Spinstand control characterization of an electromagnetic slider microactuator

Increasing areal densities in disc drives require high performance servo tracking systems to attenuate runout. High bandwidth, large stroke microactuators are used to improve positioning accuracy by eliminating disturbances at higher frequencies. This paper details modeling and servo control of an electromagnetic slider microactuator designed at Seagate and its promise as a solution for high accuracy tracking control. The device has passive high frequency windage disturbance attenuation due to its structure. Controller design is developed for a single stage spinstand environment to show the device effectiveness.