JP2005202999A - Thin film magnetic head, magnetic recording device and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin film magnetic head and a magnetic recording device in which a calorific value is made to be reduced by reducing resistance values of coils and a high frequency characteristic is improved by shortening yoke length and moreover unbalanced polishing of an ABS(air bearing surface) is avoided. <P>SOLUTION: In a write-in element 2, lower part coils 231, 232 are turned around back gap parts 216 to 226 in spiral form within the height of a lower part pole P1. Upper part coils 233, 234 are arranged above the lower part coils 231, 232 utilizing the height of an upper part pole P2 which is measured on the basis of one surface of an upper part yoke 224 and are turned around the back gap parts 216 to 226 in spiral form. A gap film 24 is located in the middle of pole length which is determined by the height of the lower part pole P1 and the height of the upper part pole P2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a thin film magnetic head, a magnetic recording apparatus using the same, and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to improvement of a thin film magnetic head.

  In recent years, there has been a demand for improved performance of thin-film magnetic heads as the surface recording density of hard disk devices increases. The thin-film magnetic head has a stacked structure of a writing element for writing and a reading element for reading and utilizing the magnetoresistive effect. In particular, the recent GMR Head has a momentum exceeding the surface density of 150-200 (GB / P). The GMR film has a multilayer structure in which a plurality of films are combined. There are several types of mechanisms for generating GMR, and the layer structure of the GMR film changes depending on the mechanism. Known GMR films for mass production include spin valve films (hereinafter referred to as SV films) and ferromagnetic tunnel junction films (hereinafter referred to as TMR films).

  On the other hand, along with the improvement in the performance of the reading element, the improvement in the performance of the writing element is also required. In order to increase the recording density in the writing element, it is necessary to realize a narrow track structure and increase the track density. As means for realizing a narrow track structure, a method of performing sub-μm processing on the upper recording magnetic material using a semiconductor processing technique is known. However, if the track width is reduced using semiconductor technology, it becomes difficult to obtain a write magnetic flux. As a means to compensate for this, a high saturation magnetic flux density material (hereinafter referred to as HiBs material) is used for the narrow track pole. Is normal.

  In addition, when a thin film magnetic head is used in a high frequency use type computer often found in notebook computers, desk top computers, servers or workstations, the thin film magnetic head is required to have excellent high frequency response characteristics. The Further, recent hard disk drives are required to have access speeds, and in order to respond to the response of the speeds, thin film magnetic heads are required to be compact.

  High frequency characteristics can be improved by shortening the yoke length from the back gap to the pole. By combining the shortening of the yoke length YL and the use of HiBs material for the pole, for example, NLTS and Over Write characteristics (hereinafter referred to as O / W characteristics) can be increased to a high frequency band (500 MHz to 1000 MHz). Can be maintained at level.

  Various methods for shortening the yoke length YL are conceivable. One way is to make the coil pitch as short as possible. However, this technique has the following problems.

  First, when the coil pitch is shortened, the coil width is narrowed and the coil resistance is increased. As a result, the coil generates heat, and the heat around the pole is thermally expanded by the heat, so-called Thermal Protorusion of Pole occurs. If the thermal protrusion of the pole occurs, the head and the medium may collide with each other. Therefore, the thermal protrusion becomes an obstacle to the low flying of the slider, which is indispensable for high density recording. Therefore, there is a limit to the method for shortening the yoke length YL by shortening the coil pitch.

  Next, as the coil pitch is narrowed, the photolithography process for forming the coil becomes difficult. The reason is that, as the coil pitch is narrowed, reflection during exposure has a negative effect when the coil is formed by a photolithography process. An accurate and vertical coil cannot be formed unless anti-reflection measures are taken. For example, when a coil pitch of 0.3 μm to 0.5 μm at a height of 1.5 μm or more is formed by applying the current photolithography technology, the yield is remarkably lowered.

  Another method for shortening the yoke length YL is to reduce the number of coil turns. In this case, the coil height can be increased and the coil resistance can be decreased. However, in this method, the number of coil turns is reduced, so that a sufficient write magnetic flux cannot be obtained, resulting in poor O / W characteristics. In addition, it is extremely difficult to form a coil having a narrow coil pitch. In particular, when the seed layer is etched with an ion beam after the coil is formed by plating, shorts between the coils frequently occur.

  Generally, the writing element of a thin film magnetic head is designed such that the minimum coil width of the coil closest to the air bearing surface (hereinafter referred to as ABS) determines the yoke length YL. Since the total length of the minimum coil width determines a resistance value of 60 to 70% or more of the entire coil resistance, in order to shorten the yoke length YL, the total length of the minimum coil width is made as short as possible. There is a need to. If a coil with a large width is used to reduce coil resistance, the yoke length YL cannot be shortened, and such a writing element deteriorates high-frequency characteristics, and NLTS and O / W characteristics in a high-frequency region. Degradation is observed, which causes the yield to drop.

  As a method for increasing the number of coil turns and reducing the coil resistance while keeping the yoke length YL short, a possible structure for increasing the coil cross-sectional area (increasing the coil height) is as follows: In this structure, the coils are layered in two layers and three layers. However, when this hierarchical structure is adopted, the distance between the position of the write gap film and the position of the GMR sensor becomes long, and when polishing the ABS when creating the slider, the narrow GMR height (Reader part) and narrow It is difficult to balance the throat (writer section). Depending on the polishing angle of the slider, the throat height may cause a large variation.

  Conventionally, various prior arts have been proposed as means for improving the high frequency characteristics of a thin film magnetic head. For example, U.I. S. P. US Pat. No. 6,043,959 discloses a technique in which the second yoke portion (upper yoke portion) is formed in a planar shape to reduce the mutual induction inductance of the coil and improve the high frequency characteristics. U. S. P. The specification of 6,259,583 B1 discloses a structure in which the second yoke portion is formed in a planar shape by alternately laminating high permeability and low anisotropy layers and nonmagnetic layers.

The planar pole structure as shown in the above-mentioned prior art is defined by photolithography, and in order to increase the recording density, a semiconductor processing technique is further applied to the pole portion. The narrow track structure must be realized by processing μm. However, this sub-μm processing is accompanied by the problems described above. The above prior art does not describe the solution.
US patent. 6,043,959 Description US Pat. No. 6,259,583 B1 specification

  An object of the present invention is to provide a thin film magnetic head and a magnetic recording apparatus in which the coil resistance value is reduced and the heat generation amount is reduced while increasing the number of coil turns.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a thin film magnetic head and a magnetic recording apparatus in which the yoke length is shortened and the high frequency characteristics are improved.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide a thin film magnetic head and a magnetic recording apparatus that can avoid the unbalanced polishing of the throat height during ABS polishing and can meet the demand for a low flying height of the slider, which is indispensable for high density recording. It is to be.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the write element write element includes a lower yoke, a lower pole, an upper yoke, an upper pole, a gap film, a lower coil, and an upper coil. Is included.

  The lower pole protrudes on the one surface of the lower yoke on the medium facing surface side, and an end adjacent to the gap film is a portion with a reduced track width.

  The upper yoke is disposed at a distance from the lower yoke, and is coupled to the lower yoke by a back gap portion on the rear side with respect to the medium facing surface.

  The upper pole is adjacent to the gap film, is opposed to the lower pole with the gap film in between, and the uppermost surface is adjacent to one surface of the upper yoke.

  The lower coil is spirally wound around the back gap portion within the height of the lower pole with respect to the one surface of the lower yoke.

  The upper coil is disposed above the lower coil using the height of the upper pole with respect to the one surface of the upper yoke, and circulates around the back gap portion in a spiral shape. .

  The gap film is positioned between the height of the lower pole and the length of the pole determined by the height of the upper pole.

  As described above, in the thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the lower pole protrudes on one surface of the lower yoke on the medium facing surface side, and the upper yoke is spaced from the lower yoke. Arranged and connected to the lower yoke by a back gap portion on the back side with respect to the medium facing surface, and the upper pole is adjacent to the gap film, facing the lower pole with the gap film in between, Since the uppermost surface is adjacent to one surface of the upper yoke, a thin film magnetic circuit is formed around the lower yoke, the lower pole, the gap film, the upper pole, the upper yoke, and the back gap portion. The gap film operates as a conversion gap.

  Since the lower coil circulates around the back gap portion in a spiral shape, and the upper coil also circulates around the back gap portion in a spiral shape, the total number of coil turns of the lower coil and the upper coil is The number of coil turns. For this reason, the number of coil turns can be increased.

  The lower coil is within the height of the lower pole with respect to one surface of the lower yoke, and the upper coil uses the height of the upper pole portion with respect to one surface of the upper yoke. Therefore, the height of the lower coil can be expanded to a dimension determined by the height of the lower pole. Similarly, the height of the upper coil can be expanded to a dimension corresponding to the height of the upper pole.

  In addition, the upper coil is disposed above the lower coil, and a coil hierarchical structure using the space between the lower yoke and the upper yoke is obtained. According to this structure, unlike the structure in which the coils are arranged on the same plane, the width of the lower coil and the upper coil can be increased while increasing the number of coil turns. Further, since the coil hierarchical structure is adopted, the yoke length can be shortened and the high frequency characteristics can be improved while increasing the number of coil turns.

  As described above, since the height and width of the lower coil and the upper coil can be increased while increasing the total number of coil turns, the coil sectional area is inevitably increased. For this reason, while increasing the number of coil turns, the coil resistance value can be lowered and the amount of heat generation can be reduced.

  Furthermore, the lower coil is within the height of the lower pole, the upper coil uses the height of the upper pole, and the gap film is a pole length determined by the height of the lower pole and the height of the upper pole. Because it is located in the middle, it is possible to balance the height of the lower pole located below the gap film and the height of the upper pole located above the gap film, even though it has a coil hierarchical structure. it can. For this reason, when ABS is polished, the amount of polishing of the lower pole and upper pole on both sides of the gap film is made uniform, and the collision between the head and the media due to polishing imbalance is avoided, and the slider is indispensable for high-density recording. Can meet the demand for low flying height.

