The invention is directed to techniques for dampening vibration of a disk
drive using a dampening member which is co-planar with a mid-plane of the
disk drive, and which has at least a portion extending from a carrier
toward a main assembly when the carrier is installed within the main
assembly in order to dampen vibration of the disk drive when the disk
drive is in operation. The use of the dampening member in this location
results in vibration dampening which is superior to conventional disk
drive mechanisms. In particular, since the dampening member is co-planar
with the mid-plane of the disk drive, the dampening member dampens
vibration along a critical direction providing substantial vibration
isolation. Accordingly, disk drives configured in accordance with the
invention are capable of providing high performance even in high rotation
speed (i.e., high RPM) and high density configurations.