with an uncertainty of 30 nm (2s). A cylindrical scanning setup with an optical distance probe has been designed. This concept is non-contact, universal and fast. With a probe with 5 mm range, circular tracks on freeform surfaces can be measured rapidly with minimal dynamics. By applying a metrology frame relative to which the position of the probe and the product are measured, most stage errors are eliminated from the metrology loop. Because the probe is oriented perpendicular to the aspherical best-fit of the surface, the sensitivity to tangential errors is reduced. This allows for the metrology system to be 2D. The machine design can be split into three parts: the motion system, the metrology system and: the non-contact probe. The motion system positions the probe relative to the product in 4 degrees of freedom. The product is mounted on an air bearing spindle (??), and the probe is positioned over it in radial (r), vertical (z) and inclination (¿) direction by the R-stage, Z-stage and ¿- axis, respectively. The motion system provides a sub-micrometer repeatable plane of motion to the probe. The Z-stage is hereto aligned to a vertical plane of the granite base using three air bearings, to obtain a parallel bearing stage configuration. To minimize distortions and hysteresis, the stages have separate position and preload frames. Direct drive motors and high resolution optical scales and encoders are used for positioning. Mechanical brakes are applied while measuring a track, to minimize power dissipation and to exclude encoder, amplifier and EMC noise. The motors, brakes and weight compensation are aligned to the centres of gravity of the R and Zstage. Stabilizing controllers have been designed based on frequency response measurements. The metrology system measures the position of the probe relative to the product in the six critical directions in the plane of motion of the probe (the measurement plane). By focussing a vertical and horizontal interferometer onto the ¿-axis rotor, the displacement of the probe is measured relative to the reference mirrors on the upper metrology frame. Due to the reduced sensitivity in tangential direction at the probe tip, the Abbe criterion is still satisfied. Silicon Carbide is the material of choice for the upper metrology frame, due to its excellent thermal and mechanical properties. Mechanical and thermal analysis of this frame shows nanometer-level stabilities under the expected thermal loads. Simulations of the multi-probe method show capabilities of in process separation of the spindle reference edge profile and the spindle error motion with sub-nanometer uncertainty. The non-contact probe measures the distance between the ¿-axis rotor and the surface under test. A dual stage design is applied, which has 5 mm range, nanometer resolution and 5° unidirectional acceptance angle. This enables the R and Z-stage and ¿-axis to be stationary during the measurement of a circular track on a freeform surface. The design consists of a compact integration of the differential confocal method with an interferometer. The focussing objective is positioned by a flexure guidance with a voice coil actuator. A motion controller finds the surface and keeps the objective focused onto it with some tens of nanometers servo error. The electronics and software are designed to safely operate the 5 axes of the machine and to acquire the signals of all measurement channels. The electronics cabinet contains a real-time processor with many in and outputs, control units for all 5 axes, a safety control unit, a probe laser unit and an interferometry interface. The software consists of three main elements: the trajectory planning, the machine control and the data processing. Emphasis has been on the machine control, in order to safely validate the machine performance and perform basic data-processing. The performance of the machine assembly has been tested by stability, single track and full surface measurements. The measurements focus on repeatability, since this is a key condition before achieving low measurement uncertainty by calibration. The measurements are performed on a Ø100 mm optical flat, which was calibrated by NMi VSL to be flat within 7 nm rms. At standstill, the noise level of the metrology loop is 0.9 nm rms over 0.1 s. When measuring a single track at 1 rev/s, 10 revolutions overlap within 10 nm PV. The repeatability of three measurements of the flat, tilted by 13 µm, is 2 nm rms. The flatness measured by the uncalibrated machine matches the NMi data well. Ten measurements of the flat tilted by 1.6 mm repeat to 3.4 nm rms. A new non-contact measurement machine prototype for freeform optics has been developed. The characteristics desired for a high-end, single piece, freeform optics production environment (high accuracy, universal, non-contact, large measurement volume and short measurement time) have been incorporated into one instrument. The validation measurement results exceed the expectations, especially since they are basically raw data. Future calibrations and development of control and dataprocessing software will certainly further improve these results

NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 40)

Abstracts are provided for 181 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1991 through December 1991. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application

The E-ELT adptive mirror: prototype and optical test

Ground-based optical-infrared 10m-class telescopes, such as Keck, Gemini, and Very Large Telescopes (VLT), are currently leading many of the astronomical research fields due to their unprecedented collecting areas. However, many new astrophysical quests arose from recent observations, justifying the need for even larger telescopes, with diameters > 30 m. The European scientific community, led by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), takes part in this challenging competition whit the "European-Extremely Large Telescope" (E-ELT), a revolutionary project for a 40m-class telescope that will allow us addressing many of the most pressing unsolved questions about our Universe. Building Extremely Large Telescopes asked for innovative technologies, from larger and repeatable optical manufacturing techniques to produce hundredths of aspherical off-axis hexagonal segments and large monolithic mirrors, or large thin optical shell mirrors, to better and faster controls (active and adaptive optics), together with more specialized focal plane instrumentations devoted to address specific astrophysical questions, more likely to large particle physics experiments. Moreover the challenge of building extremely large telescope pushes forward the parallel ability to measure and test optical components of large sizes. Adaptive Optics (AO) techniques allow to obtain enhanced ground-based astronomical observations, partially restoring diffraction-limited spatial resolutions, by compensating the degrading effects of the atmospheric turbulence. The delivered image quality of an AO-assisted telescope depends on the level of the correction of the wavefront error due to the atmosphere. This work focuses on the adaptive deformable mirror unit (M4AU) of the E-ELT. During my Ph.D. study, I took part in the competitive "EELT-M4 project" study, led by an Italian-French consortium (Microgate, ADS, SAGEM, INAF-O.A.Brera). Optical measurements were conceived, designed and performed on a similar, scaled-down, fully-representative prototype of the final system, to fully validate the proposed concept. Due to very stringent requirements in term of wavefront correction (10-100 nm rms), only interferometric optical setups were able to provide enough accuracy and sensitivity to carry out the work. A set of three devices has been designed for the tests: - a Ritchey-Common test setup (RCT), able to cover the full area of the M4AU DP optical surface with a single measurement, taken with a phase-shifting Fizeau interferometer; - a Stitching Interferometric Setup (SIS), where a scanning smaller optical beam is able to reconstruct the same optical surface with increased capture range and spatial resolution, useful in the first steps of the calibration procedures; - a piston sensing unit (PSU), which exploits the optical path difference between adjacent optical shells, after careful analysis of diffraction patterns. Those devices, together with purposely designed control softwares and data reduction softwares, were used during a 6-months measurement campaign, demonstrating the full compliance of the prototype system with the requirements to be obtained in the final system (flattening of each optical shell, co-phasing of the optical shells, optical stroke calibration, stability of calibration under time and changing environmental conditions). Results have been positively reviewed by the EELT project office, and were used as feedback on the design of final optical test system, to be operated on the 2.5m M4AU unit

An optical distance sensor : tilt robust differential confocal measurement with mm range and nm uncertainty