  In the thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the lower coil can include a first coil and a second coil. One of the first coil and the second coil is insulated and fitted in the space between the other coil turns.

The insulating film existing between the first coil and the second coil is formed as an extremely thin Al ₂ O ₃ film of about 0.1 μm by applying, for example, chemical vapor deposition (hereinafter referred to as CVD). it can. Therefore, the cross sectional areas of the first coil and the second coil are maximized between the back gap part and the lower pole, and the coil resistance value is lowered and the heat generation amount is reduced while maintaining the number of coil turns. Can do. This suppresses the occurrence of thermal prototyping at the pole during the write operation, avoids head crashes and damage or destruction of magnetic recording on the magnetic recording medium, and thus has low flying height for high recording density. It will be possible to meet the demands of.

  Since one of the first coil and the second coil is fitted in the space between the other coil turns via the second insulating film, the wiring density of the coil conductor is increased. For this reason, the yoke length YL can be shortened while maintaining the same number of turns.

  The first coil and the second coil are connected so as to generate magnetic flux in the same direction. Since the first coil and the second coil have the same winding direction, by adopting a series connection structure in which the inner end of the first coil and the outer end of the second coil are connected, Magnetic flux can be generated. Or you may make it produce the magnetic flux of the same direction by connecting a 1st coil and a 2nd coil in parallel. In this case, the number of turns is reduced, but the coil resistance value can be reduced.

  The upper coil may include a third coil and a fourth coil. One of the third coil and the fourth coil is fitted into the space between the other coil turns via a fourth insulating film. The third coil and the fourth coil are connected to each other so as to generate a magnetic flux in the same direction, and further connected to the lower coil so as to generate a magnetic flux in the same direction. In the thin film magnetic head of this aspect, the number of coil turns is increased and the magnetomotive force for writing is increased by the additional third coil and fourth coil.

  In the thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the lower pole may include a plurality of lower pole films. In this case, the first lower pole film is constituted by the lower yoke. The second lower pole film is adjacent to the first lower pole film and is planarized so that one surface is at the same height as the lower coil. The other lower pole films are sequentially provided adjacently on the second lower pole film, and the surface thereof is planarized at the same height as the insulating film provided therearound. Of the other lower pole films, the uppermost lower pole film is adjacent to the gap film.

  As described above, since the second lower pole film is flattened so that one surface thereof is at the same height as the lower coil, an insulating film is formed on the flattened surface to have a uniform film thickness. Can be formed. Conventionally, when the height of the lower pole is reduced, the photoresist covering the coil is retracted in the photolithography process, and the coil is exposed. As a result, the coil is short-circuited, and further, between the lower pole and the coil. A short circuit occurred. In the present invention, since the surfaces of the second lower pole film and the coil are flattened so that an insulating film having a uniform thickness can be formed, the insulating film provided on the flattened surface protects the coil, Even when the height of the second lower pole film (the distance from the ABS toward the coil) is shortened, the coil can be prevented from being damaged.

  In addition, since a common insulating film can be applied to the first coil and the second coil constituting the lower coil, the insulating structure with respect to the upper surface of the lower coil is simplified. Further, when another component is formed on the lower coil, a stable base can be provided, and the other component can be formed as a highly accurate pattern.

  As a more specific structure, the lower pole may include a third lower pole film and a fourth lower pole film. The third lower pole film is adjacent to the second lower pole film, and the fourth lower pole film is adjacent to the third lower pole film and constitutes the uppermost layer.

  The upper pole also includes a plurality of upper pole films. The plurality of upper pole films are sequentially adjacent to the gap film, and the uppermost upper pole film is adjacent to the upper yoke.

  More specifically, the upper pole includes first to third upper pole films, the first upper pole film is adjacent to the gap film, and the second upper pole film is the first pole film. Adjacent to the first upper pole film, the third upper pole film is adjacent to the second upper pole film.

  The thin film magnetic head according to the present invention includes a coil connection conductor. The coil connection conductor includes a first connection conductor film to a sixth connection conductor film.

  The first connection conductor film is an inner end of the first coil film, and a surface thereof is at the same height as the first coil, the second coil, and the second lower pole film. It is flattened.

  The second connection conductor film is made of the same material as the first connection conductor film, is formed on the surface of the first connection conductor film, and the surface is adjacent to the second lower pole film. The third lower pole film is flattened at the same height as the third lower pole film.

  The third connecting conductor film is adjacent to the second connecting conductor film, the fourth connecting conductor film is adjacent to the third connecting conductor film, and the fifth connecting conductor film is the fourth connecting conductor film. Adjacent to the connecting conductor film, the sixth connecting conductor film is adjacent to the fifth connecting conductor film.

  The back gap part includes first to sixth back gap films. The first back gap film is made of the same material as that of the first lower pole film, and is formed adjacent to the one surface of the lower yoke, and the surface thereof is formed by the first coil and the second coil. It is planarized at the same height as the coil and the second lower pole film.

  The second back gap film is made of the same material as the third lower pole film, is formed adjacent to the first back gap film, and the surface thereof is the same as the third lower pole film. It is flattened at a height of.

  The third back gap film is adjacent to the second back gap film. The fourth back gap film is adjacent to the third back gap film. The fifth back gap film is adjacent to the fourth back gap film. The sixth back gap film is adjacent to the fifth back gap film.

  According to the above-described structure, the first to sixth connection conductor films constituting the coil connection conductor and the first to sixth back gap films constituting the back gap film are formed by a predetermined process required for each. Since it can be formed on the same flat surface, manufacturing is easy.

  More specifically, the surfaces of the third lower pole film, the second connection conductor film, and the second back gap film are flattened at the same height. The surfaces of the fourth lower pole film, the third connection conductor film, and the third back gap film are planarized at the same height. The first upper pole film, the fourth connection conductor film, and the fourth back gap film are planarized at the same height. The surfaces of the second upper pole film, the fifth connection conductor film, and the fifth back gap film are planarized at the same height. The surfaces of the third upper pole film, the sixth connection conductor film, and the sixth back gap film are flattened at the same height as the surfaces of the third coil and the fourth coil. Has been. Both ends of the upper yoke are adjacent to the third upper pole film and the sixth back gap film.

  According to the above structure, the first to sixth connection conductor films constituting the coil connection conductor and the first to sixth back gap films constituting the back gap film are formed by combining the lower pole film and the upper pole film. Since it can be formed on the same flat surface by a predetermined process required for each, manufacturing is easy.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the lower pole has a structure in which a plurality of lower pole films are sequentially adjacent to each other, a magnetic material and a process suitable for each of these pole films are selected, and writing is performed with a narrow track. A high-performance writing element can be realized. For example, by configuring the lower pole using the magnetic material CoFeN (2.4T) having a high saturation magnetic flux density, the magnetic flux generated in the coil can be effectively reached the write pole region without causing saturation in the middle. A writing element with little flux loss can be realized.

At the stage where the upper pole P2 is formed, most of the lower pole P1 is already formed. Therefore, the upper pole P2 can be formed by a material and a process suitable for the upper pole P2. The upper pole P2 is made of HiBs material CoFex and FeNx. Reactive Ion Etching (hereinafter referred to as RIE) is applied to the upper pole P2 in the middle of the final shape using a CoNiFe plating layer or alumina insulating film as a mask. The final shape can be formed by Ion Beam Etching (hereinafter referred to as IBE), and the track width can be formed narrower than the limit of photolithography. Specifically, it is possible by accurately realizing a track width of 0.1 μm or less required for 150 GB / in ² -200 GB / in ² . Therefore, it is possible to accurately control a track width of 0.1 to 0.2 μm or less, which has been impossible until now in mass production.

In addition, since the upper pole can be formed to be high overall with the HiBs material, the magnetic volume can be increased. The upper pole having the above-described structure can be formed to have a narrower track width than before by using an alumina mask material. Therefore, the upper pole of 150 GB / in ² -200 GB / in ² can be accurately formed without reducing the magnetic volume at the tip of the upper pole.

  The present invention further provides a magnetic head device combining a thin film magnetic head and a head support device, a magnetic recording / reproducing device combining this magnetic head device and a magnetic recording medium (hard disk), and a thin film magnetic head. A manufacturing method is also disclosed.

  Other objects, configurations and advantages of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are merely illustrative.

1. Thin Film Magnetic Head Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the thin film magnetic head according to the present invention includes a slider 5, a writing element 2, and a reading element 3. The slider 5 is a ceramic structure in which an insulating film 16 such as Al ₂ O ₃ or SiO ₂ is provided on the surface of a base 15 made of Al ₂ O ₃ —TiC, for example (see FIG. 3). The slider 5 has a geometric shape for controlling the flying characteristics on the medium facing surface. As a representative example of such a geometric shape, in the drawing, a first step portion 51, a second step portion 52, a third step portion 53, and a fourth step portion 54 are provided on a base surface 50 on the ABS side. And the example provided with the 5th step part 55 is shown. The basal plane 50 serves as a negative pressure generating portion with respect to the air flow direction indicated by the arrow F1, and the second step portion 52 and the third step portion 53 constitute a stepped air bearing rising from the first step portion 51. To do. The surfaces of the second step portion 52 and the third step portion 53 are ABS. The fourth step portion 54 rises in a step shape from the base surface 50, and the fifth step portion 55 rises in a step shape from the fourth step portion 54. The electromagnetic conversion elements 2 and 3 are provided in the fifth step portion 55.

