Piezoelectric element having etched portion to form stepped recesses between layers and manufacturing method thereof, head gimbal assembly, and disk drive device with the same

摘要

A piezoelectric element comprises a first laminated structure body and a second laminated structure body. Side surfaces of the first and the second laminated structure bodies that are parallel to a laminating direction both have at least a portion etched to form a recess so that a step distance is formed between sides of the two adjacent electrode layers that are parallel to the laminating direction. The design of the step distance increases insulation resistance between the two adjacent electrode layers on the opposite surfaces of the piezoelectric layer, and lowers reject rate. The first and the second laminated structure bodies are symmetrically laminated and bonded together, thus optimizing force balancing performance. The present invention also discloses a method of manufacturing a PZT element, a HGA with the PZT element and a disk drive unit having such HGA.