Compared with conventional high-end optical systems, application of freeform optics offers many advantages. Their widespread use, however, is held back by the lack of a suitable measurement method.The NANOMEFOS project aims at realizing a universal freeform measurement machine to fill that void.The principle of operation of this machine requires a novel sensor for surface distance measurement, the development and realization of which is the objective of the work presented in this thesis. The sensor must enable non-contact, absolute distance measurement of surfaces with reflectivities from 3.5% to 99% over 5 mm range, with 1 nm resolution and a 2s measurement uncertainty of 10 nm for surfaces perpendicular to the measurement direction and 35 nm for surfaces with tilts up to 5°. To meet these requirements, a dual-stage design is proposed: a primary measurement system tracks the surface under test by translating its object lens, while the secondary measurement system measures the displacement of this object lens. After an assessment of various measurement principles through comparison of characteristics inherent to their principle of operation and the possibilities for adaptation, the differential confocal measurement has been selected as the primary measurement method. Interferometry is used as secondary measurement method. To allow for correction of tilt dependent error through calibration, a third measurement system has been added, which measures through which part of the aperture the light returns. An analytical model of the differential confocal measurement principle has been derived to enable optimization. To gain experience with differential confocal measurement, a demonstrator has been built, which has resulted in insights and design rules for prototype development. The models show satisfactory agreement with the experimental results generated using the demonstrator, thus building confidence that the models can be applied as design and optimization tools. Various properties that characterize the performance of a differential confocal measurement system have been identified. Their dependence on the design parameters has been studied through simulations based on the models. The results of this study are applied to optimize the sensor for use in NANOMEFOS. An optical system has been designed in which the interferometer and the differential confocal systems are integrated in a compact design. The optical path of the differential confocal system has been folded using prisms and mirrors so that it can be realized within the allotted volume envelope. For the same reason, many components are adapted from commercially available parts or are custom made. An optomechanical and mechatronic design has been made around the optical system. A custom focusing unit has been designed that comprises a guidance mechanism and actuator to enable tracking of the surface. To achieve a low measurement uncertainty, it aims at accurate motion, high bandwidth and low dissipation. The lateral position of the guidance reproduces within 20 nm and from the frequency response, it is expected that a control bandwidth of at least 800 Hz can be realized. Power dissipation depends on the form of the freeform surface and is a few mW for most expected trajectories. Partly custom electronics are used for signal processing, and to drive the laser and the focusing unit. Control strategies for interferometer nulling, focus locking and surface tracking have been developed, implemented and tested. Various tests have been performed on the system to evaluate the performance. Calibrations must be carried out to achieve the required measurement uncertainty. One calibration is based on a new method to measure tilt dependency of distance sensors. The sensor realized has 5 mm measurement range, -2.5 µm to 1.5 µm tracking range, sub-nanometer resolution, and a small-signal bandwidth of 150 kHz. Using the test results, the 2s measurement uncertainty after calibration is estimated to be 4.2 nm for measurement of rotationally symmetric surfaces, 21 nm for measurement of medium freeform surfaces and 34 nm for measurement of heavily freeform surfaces. To test the performance of the machine with the sensor integrated, measurements of a tilted flat have been carried out. In these measurements, a tilted flat serves as a reference freeform with known surface form. The measurements demonstrate the reduction of tilt dependent error using the new calibration method. A tilt robust, single point distance sensor with millimeter range and nanometer uncertainty has been developed, realized and tested. It is installed in the freeform measurement machine for which it has been developed and is currently used for the measurement of optical surfaces

NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 38)

Abstracts are provided for 132 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1990 through December 1990. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application

Dynamics and reliability of access system of high density magnetic recording

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Control of flexure in large astronomical spectrographs

This thesis describes the design, construction and testing of an experimental system for improving the imaging stability on the detectors of the Intermediate-dispersion Spectroscopic and Imaging System (ISIS), a Cassegrain spectrograph at the 4.2 metre William Hershel Telescope. This system, called ISAAC (ISIS Spectrograph Automatic Active Collimator) is based on the new concept of active compensation, where spectrum shifts, due to the spectrograph flexing under the effect of gravity, are compensated by the movement of an active optical element. ISAAC is a fine steering tip-tilt collimator mirror. The thesis provides an extensive introduction on astronomical spectrographs, active optics and actuator systems. The new concept of active compensation of flexure is also described. The problem of spectrograph flexure is analyzed, focusing in particular on the case of ISIS and on how an active compensation system can help to solve it. The development of ISAAC is explained, from the component specification and design, to the construction and laboratory testing. The performance and successful testing of the instrument at the William Herschel Telescope is then described in detail. The implications for the future of ISIS and of new spectrograph designs are then discussed, with particular stress on the new High Resolution Optical Spectrograph (HROS) for the 8-metre Gemini telescopes