  The electromagnetic conversion elements 2 and 3 include a writing element 2 and a reading element 3. The writing element 2 and the reading element 3 are provided on the air outflow end (trailing edge) side when viewed in the air flow direction A.

  3 and 4, the write element 2 includes a lower yoke 211, an upper yoke 224, a gap film 24 made of alumina or the like, a lower pole P1, an upper pole P2, and lower coils 231 and 232. The upper coils 233 and 234 and the back gap portions (216 to 218) and (225 to 227) are further provided. The expressions “lower part” and “upper part” are expressions as long as the illustrated embodiment is referred to, and the vertical relationship may be reversed.

The lower yoke 211 is supported by the insulating film 34, and the surface thereof is a substantially flat plane. The insulating film 34 is made of an inorganic insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ , SiO ₂ , AlN, or DLC, for example. The upper yoke 224 faces the lower yoke 211 via an inner gap.

  The lower yoke 211 and the upper yoke 224 can be selected from magnetic materials such as NiFe, CoFe, CoFeN, CoNiFe, FeN, or FeZrN. Each film thickness of the lower yoke 211 and the upper yoke 224 is set in a range of 0.25 to 3 μm, for example. Such lower yoke 211 and upper yoke 224 can be formed by frame plating.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the lower yoke 211 is made of either CoFeN or CoNiFe. The upper yoke 224 can also be made of CoNiFe or CoFeN.

  The tip portions of the lower yoke 211 and the upper yoke 224 constitute a part of the lower pole P1 and the upper pole P2 that are opposed to each other with a gap film 24 having a very small thickness, and writing is performed in the lower pole P1 and the upper pole P2. . The gap film 24 is composed of a nonmagnetic metal film or an inorganic insulating film such as alumina.

  The lower pole P1 is formed on the first lower pole film 211 constituted by the end of the lower yoke 211, on the second lower pole film 212, the third lower pole film 213, and the fourth lower fourth lower part. A pole film 214 is stacked in this order. The second lower pole film 212, the third lower pole film 213, and the fourth lower pole film 214 can be made of either CoFeN or CoNiFe.

  The second lower pole film 212 is adjacent to the first lower pole film 211 in front of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232, and one surface thereof is connected to the first coil 231 and the second coil 232. It is flattened so as to be at the same height position.

  The third lower pole film 223 is provided adjacent to the second lower pole film 212, and the surface thereof is planarized at the same height as the insulating film 255 provided therearound.

  The uppermost fourth lower pole film 224 is adjacent to the gap film 24 and has a recess 291 and a portion whose thickness is reduced by the recess 291 behind the area adjacent to the gap film 24. The ends constituting 291 determine the throat height.

  The gap film 24 is located in the middle of the pole length determined by the height of the lower pole P1 and the height of the upper pole P2.

  The first coil 231 and the second coil 232 constituting the lower coil are spirally formed around the back gap portion (216 to 218) within the height of the lower pole P1 with reference to one surface of the lower yoke 211. Is going around. In the illustrated embodiment, one of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 is fitted in the space between the other coil turns and insulated from each other by the insulating film 252. The first coil 231 and the second coil 232 are connected to each other so as to generate magnetic flux in the same direction by a first connection conductor film 281 serving as a coil connection conductor.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first coil 231 has a spiral shape, is disposed on the surface of the insulating film 251 formed on one flat surface of the lower yoke 211, and is perpendicular to the surface of the insulating film 251. Circulate around one axis in a planar shape. The first coil 231 is made of a conductive metal material such as Cu (copper). The insulating film 251 is made of an inorganic insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ , SiO ₂ , AlN, or DLC.

The second coil 232 is also spiral, and is fitted in the space between the coil turns of the first coil 231 by being insulated by the insulating film 252 and circulates around the axis in a planar shape. The second coil 232 is also made of a conductive metal material such as Cu (copper). The insulating film 252 is also made of an inorganic insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ , SiO ₂ , AlN, or DLC.

The periphery of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 is filled with an insulating film 253 (see FIG. 3). The insulating film 253 is also made of an inorganic insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ , SiO ₂ , AlN, or DLC.

The insulating film 252 that insulates the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 from each other can be formed as an ultrathin Al ₂ O ₃ film of about 0.1 μm, for example, by applying CVD. Therefore, the cross-sectional areas of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 are maximized between the back gap film 216 and the poles P1 and P2, and the coil resistance value is reduced while maintaining the number of coil turns to generate heat. The amount can be reduced. This suppresses the occurrence of thermal prototyping at the poles P1 and P2 during the writing operation, avoids head crashes and damage or destruction of the magnetic recording on the magnetic recording medium, and for high recording density. It is possible to meet the demand for low flying height.

  Since the second coil 232 is fitted in the space between the coil turns of the first coil 231 via the insulating film 252, the wiring density of the coil conductor is increased. Therefore, the yoke length YL (see FIG. 3) can be shortened in a state where the same number of turns is maintained.

  The first coil 231 and the second coil 232 are connected so as to generate a magnetic flux in the same direction. Since the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 have the same winding direction, the inner end 281 of the first coil 231 and the outer end 283 of the second coil 232 are connected by a connection conductor 282. By taking a series connection structure, magnetic fluxes in the same direction can be generated. The outer end 286 of the first coil 231 is connected to the terminal 284 by the connection conductor 285, and is further guided to the outside by the lead conductor 291 and connected to the extraction electrode. The inner end 287 of the second coil 232 is connected to a terminal 289 by a connection conductor 288, and is further guided to the outside by a lead conductor and connected to an extraction electrode.

  Unlike the illustration in FIG. 5, the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 may be connected in parallel to generate magnetic flux in the same direction. In this case, the number of turns is reduced, but the coil resistance value can be reduced.

  The upper coil includes a third coil 233 and a fourth coil 234. The upper coils 233 and 234 are disposed above the lower coils 231 and 232 using the height of the upper pole P2 with respect to one surface of the upper yoke 224, and around the back gap portions (225 to 227), It goes around spirally. The third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234 are laminated on the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 by being insulated by insulating films 255 to 258, and one is a space between the other coil turns. Insulated by an insulating film 271. The third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234 together with the first and second coils 231 and 232 generate magnetic flux in the same direction.

  The first coil 231 to the fourth coil 234 are connected by the first connection conductor film 281 to the sixth connection conductor film 286. Of the first connection conductor film 281 to the sixth connection conductor film 286, the first connection conductor film 281 is the inner end of the first coil 231 and the surface thereof is the first coil 231 and the second connection conductor film 286. The coil 232, the second lower pole film 212, and the first back gap film 216 are planarized at the same height. The first connection conductor film 281, the first coil 231, the second coil 232, the second lower pole film 212, and the first back gap film 216 are filled with an insulating film 253. The planarized surface is covered with an insulating film 254.

  The second connection conductor film 282 is adjacent to the first connection conductor film 281. The second connection conductor film 282 is made of the same material as the first connection conductor film 281 and is formed on the surface of the first connection conductor film 281, and the surface is adjacent to the second lower pole film 212. It is planarized at the same height as the third lower pole film 213.

  The third connection conductor film 283 is adjacent to the second connection conductor film 282. The fourth connection conductor film 284 is adjacent to the third connection conductor film 283. The fifth connection conductor film 285 is adjacent to the fourth connection conductor film 284. The sixth connection conductor film 286 is adjacent to the fifth connection conductor film 285. By the second to sixth connection conductor films 282 to 286 described above, the first connection conductor film 281 that is the inner end of the first coil 231 is replaced with the sixth connection conductor that is the inner end of the third coil 233. Connected to membrane 286.

  The back gap portion further includes a second back gap film 217 to a sixth back gap film 227. The second back gap film 217 is adjacent to the first back gap film 216. The third back gap film 218 is adjacent to the second back gap film 217. The fourth back gap film 225 is adjacent to the third back gap film 218. The fifth back gap film 226 is adjacent to the fourth back gap film 225. The sixth back gap film 227 is adjacent to the fifth back gap film 226. The third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234 circulate around the sixth back gap film 227.

  The upper pole P2 includes a first upper pole film 221 to a third upper pole film 223. The first upper pole film 221 is adjacent to the gap film 24. The inner edge of the first upper pole film 221 substantially coincides with the inner edge that determines the throat height TH of the fourth lower pole film 214.

  The second upper pole film 222 is adjacent to the first upper pole film 221. The third upper pole film 223 is adjacent to the second upper pole film 222. The third upper pole film 223 is in a position slightly retracted from the ABS where the tip surfaces of the first upper pole film 221 and the second upper pole film 222 are located, and the front surface thereof is closed by the insulating film 272. .

  In the above configuration, the surfaces of the third lower pole film 213, the second connection conductor film 282, and the second back gap film 217 are planarized at the same height as the insulating film 254.

  The first upper pole film 221, the fourth connection conductor film 284, the fourth back gap film 225, and the fourth connection conductor film 284 are planarized with the same height as the insulating film 257. Yes.

  The surfaces of the second upper pole film 222, the fifth connection conductor film 285, and the fifth back gap film 226 are planarized at the same height as the insulating film 258.

The surfaces of the third upper pole film 223, the sixth connection conductor film 286, and the sixth back gap film 227 are the same as the surfaces of the third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234 together with the insulating film 272. Flattened at height,
The upper yoke 224 is adjacent to the third upper pole film 223 and the sixth back gap film 227 at both ends. The upper yoke 224 is provided on the insulating film 273 that covers the surfaces of the flattened third coil 233 and fourth coil 234, and the insulating film 273 removes the third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234 from each other. Insulated. The upper yoke 224 extends behind the ABSs 52 and 53 and is coupled to the lower yoke 211 at the back gap films 216 to 218 and 225 to 227. Thereby, the thin film magnetic circuit surrounding the lower yoke 211, the lower pole portion P1, the gap film 24, the upper pole P2, the upper yoke 224, and the back gap films 216 to 218 and 225 to 227 is completed.

