Improvement of dynamic characteristics of optical pick-up actuator using ferrofluidic damper

자성유체 댐퍼를 이용한 광픽업 액츄에이터의 동특성 개선

The suspension of the optical pickup actuator is damped by the presence of silicone rubber damper bond at its termination. In spite of the presence of it, the actuator still exhibits a strong mechanical resonance which affects its settling time and vibrational characteristics. This resonance can cause errors in reading information from the disk, particularly in high speed CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives. Ferrofluids are stable colloidal suspensions of sub-micron sized magnetic particles in a carrier liquid. In the actuator design, ferrofluid is applied to the surface of the magnets until the quantity is sufficient to maintain intimate contact with the bobbin/carrier assembly. The fluid is retained in the magnetic field and its viscosity provides the desired mechanical damping to the moving assembly, improving the actuators settling time and vibrational characteristics. Access time is also improved, particularly on warped or eccentric discs.