Hard disk drive suspension pad pre-solder sidewalls

A method for manufacturing a flexure assembly for a hard disk drive, the method comprising:

• forming an insulative base layer;
• forming a first conductive layer over at least a portion of the base layer;
• forming a plurality of electrical pads each comprising a second conductive layer over the first conductive layer;
• forming a sidewall layer over a cover layer over the first conductive layer, the sidewall layer comprising:
• a first sidewall adjacent to one side of and extending higher than a corresponding electrical pad of the plurality of electrical pads, and
• a second sidewall adjacent to an opposing side of and extending higher than the corresponding electrical pad,
• forming a pre-solder bump of solder material positioned over and in contact with each of the electrical pads and substantially between each respective first and second sidewalls.

A hard disk drive (HDD) comprising:

• a disk medium rotatably mounted on a spindle;
• a suspension assembly comprising a flexure comprising:
• an insulative base layer,
• a first conductive layer over at least a portion of the base layer,
• a plurality of electrical pads each comprising a second conductive layer over the first conductive layer,
• a sidewall layer over a cover layer over the first conductive layer, the sidewall layer comprising:
• a first sidewall adjacent to one side of and extending higher than a corresponding electrical pad of the plurality of electrical pads, and
• a second sidewall adjacent to an opposing side of and extending higher than the corresponding electrical pad, and
• a pre-solder bump of solder material positioned over and in contact with each of the electrical pads and substantially between each respective first and second sidewalls;
• a head slider housing a read-write transducer configured to read from and to write to the disk medium, the head slider mounted on the suspension assembly and electrically connected to the plurality of electrical pads of the flexure via the pre-solder bumps;
• and
• means for moving the head slider to access portions of the disk medium.