The protective film 274 covers the entire writing element 2. The protective film 274 is made of an inorganic insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ or SiO ₂ .

In the vicinity of the reading element 3, a first shield film 31, an insulating film 32, and a second shield film 33 are provided. The first shield film 31 and the second shield film 33 are made of NiFe or the like. The first shield film 31 is formed on the insulating film 16 such as Al ₂ O ₃ or SiO ₂ . The insulating film 16 is formed on the surface of the base 15 made of Al ₂ O ₃ —TiC or the like.

  The reading element 3 is disposed inside the insulating film 32 between the first shield film 31 and the second shield film 33. The end face of the reading element 3 faces the ABSs 52 and 53. The reading element 3 includes a giant magnetoresistive element (GMR element). The GMR element can be composed of either a spin valve film or a ferromagnetic tunnel junction element.

  When the entire thin film magnetic head described above is observed, first, as shown in FIG. 4, the end portion of the lower yoke 211, the second lower pole film 212, and the third lower pole film 213 have an ABS track width. Although the fourth lower pole film 214 has been expanded in the direction, the upper end side of the fourth lower pole film 214 has been reduced from both sides so as to have a narrow track width PW. The upper pole film 221, the second upper pole film 222, the third upper pole film 223, and the end of the upper yoke 224 are included. The fourth upper pole film 224 also has the same narrow track width PW as the fourth lower pole film 214. Thereby, a narrow track width PW corresponding to high density recording is obtained.

  Next, referring to FIG. 5, the first and second coils 231 and 232 circulate around the back gap film 216. Although not shown because the illustration is complicated, a third coil 233 and a fourth coil 234 are provided on this, and these are connected in series with the first and second coils 231 and 232. .

  As described above, in the thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the lower pole P1 protrudes on one surface of the lower yoke 211 on the medium facing surface side, and the upper yoke 224 The lower yoke 211 is coupled with the back gap portions (216 to 218) and (225 to 227) on the rear side with respect to the medium facing surface. The upper pole P <b> 2 faces the lower pole P <b> 1 with the gap film 24 interposed therebetween, and the uppermost surface is adjacent to one surface of the upper yoke 224. Accordingly, a thin film magnetic circuit is formed around the lower yoke 211, the lower pole P1, the gap film 24, the upper pole P2, the upper yoke 224, and the back gap portions (216 to 218) and (225 to 227). The gap film 24 operates as a conversion gap.

  The lower coils 231 and 232 circulate around the back gap portion (216 to 218) in a spiral shape, and the upper coils 233 and 234 also circulate around the back gap portion (225 to 227) in a spiral shape. Therefore, the total number of coil turns of the lower coils 231 and 232 and the upper coils 233 and 234 is the number of coil turns. For this reason, the number of coil turns can be increased.

  The lower coils 231 and 232 are within the height of the lower pole P1 with respect to one surface of the lower yoke 211, and the upper coils 233 and 234 use the height of the upper pole P2 with reference to one surface of the upper yoke 224. ing. Therefore, the height of the lower coils 231 and 232 can be expanded to a dimension determined by the height of the lower pole P1. Similarly, the height of the upper coils 233 and 234 can be expanded to a dimension corresponding to the height of the upper pole P2.

  In addition, the upper coils 233 and 234 are disposed above the lower coils 231 and 232, and a coil hierarchical structure using the interval (inner gap) between the lower yoke 211 and the upper yoke 224 is obtained. According to this structure, unlike the structure in which the coils are arranged on the same plane, the widths of the lower coils 231, 232 and the upper coils 233, 234 can be increased while increasing the number of coil turns. Further, since the coil hierarchical structure is employed, the yoke length YL can be shortened and the high frequency characteristics can be improved while increasing the number of coil turns.

  As described above, since the height and width of the lower coils 231 and 232 and the upper coils 233 and 234 can be increased while increasing the total number of coil turns, the coil sectional area is inevitably increased. For this reason, while increasing the number of coil turns, the coil resistance value can be lowered and the amount of heat generation can be reduced.

  Further, the lower coils 231 and 232 are within the height of the lower pole P1, the upper coils 233 and 234 utilize the height of the upper pole P2, and the gap film 24 is formed at the height of the lower pole P1. Since it is located in the middle of the pole length determined by the height of the upper pole P2, the height of the lower pole P1 located below the gap film 24 and the upper side of the gap film 24, regardless of the coil hierarchical structure. It is possible to balance the height of the upper pole P2 located in For this reason, when the ABS is polished, the polishing amount of the lower pole P1 and the upper pole P2 on both sides of the gap film 24 is made uniform, and collision between the head and the medium due to polishing imbalance is avoided, and high-density recording is performed. It is possible to meet the essential requirement for low flying height of the slider.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the lower coils 231 and 232 include a first coil 231 and a second coil 232. One of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 is insulatively fitted in the space between the other coil turns.

The insulating film 252 existing between the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 can be formed as an ultrathin Al ₂ O ₃ film of about 0.1 μm, for example, by applying CVD. Accordingly, the cross sectional areas of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 are maximized between the back gap portions 216 to 218 and the lower pole P1, and the coil resistance value is reduced while maintaining the number of coil turns. The calorific value can be reduced. This suppresses the occurrence of thermal prototyping at the poles P1 and P2 during the writing operation, avoids head crashes and damage or destruction of the magnetic recording on the magnetic recording medium, and for high recording density. It is possible to meet the demand for low flying height.

  Since one of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 is fitted and insulated by the insulating film 252 in the space between the other coil turns, the wiring density of the coil conductor is increased. For this reason, the yoke length YL can be shortened while maintaining the same number of turns.

  The first coil 231 and the second coil 232 are connected so as to generate a magnetic flux in the same direction. Since the winding directions of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 are the same, the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 have a series connection structure in which the inner end of the first coil 231 and the outer end of the second coil 232 are connected. The magnetic flux in the same direction can be generated. Alternatively, the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 may be connected in parallel to generate a magnetic flux in the same direction. In this case, the number of turns is reduced, but the coil resistance value can be reduced.

  One of the third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234 is also fitted in the space between the other coil turns by being insulated by the insulating film 271. The third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234 are connected to each other so as to generate magnetic flux in the same direction, and are further connected to the lower coils 231 and 232 so as to generate magnetic flux in the same direction. In the thin film magnetic head of this aspect, the additional third coil 233 and fourth coil 234 increase the number of coil turns and increase the magnetomotive force for writing.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the lower pole P1 includes a plurality of lower pole films 211-214. The first lower pole film 211 is constituted by the lower yoke 211. The second lower pole film 212 is adjacent to the first lower pole film 211 and is planarized so that one surface is at the same height as the lower coils 231 and 232. The other lower pole films 213 and 214 are sequentially provided adjacently on the second lower pole film 212, and the surface thereof is planarized at the same height as the insulating film provided therearound. The uppermost fourth lower pole film 214 is adjacent to the gap film 24.

  As described above, the second lower pole film 212 is flattened so that one surface thereof is at the same height as the lower coils 231, 232. Therefore, the insulating film 254 is uniformly formed on the flattened surface. It can be formed to have a film thickness. Conventionally, when the height of the lower pole P1 is reduced, the photoresist covering the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 is retracted in the photolithography process, and the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 are retreated. As a result, a short circuit between the coils, and further, a short circuit occurred between the lower pole P1 and the first coil 231 and the second coil 232. In the present invention, the surfaces of the second lower pole film 212, the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 are flattened so that the insulating film 254 having a uniform thickness can be formed. Even when the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 are protected by the applied insulating film 254 and the height of the second lower pole film 212 (a distance from the ABS toward the coil) is shortened, It is possible to prevent the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 from being damaged.

  In addition, since the common insulating film 254 can be applied to the first coil 231 and the second coil 232, the insulating structure with respect to the upper surfaces of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 is simplified. The In addition, when another component is formed on the first coil 231 and the second coil 232, a stable base can be provided, and the other component can be formed as a highly accurate pattern. Become.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the lower pole P 1 includes a third lower pole film 213 and a fourth lower pole film 214. The third lower pole film 213 is adjacent to the second lower pole film 212, and the fourth lower pole film 214 is adjacent to the third lower pole film 213 and constitutes the uppermost layer.

  The upper pole P <b> 2 also includes a plurality of upper pole films 221 to 223, which are sequentially adjacent on the gap film 24, and the uppermost upper pole film 223 is adjacent to the upper yoke 224.

  More specifically, the upper pole P2 includes a first upper pole film 221 to a third upper pole film 213. The first upper pole film 221 is adjacent to the gap film 24, and the second upper pole film 222 is adjacent to the first upper pole film 221, and the third upper pole film 223 is adjacent to the second upper pole film 222.

  The thin film magnetic head of the illustrated embodiment further includes first to sixth connecting conductor films 281 to 286 that function as coil connecting conductors. The first connection conductor film 281 is the inner end of the first coil 231, and the surface thereof is flat at the same height as the first coil 231, the second coil 232, and the second lower pole film 212. It has become.

  The second connection conductor film 282 is made of the same material as the first connection conductor film 281 and is formed on the surface of the first connection conductor film 281, and the surface is adjacent to the second lower pole film 212. It is planarized at the same height as the third lower pole film 213. The second connection conductor film 282 may be made of a material different from that of the first connection conductor film 281.

  The third connecting conductor film 283 is adjacent to the second connecting conductor film 282, the fourth connecting conductor film 284 is adjacent to the third connecting conductor film 283, and the fifth connecting conductor film 285 is the fourth connecting conductor. Adjacent to the conductor film 284, the sixth connecting conductor film 286 is adjacent to the fifth connecting conductor film 285.

  The first back gap film 216 is made of the same material as that of the first lower pole film 211 and is formed adjacent to one surface of the lower yoke 211. The surface of the first back gap film 216 includes the first coil 231 and the second coil. The coil 232 and the second lower pole film 212 are flattened at the same height.

  The second back gap film 217 is made of the same material as the third lower pole film 213, is formed adjacent to the first back gap film 216, and has the same surface as the third lower pole film 213. It is flattened at a height of.

  The third back gap film 218 is adjacent to the second back gap film 217. The fourth back gap film 225 is adjacent to the third back gap film 218. The fifth back gap film 226 is adjacent to the fourth back gap film 225. The sixth back gap film 227 is adjacent to the fifth back gap film 226.

  According to the above structure, the first to sixth connection conductor films 281 to 286 constituting the coil connection conductor, and the first to sixth back gap films (216 to 218) and (225) constituting the back gap film. ˜227) can be formed on the same flat surface by a predetermined process required for each of them, and thus manufacturing is easy.

  More specifically, the surfaces of the third lower pole film 213, the second connection conductor film 282, and the second back gap film 217 are planarized at the same height. The surfaces of the fourth lower pole film 214, the third connection conductor film 283, and the third back gap film 218 are planarized at the same height. The surfaces of the first upper pole film 221, the fourth connection conductor film 284, and the fourth back gap film 225 are planarized at the same height. The surfaces of the second upper pole film 222, the fifth connection conductor film 285, and the fifth back gap film 226 are flattened at the same height. The surfaces of the third upper pole film 223, the sixth connection conductor film 286, and the sixth back gap film 227 are flattened at the same height as the surfaces of the third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234. Has been. The upper yoke 224 is adjacent to the third upper pole film 223 and the sixth back gap film 227 at both ends.

  According to the above structure, the first to sixth connection conductor films 281 to 286, the first to sixth back gap films (216 to 218) and (225 to 227), the lower pole films 212 to 214, and the upper pole film Since 221 to 223 can be formed on the same flat surface by a predetermined process required for each, manufacturing is easy.

  Furthermore, since the lower pole P1 has a structure in which the first to fourth lower pole films 211 to 214 are sequentially adjacent to each other, the present invention is suitable for each of the first to fourth lower pole films 211 to 214. By selecting a magnetic material and process, it is possible to realize a write element with a narrow track and high write performance. For example, by forming the lower pole P1 using the magnetic material CoFeN (2.4T) having a high saturation magnetic flux density, the magnetic flux generated in the coil effectively reaches the write pole region without causing saturation in the middle. Thus, a writing element with little flux loss can be realized.

Furthermore, since most of the lower pole P1 is already formed at the stage where the upper pole P2 is formed, the upper pole P2 can be formed by a material and a process suitable for it. The upper pole P2 is made of HiBs CoFex and FeNx, and RIE is applied to the upper pole P2 halfway through the final shape using the CoNiFe plating layer or alumina insulating film as a mask, and the final shape is given by IBE. The track width can be narrower than the limit of photolithography. Specifically, a track width of 0.1 μm or less required for 150 GB / in ² -200 GB / in ² can be accurately realized. Therefore, it is possible to accurately control a track width of 0.1 to 0.2 μm or less, which has been impossible until now in mass production.

In addition, since the upper pole P2 can be formed as a whole with a HiBs material, the magnetic volume can be increased. Further, when the track width of the upper pole P2 is defined by IBE, the amount of side etching of the upper pole P2 can be extremely reduced by using an alumina mask material, so that the IBE processing time can be shortened. Therefore, the surface density of 150 GB / in ² -200 GB / in ² can be realized without reducing the magnetic volume at the tip of the upper pole P2.

  The second coil 232 is separated from the second lower pole film 212 and the back gap film 216 by, for example, an insulating film 252 that can be an extremely thin film of about 0.1 μm by applying CVD. Can be further promoted.

  The uppermost fourth lower pole film 214 is adjacent to the gap film 24 for writing on the opposite side, and a recessed portion 291 and a portion whose thickness is reduced by the recessed portion 291 behind the adjacent region to the gap film 24 And the end constituting the recess 291 determines the throat height TH. According to this structure, it is possible to realize a writing element with a fast write current rise and excellent O / W characteristics.

  6 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a view of the thin film magnetic head shown in FIG. 6 as viewed from the ABS side. In the figure, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. In this embodiment, the coil connection conductor includes a first connection conductor film 281, a second connection conductor film 282, and a third connection conductor film 283. The first connection conductor film 281 has the same surface as the first coil 231, the second coil 232, the second lower pole film 212, the first back gap film 216, and the insulating film 253. Is flattened.

  The second connection conductor film 282 is flattened so that the surface thereof has the same height as the third lower pole film 213, the second back gap film 217, and the insulating film 255.

  The third connection conductor film 283 has the same height as the third coil 233, the fourth coil 234, the third upper pole film 223, the sixth back gap film 227, and the insulating film 272. Is flattened. Also in the case of this embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS.

2. Manufacturing Method of Thin Film Magnetic Head (1) Example 1
Example 1 according to the manufacturing method is a manufacturing process of the thin film magnetic head illustrated in FIGS. It should be noted in advance that the processes illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 47 are performed on a wafer.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 8>
Referring to FIG. 8, the first shield film 31, the reading element 3, the insulating film 32, the second shield film 33, and the insulating film 34 are formed on the insulating film 16 attached on the substrate 15. The lower yoke 211 is formed by a known process. As an example, first, an insulating film 16 made of alumina, for example, is deposited on the substrate 15 to a thickness of about 3 μm. Next, in order to form the lower shield film (3), a permalloy is selectively formed thereon with a thickness of about 2 to 3 μm by plating using a photoresist film as a mask. Next, an alumina film (not shown) having a thickness of about 3 to 4 μm is formed, and planarized by applying chemical mechanical polishing (hereinafter referred to as CMP). Subsequently, the insulating film 32 constituting the shield gap, the reading element 3 and its lead wire (not shown) are formed, and the upper shield film 33 is selectively formed with a thickness of about 1.0 to 1.5 μm. . Thereafter, an insulating film 33 made of alumina, for example, is formed with a thickness of 0.3 μm.

  Thereafter, a lower yoke 211 made of a magnetic material of CoNiFe (1.9 T) and CoFeN (2.4 T) is formed on the insulating film 33 with a thickness of 3.0 to 4.0 μm. At this time, the first lower pole P1 may be a plated film such as NiFe (80%: 20%), NiFe (45%: 55%), CoNiFe, etc. In this embodiment, FeAIN, FeN, FeCo, CoFeN, FeZrN, etc. The sputtering film is formed with a thickness of 0.5 to 1.5 μm.

  Next, an insulating film 251 is formed on the flat surface of the lower yoke 211 with an area slightly larger than the area required for coil formation. The insulating film 251 is an alumina insulating film and is formed to have a thickness of about 0.2 μm. Next, a photolithography process is performed on the insulating film 251 to open the pole formation region and the back gap formation region.

  Next, a seed film is formed on the surface of the insulating film 251. The seed film is formed so as to cover the surface of the insulating film 251 and the surface of the lower yoke 211. The seed film is formed using a material suitable as a Cu plating base film and having a film thickness of 50 nm to 80 nm by application of Cu-CVD.

  Next, a photoresist film is formed on the seed film by applying a spin coating method or the like, and then exposed and developed using a mask having a coil pattern. The photoresist film may be either a positive photoresist or a negative photoresist.

  By performing development through the exposure process described above, a coil forming pattern is obtained. The coil forming pattern is defined by a resist frame.

  Next, a selective Cu plating process is performed, and the first coil 231 is grown to a thickness of, for example, 3 to 3.5 μm on the Seed film existing inside the coil formation pattern. Thereafter, the resist frame is removed by means such as chemical etching. FIG. 8 shows a state after the resist frame is removed.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 9>
Next, after removing the resist frame, a photolithography process for forming a pole film and a back gap film is performed to form a resist frame for the pole film and the back gap film.

  Next, selective plating is performed using the lower yoke 211 as a seed film to grow a pole film and a back gap film on the lower yoke 211, and then the resist frame is removed by means such as chemical etching. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, the second lower pole film 212 and the first back gap film 216 are formed on one surface of the lower yoke 211 with a gap therebetween. The second lower pole film 212 and the back gap film 216 are formed using CoNiFe (2.3T), for example, so as to have a thickness of 3 to 3.5 μm.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 10>
Next, as shown in FIG. 10, a photoresist film RS1 that covers the first coil 231, the second lower pole film 212, and the back gap film 216 is formed. Thereafter, a photolithography process is performed on the photoresist film RS1, and further, IBE is performed to pattern the first yoke 211 to have a predetermined pattern.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 11>
Next, as shown in FIG. 11, a resist cover FR1 that covers the first coil 231 and its periphery is formed, and an insulating film 253 that covers the entire resist cover FR1 is further adhered. The insulating film 253 is formed of alumina so as to have a thickness in the range of 4 to 5 μm.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 12>
Next, the insulating film 253 and the resist cover FR1 are polished and planarized by CMP. FIG. 12 shows a state after the CMP process is performed. The CMP is performed until the second lower pole film 212 and the first back gap film 216 are exposed. The second lower pole film 212 and the first back gap film 216 are formed to have a thickness of 3.5 to 4.0 μm after the CMP is completed. The first coil 231 is not exposed.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 13>
Next, the resist cover FR1 is removed by means such as chemical etching.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 14>
Next, the insulating film 252 is attached to the surfaces and side surfaces of the insulating films 251 and 253, the first coil 231, the second lower pole film 212, and the first back gap film 216. Specifically, the insulating film 252 is formed to have a thickness of about 0.1 to 0.15 μm by Al ₂ O ₃ -CVD using high-purity alumina.

  Next, a seed film 261 is attached to the surface of the insulating film 252 so as to have a film thickness in the range of 50 nm to 80 nm by sputtering or Cu-CVD.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 15>
Next, as illustrated in FIG. 15, a plating film 232 to be a second coil is formed on the seed film 261 so as to have a thickness of 3 to 4 μm, for example. The plating film 232 contains Cu as a main component.

  Here, the seed layer 261 is formed by Cu-CVD, and a Cu-CVD film having good step coverage that accurately follows the unevenness of the first coil 231 is formed. Therefore, the first coil 231 is formed. The plating film 232 for the second coil can be embedded between the turns of the first coil 231 without generating a keyhole even if the space between the turns is narrow and elongated.

  Since the deposition gas required for Cu-CVD is expensive, in the present invention, Cu-CVD exclusively uses the good step coverage to form a seed layer 261 with a uniform thickness in a narrow space. The required film thickness used for forming is secured by plating.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 16>
Next, as shown in FIG. 16, the plating film 232 is polished and planarized by CMP. In CMP, an alumina-based slurry is used. Thus, the second coil 232 is patterned so as to have a planar spiral pattern, and is separated from the first coil 231 by the insulating film 252. In CMP, the surfaces of the second lower pole film 212, the first back gap film 216, and the insulating film 253 are also polished so as to be flush with the surfaces of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232. The By this CMP, the second lower pole film 212, the first back gap film 216, the insulating film 253, the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 have a film thickness in the range of 2.5 μm to 3.0 μm. It is adjusted to become.

Here, the edge of the second lower pole film 212 and the edge of the second coil 232 are located close to each other with the insulating film 252 formed by Al ₂ 0 ₃ -CVD interposed therebetween, and ABSs 52 and 53 (FIG. 3). For this reason, the loss of magnetic flux is reduced, and a write head with excellent overwrite can be formed.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 17>
Next, as illustrated in FIG. 17, an insulating film 254 that covers the surfaces of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 is attached. The insulating film 254 is made of Al ₂ O ₃ and is formed to have a film thickness of 0.2 to 0.3 μm, for example. An opening is provided in the insulating film 254 immediately above the second lower pole film 212, the first back gap film 216, and the first connection conductor film 281. Then, a second connection conductor film 282 serving as a jumper wiring for electrically connecting the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 is provided on the first connection conductor film 281 through the opening. The second connection conductor film 282 is formed to have a film thickness in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 μm. A third pole film 213 and a second back gap film 217 are formed in the opening provided directly above the second lower pole film 212 and the first back gap film 216.

  The material constituting the second connection conductor film 282 is preferably Cu, but the same material as that of the third lower pole film 213 may be used. The third lower pole film 213 may be a plating film such as NiFe, CoNiFe, CoFe or the like, but uses CoNiFe (1.9 to 2.3 T) and has a thickness of 1 to 2 μm.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 18>
Next, after an insulating film 255 made of Al ₂ O ₃ is formed on the surface on which the third lower pole film 213 and the back gap film 217 are formed, for example, with a film thickness in the range of 1 to 1.5 μm. , CMP is performed, and polishing is performed so as to finally have a film thickness of 0.5 μm.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 19>
Next, a sputtering film for the fourth lower pole film 214 is formed on the third lower pole film 213, and then a NiFe and CoNiFe plating pattern is formed thereon. The sputtered film is made of CoFeN (2.4T) of 0.3 to 0.5 μm. In addition to the CoFeN sputtered film, a sputtered film such as FeAIN, FeN, FeCo, or FeZrN may be used.

  Next, a fourth lower pole film 214, a third back gap film 218, and a third back surface are formed on the polished surfaces of the third lower pole film 213, the second back gap film 217, and the second connection conductor film 282, respectively. The connection conductor film 283 is formed to have a thickness of 0.5 μm, for example. The fourth lower pole film 214 can be made of CoFeN.

  Next, a resist mask FR3 is formed on the fourth lower pole film 214, the third back gap film 218, and the third connection conductor film 283 by applying a photolithography process, and then the insulating film 256 is formed. Adhering by means such as sputtering. The resist mask FR3 has a T shape so that it can be easily lifted off.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 20>
Next, after the resist mask FR3 is lifted off, a resist mask FR4 is formed on the fourth lower pole film 214, the third back gap film 218, and the third connection conductor film 283. The resist mask FR4 on the fourth lower pole film 214 is formed so as not to cover the rear side of the fourth lower pole film 214.

Next, IBE is performed using the resist mask FR4 as a mask, and a part of CoFeN of the fourth lower pole film 214 is etched to a height of, for example, 0.2 to 0.3 μm. Next, an Al ₂ O ₃ insulating film 257 is deposited in a self-aligned manner by sputtering so as to have a film thickness of 0.2 to 0.3 μm.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 21>
Next, after the resist mask FR4 is lifted off, the surface is lightly subjected to CMP, and the fourth lower pole film 214 and the insulating film 257 are planarized. Thereafter, the gap film 24 is formed with a thickness of 0.08 to 0.1 μm. The gap film 24 is made of a nonmagnetic material such as Al ₂ O ₃ , Ru, NiCu, Ta.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 22 and 23>
Next, as shown in FIG. 22, after opening the gap film 24 on the third back gap film 218, the first upper pole film 221 is made of HiBs material as shown in FIG. A sputtered film of certain FeAlN, FeN, FeCo, CoFeN, FeZrN, etc. is formed with a thickness of 0.1 to 0.5 μm.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 24>
Next, a resist cover FR5 is formed on the surface of the first upper pole film 221 by applying a photolithography process. The resist cover FR5 is formed so as to be located above the fourth lower pole film 214, above the third back gap film 218, and above the third connection conductor film 283, respectively. Next, the first upper pole film 221 is etched using the resist cover FR5 as a mask. The etching is IBE or RIE. As a result, as shown in FIG. 24, the first upper pole film 221, the fourth back gap film 224, and the fourth connection conductor film 284 patterned into a predetermined shape are formed.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 25>
Next, as shown in FIG. 25, an insulating film 257 made of Al ₂ O ₃ is formed on the etched portion by sputtering or the like so as to have a film thickness in the range of 0.2 to 0.6 μm, for example. Deposit by means. Thereafter, the resist cover FR5 is removed by a lift-off method.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 26 and 27>
Next, the surfaces of the insulating film 257, the first upper pole film 221, the fourth back gap film 224, and the fourth connection conductor film 284 are polished by CMP to be more completely planarized.

  Next, after forming a seed film having a film thickness of, for example, 0.1 μm on the planarized surface by sputtering, a photolithography process is performed on the seed film to form a resist frame. Then, CoFeN (2.4T) is selectively plated to a thickness of 3 to 4 μm, and as shown in FIG. 26, the second upper pole film 222 and the fifth back gap film 225 are formed. Form.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 28>
Next, the seed film is removed by means such as ion milling. At this stage, the fourth lower pole film 214, the gap film 24, the first upper pole film 221 and the second upper pole film 222 may be patterned by ion milling. Thereafter, a fifth connection conductor film 285 is formed on the fourth connection conductor film 284 by selective plating of Cu.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 29 and 30>
Next, after an insulating film 258 made of alumina is deposited by sputtering or the like so as to have a thickness of 2 to 4 μm, the surface of the insulating film 258 is polished by CMP. This CMP is performed so that the surfaces of the insulating film 258, the second upper pole film 222, the fifth back gap film 225, and the fifth connection conductor film 285 become uniform flat surfaces.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 31>
Next, a selective Cu plating process is performed on the surface of the insulating film 258, and the third coil 233 is grown to have a thickness of 3 to 3.5 μm, for example. In the process of forming the third coil 233, the sixth connection conductor film 286 is formed on the surface of the fifth connection conductor film 285 by selective Cu plating.

  The third coil 233 is formed by substantially the same process as the first coil 231. Specifically, a seed film is formed on the surface of the insulating film 258. The seed film is formed using a material suitable as a Cu plating base film and having a film thickness of 50 nm to 80 nm by application of Cu-CVD.

  Next, a photoresist film is formed on the seed film by applying a spin coating method or the like, and then exposed and developed using a mask having a coil pattern. The photoresist film may be either a positive photoresist or a negative photoresist.

  Next, a selective Cu plating process is performed to form the third coil 233. Thereafter, the resist frame is removed by means such as chemical etching. FIG. 31 shows a state after the resist frame is removed.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 32>
Next, selective plating is performed using the second upper pole film 222 and the fifth back gap film 225 as a seed film, and the third upper pole film 223 and the sixth back gap film 226 are grown. . The third upper pole film 223 and the sixth back gap film 226 are formed using CoNiFe (2.3 T), for example, so as to have a film thickness of 3.5 to 4.0 μm.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 33>
Next, an insulating film 271 is attached to the surfaces and side surfaces of the insulating film 258, the third coil 233, the third upper pole film 223, and the sixth back gap film 226. Specifically, the insulating film 271 is formed to have a thickness of about 0.1 to 0.15 μm by Al ₂ O ₃ -CVD using high-purity alumina.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 34>
Next, after forming a photoresist film covering the third coil 233, the third upper pole film 223, the sixth back gap film 226, and the sixth connection conductor film 286, a photolithography process is performed on the photoresist film. As shown in FIG. 34, the third coil 233 and the resist cover FR6 covering its periphery are formed.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 35 and 36>
Next, as illustrated in FIGS. 35 and 36, an insulating film 272 covering the entire resist cover FR6 is attached. The insulating film 272 is formed to have a thickness in the range of 3 to 5 μm.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 37>
Next, the insulating film 272 and the resist cover FR6 are polished and planarized by CMP. An alumina-based slurry is used for CMP. FIG. 37 shows a state after the CMP process is performed.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 38>
Next, after removing the resist cover FR6, on the surfaces and side surfaces of the third coil 233, the third upper pole film 223, the sixth back gap film 226, the sixth connection conductor film 286, and the insulating film 272, A seed film 262 is deposited by Cu-CVD so as to have a film thickness in the range of 0.05 to 0.1 μm.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 39 and 40>
Next, as illustrated in FIGS. 39 and 40, a plating film 234 to be a fourth coil is formed on the seed film 262 so as to have a film thickness of 3 to 4 μm, for example. The plating film 234 contains Cu as a main component.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 41 and 42>
Next, as shown in FIGS. 41 and 42, the plating film 234 is polished and planarized by CMP. An alumina-based slurry is used for CMP. Thus, the fourth coil 234 is patterned so as to have a planar spiral pattern, and is separated from the third coil 233 by the insulating film 271. In CMP, the surfaces of the third upper pole film 223, the sixth back gap film 226, the sixth connection conductor film 286, and the insulating film 272 are also the same as the surfaces of the third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234. It is polished to become a flat surface. The third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234 have a thickness in the range of 2.0 to 3.0 μm.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 43 and 44>
Next, an insulating film 273 that covers the surfaces of the third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234 is attached. The insulating film 273 is made of Al ₂ O ₃ and is formed to have a thickness of 0.2 μm, for example.

  Next, the insulating film 273 is partially opened immediately above the sixth back gap film 226 and the fourth upper pole film 234, and the sixth back gap film 226 and the fourth upper gap film 273 are formed on the surface of the insulating film 273. The upper yoke 224 is formed so as to connect the upper pole films 234 to each other. The upper yoke 224 is formed as a pattern plating of NiFe or CoNiFe by frame plating.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 45, 46, and 47>
Next, as shown in FIGS. 45 and 46, a protective film 274 is attached to a thickness of 20 to 40 μm. Referring to FIG. 47, there is a throat height zero point TH0 in the middle part of the lower yoke 211, and the surface polished up to this point is ABS.

  The first and second coils 231 and 232 circulate around the back gap film. A third coil 233 and a fourth coil 234 are provided on the first and second coils 231 and 232, and these are connected in series with the first and second coils 231 and 232 (FIG. 45). FIG. 46).

  As shown in FIGS. 45 and 46, the first and second coils 231 and 232 are within the height of the second lower pole films 212 to 214 constituting the lower pole, and the third coil 233 and The fourth coil 234 uses the height of the first upper pole film 221 to the third pole film 223 constituting the upper pole, and the gap film 24 is higher than the height of the second lower pole films 212 to 214. And the middle of the pole length determined by the heights of the first upper pole film 221 to the third pole film 223, the lower side of the gap film 24 despite the coil hierarchical structure. It is possible to balance the height of the lower pole located at the upper side with the height of the upper pole located above the gap film 24. For this reason, when ABS is polished, the amount of polishing of the lower pole and upper pole on both sides of the gap film is made uniform, and the collision between the head and the media due to polishing imbalance is avoided, and the slider is indispensable for high-density recording. Can meet the demand for low flying height.

(2) Example 2
Example 2 according to the manufacturing method is a manufacturing process of the thin film magnetic head shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and is shown in FIGS. It should be noted in advance that the processes illustrated in FIGS. 48 to 79 are also performed on the wafer.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 48 to 50>
48 to 50 are substantially the same as the processes illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 10 of the first embodiment, and thus the details are omitted.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 51>
In FIG. 50, a photolithography process is performed on the photoresist film RS2, and further, IBE is performed to pattern the first yoke 211 to have a predetermined pattern, and then the photoresist film RS2 is formed. Remove.

Next, the insulating film 252 is attached to the surfaces and side surfaces of the insulating film 251, the first coil 231, the second lower pole film 212, the first back gap film 216, and the first connection conductor film 281. Specifically, the insulating film 252 is formed to have a thickness of about 0.1 to 0.15 μm by Al ₂ O ₃ -CVD using high-purity alumina.

  Next, a seed film 261 is attached to the surface of the insulating film 252 so as to have a film thickness in the range of 50 nm to 80 nm by sputtering or Cu-CVD.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 52>
Next, as shown in FIG. 52, a plating film 232 to be a second coil is formed on the seed film 261 by a frame plating method so as to have a film thickness of 3 to 4 μm, for example. To do. The plating film 232 is mainly composed of Cu and is formed by a selective plating method. The seed film 261 not covered with the plating film 232 is removed by wet etching using dilute hydrochloric acid, dilute sulfuric acid, copper sulfate, or the like, or dry etching such as Ion Milling.

  Here, the seed layer 261 is formed by Cu-CVD, and a Cu-CVD film having good step coverage that accurately follows the unevenness of the first coil 231 is formed. Therefore, the first coil 231 is formed. The plating film 232 for the second coil 232 can be embedded between the turns of the first coil 231 without generating a keyhole even if the space between the turns is narrow and elongated.

  Since the deposition gas required for Cu-CVD is expensive, in the present invention, Cu-CVD exclusively uses the good step coverage to form a seed layer 261 with a uniform thickness in a narrow space. The required film thickness used for forming is secured by plating.

Here, the edge of the second lower pole film 212 and the edge of the second coil 232 are located close to each other with the insulating film 252 formed by Al ₂ O ₃ -CVD interposed therebetween, and are close to the ABS. For this reason, the loss of magnetic flux is reduced, and a write head with excellent overwrite can be formed.

Thereafter, an insulating film 253 made of Al ₂ O ₃ is formed so as to cover the region not covered with the plating film 232 and the plating film 232. The insulating film 253 is formed as a sputtered film having a thickness of 4 to 6 μm.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 53>
In the process from the state of FIG. 52 to the state of FIG. 53, the insulating film 253 and the plating film 232 are polished and planarized by CMP. Thus, the second coil 232 is patterned so as to have a planar spiral pattern, and is separated from the first coil 231 by the insulating film 252. In CMP, the surfaces of the second lower pole film 212, the first connection conductor film 216, and the insulating film 252 are also polished so as to be flush with the surfaces of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232. The

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 54>
In the process from the state of FIG. 53 to the state of FIG. 54, an insulating film 254 that covers the surfaces of the first coil 231 and the second coil 232 is attached. The insulating film 254 is made of Al ₂ O ₃ and is formed to have a film thickness of 0.2 μm to 0.5 μm, for example.

  Next, RIE or Ion Milling is performed on the insulating film 254 to form openings for the third lower pole film 213, the second back gap film 217, and the second connection conductor film 282. Thereafter, a third lower pole film 213, a second back gap film 217, and a second connection conductor film 282 are formed by plating. The third lower pole film 213, the second back gap film 217, and the second connection conductor film 282 are CoFe or CoNiFe (2.1-2.3T) plating films, for example, in the range of 1-2 μm. The film thickness is as follows.

Next, an insulating film 255 made of Al ₂ O ₃ is attached to the surface on which the third lower pole film 213 and the second back gap film 217 are formed so as to have a film thickness of, for example, 1 to 2 μm. Then, the surfaces of the insulating film 255, the third lower pole film 213, and the second back gap film 217 are polished by CMP.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 55 and 56>
In the process from the state of FIG. 54 to the state of FIG. 55, the magnetic film 214 to be the fourth lower pole film is formed on the polished surfaces of the insulating film 255, the third lower pole film 213, and the second back gap film 217. Is formed to have a film thickness of 0.5 to 1.0 μm, for example. The magnetic film 214 can be composed of a CoFeN (2.4T) plated film or a sputtered film of FeAlN, FeN, FeCo, or FeZrN. Thereafter, a mask 250 made of a NiFe or CoNiFe pattern plating film is formed on the third lower pole film 213 and the second back gap film 217. Then, the magnetic film 214 is patterned through the mask 250 by applying IBE. As a result, as shown in FIG. 56, a fourth lower pole film 214 and a third back gap film 218 are formed.

  When the magnetic film 214 is patterned using the mask 250 made of a pattern plating film, Ion Beam is used, and the irradiation angle is set to zero degrees and 75 degrees. Thereby, the fourth lower pole film 214 made of HiBs material can be selectively patterned.

The magnetic film 214 can be patterned by a method different from the above. For example, RIE is performed at a high temperature of 50 ° C. to 300 ° C. in a halogen-based gas atmosphere such as Cl ₂ or BCl ₃ + Cl ₂ to etch the magnetic film 214 to, for example, about 80% of its film thickness. The temperature at the time of performing RIE is preferably 50 ° C. or higher, particularly 200 to 250 ° C. Within this temperature range, a highly accurate pattern can be obtained.

In addition, the etching profile can be accurately controlled by introducing O ₂ into the Cl ₂ gas. In particular, by mixing O ₂ into BCl ₃ + Cl ₂ gas, the remaining boron gas deposit can be removed cleanly, so that the etching profile can be controlled very accurately.

Furthermore, by using an etching gas in which CO ₂ gas is mixed with Cl ₂ , BCl ₃ + Cl ₂ or a gas in which O ₂ is mixed, the etching speed of RIE is increased and the selectivity to the Mask material is 30 to 30%. Improve by 50%.

  As described above, after the magnetic film 214 is partially etched (about 80%), additional IBE is applied to the remaining portion. This IBE is performed at an irradiation angle of 40 to 70 degrees, for example.

  As described above, the fourth lower pole film 214 can be accurately formed by patterning the magnetic film 214 using the mask 250 made of a NiFe or CoNiFe pattern plating film. Therefore, the throat height determined by the fourth lower pole film 214 can be controlled with high accuracy. For example, the throat height can be freely controlled such as 0.1 to 0.5 μm or 0.2 to 0.7 μm. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a thin film magnetic head having a fast write current rise and excellent overwrite characteristics.

  In addition, since the throat height is determined by the fourth lower pole film 214 made of a thick HiBs material, the write magnetic flux for giving the magnetic recording to the medium is concentrated on the pole end while reducing midway leakage. be able to. For this reason, the problem of side light and side erase is solved.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 57 and 58>
In the process from the state of FIG. 56 to the state of FIG. 57, an insulating film 256 made of Al ₂ O ₃ is deposited by means such as sputtering. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 58, the surfaces of the insulating film 256, the fourth lower pole film 214, the third back gap film 218, and the third connection conductor film 283 are polished and planarized by CMP. .

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 59>
Next, a resist mask FR7 is formed on the fourth lower pole film 214, the third back gap film 218, and the third connection conductor film 283. The resist mask FR7 on the fourth lower pole film 214 is formed so as not to cover the rear side of the fourth lower pole film 214.

Next, using the resist mask FR7 as a mask, IBE is performed, and a part of CoFeN of the fourth lower pole film 214 is etched to have a height of, for example, 0.2 to 0.3 μm, thereby forming a recess 291. . Next, an Al ₂ O ₃ insulating film 257 is deposited in a self-aligned manner by sputtering so as to have a film thickness of 0.2 to 0.3 μm.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 60 and 61>
Next, after lift-off of the resist mask FR7, the surface is lightly subjected to CMP, and the fourth lower pole film 214 and the insulating film 257 are planarized. Thereafter, the gap film 24 is formed with a thickness of 0.08 to 0.1 μm. The gap film 24 is made of a nonmagnetic material such as Al ₂ O ₃ , Ru, NiCu, Ta.

  Next, as the first upper pole film 221, a sputtered film of FeAlN, FeN, FeCo, CoFeN, FeZrN or the like, which is a HiBs material, is formed with a thickness of 0.1 to 0.5 μm.

  Next, on the surface of the first upper pole film 221, a second upper pole film 222, a third upper pole film 223, a fifth back gap film 225, a second film are formed by applying a photolithography process and a frame plating method. 6 back gap film 226, fifth connection conductor film 285, and sixth connection conductor film 286 are formed. Their thickness and composition are as described above. The second upper pole film 222 and the third upper pole film 223 are formed with a narrow width so as to have a reduced track width with pattern accuracy by a photolithography process (see FIG. 61).

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 62 and 63>
Next, the second upper pole film 222, the third upper pole film 223, the fifth back gap film 225, the sixth back gap film 226, the fifth connection conductor film 285, and the sixth connection conductor film 286. As a mask, the first upper pole film 221 is etched. Etching is performed until the gap film 24 is exposed. The etching is IBE or RIE. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 62 and 63, the second upper pole film 222, the third upper pole film 223, the fifth back gap film 225, and the sixth back gap film 226 are patterned into a predetermined shape. The Thereafter, the fifth connection conductor film 285 and the sixth connection conductor film 286 are selectively etched.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 64 and 65>
Next, etching is performed using the second upper pole film 222, the third upper pole film 223, the fifth back gap film 225, and the sixth back gap film 226 as a mask until the insulating film 255 is exposed, and is flattened. Then, the third coil 233 is formed on the exposed surface of the insulating film 255. In this step, the third connection conductor film 283 is formed again.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 66 and 67>
Next, on the surfaces and side surfaces of the insulating film 255, the third coil 233, the first upper pole film 221 to the third upper pole film 223, and the third back gap film 218 to the sixth back gap film 226, An insulating film 271 is attached. Specifically, the insulating film 271 is formed to have a thickness of about 0.1 to 0.15 μm by Al ₂ O ₃ -CVD using high-purity alumina.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 68 and 69>
Next, a seed film 262 is attached to the surface of the insulating film 271 so as to have a film thickness in the range of 50 nm to 80 nm by sputtering or Cu-CVD. Next, a plating film 234 to be a fourth coil is formed on the seed film 262 by a frame plating method so as to have a film thickness of 3 to 4 μm, for example. The plating film 234 is mainly composed of Cu and is formed by a selective plating method.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 70 and 71>
Next, the seed film 262 not covered with the plating film 234 is removed by wet etching using dilute hydrochloric acid, dilute sulfuric acid or copper sulfate, or dry etching such as Ion Milling.

  Here, the seed layer 262 is formed by Cu-CVD, and a Cu-CVD film having good step coverage that accurately follows the unevenness of the third coil 233 is formed. Therefore, the third coil 233 is formed. Even in a narrow and narrow space between the turns, the plating film 234 for the fourth coil can be embedded between the turns of the third coil 233 without generating a keyhole.

  Since the deposition gas required for Cu-CVD is expensive, Cu-CVD is used to form a Seed layer 262 having a uniform thickness in a narrow space, taking advantage of its step coverage. The required film thickness is secured by plating.

Here, the edges of the first upper pole film 221 to the third upper pole film 223 and the edge of the fourth coil 234 are located close to each other with the insulating film 271 formed by Al ₂ 0 ₃ -CVD interposed therebetween. And close to ABS. For this reason, the loss of magnetic flux is reduced, and a write head with excellent overwrite can be formed.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 72>
Next, an insulating film 272 made of Al ₂ O ₃ is formed so as to cover the region not covered with the plating film 234 and the plating film 234. The insulating film 272 is formed as a 4 to 6 μm sputtered film.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 73>
In the process from the state of FIG. 72 to the state of FIG. 73, the insulating film 272 and the plating film 234 are polished and planarized by CMP. Accordingly, the fourth coil 234 is patterned so as to have a planar spiral pattern, and is separated from the third coil 233 by the insulating film 272. In CMP, the surfaces of the third upper pole film 223, the sixth connection conductor film 226, and the insulating film 272 are polished so that they are flush with the surfaces of the third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234. The

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 74>
In the process from the state of FIG. 73 to the state of FIG. 74, an insulating film 273 that covers the surfaces of the third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234 is attached. The insulating film 273 is made of Al ₂ O ₃ and is formed to have a film thickness of 0.2 μm to 0.5 μm, for example. The insulating film 273 is partially opened just above the sixth back gap film 226 and the fourth upper pole film 234.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 75 and 76>
Next, an upper yoke 224 is formed on the surface of the insulating film 273 so as to connect the sixth back gap film 226 and the fourth upper pole film 234. The upper yoke 224 is formed as a pattern plating of NiFe or CoNiFe by frame plating.

<Process leading to the state of FIG. 77>
Next, the protective film 274 is attached so as to have a thickness of 20 to 40 μm. The protective film 274 is formed by sputtering alumina.

<Processes leading to the states of FIGS. 78 and 79>
Next, after the thin film magnetic head element is taken out of the wafer by a cutting process, the pole side is polished. FIG. 78 shows a state after polishing. Here, the first and second coils 231 and 232 are within the height of the second lower pole films 212 to 214 constituting the lower pole, and the third coil 233 and the fourth coil 234 are the upper part. The gap film 24 uses the height of the second lower pole films 212 to 214 and the first upper pole film 221 to the third pole film 223 constituting the pole. Since it is located in the middle of the pole length determined by the heights of the pole film 221 to the third pole film 223, the height of the lower pole located below the gap film 24, despite the coil hierarchical structure, The height of the upper pole located above the gap film 24 can be balanced. For this reason, when ABS is polished, the amount of polishing of the lower pole and upper pole on both sides of the gap film is made uniform, and the collision between the head and the media due to polishing imbalance is avoided, and the slider is indispensable for high-density recording. Can meet the demand for low flying height.

3. The present invention further discloses a magnetic head device and a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus. Referring to FIGS. 80 and 81, the magnetic head device according to the present invention includes the thin film magnetic head 400 shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 and the head support device 6. The head support device 6 has a flexible body 62 made of a metal thin plate attached to a free end at one end in the longitudinal direction of a support body 61 made of a thin metal plate, and a thin film magnetic head 400 attached to the lower surface of the flexible body 62. It has a structure.

  Specifically, the flexible body 62 connects the two outer frame portions 621 and 622 extending substantially in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the support body 61 and the outer frame portions 621 and 622 at the end away from the support body 61. And a tongue-like piece 624 extending from a substantially central portion of the horizontal frame 623 so as to be substantially parallel to the outer frame portions 621 and 622 and having a free end at the tip. One end of the side opposite to the direction in which the horizontal frame 623 is present is attached to the vicinity of the free end of the support 61 by means such as welding.

  For example, a hemispherical load protrusion 625 is provided on the lower surface of the support 61. The load projection 625 transmits a load force from the free end of the support 61 to the tongue-like piece 624.

  The thin film magnetic head 400 is attached to the lower surface of the tongue-like piece 624 by means such as adhesion. The thin film magnetic head 400 is supported so that pitch operation and roll operation are allowed.

  The head support device 6 applicable to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and head support devices that have been proposed or may be proposed in the future can be widely applied. For example, the support body 61 and the tongue-like piece 624 may be integrated using a flexible polymer wiring board such as a tab tape (TAB). Moreover, what has a conventionally well-known gimbal structure can be used freely.

  Next, referring to FIG. 82, a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention includes a magnetic disk 71 rotatably provided around a shaft 70, and a thin film magnetic for recording and reproducing information on the magnetic disk 71. A head 72 and an assembly carriage device 73 for positioning the thin film magnetic head 72 on the track of the magnetic disk 71 are provided.

  The assembly carriage device 73 is mainly composed of a carriage 75 that can be rotated about a shaft 74 and an actuator 76 that includes, for example, a voice coil motor (VCM) that drives the carriage 75 to rotate.

  A base of a plurality of drive arms 77 stacked in the direction of the shaft 74 is attached to the carriage 75, and a head suspension assembly in which a thin film magnetic head 72 is mounted at the tip of each drive arm 77. 78 is fixed. Each head suspension assembly 78 is provided at the tip of the drive arm 77 such that the thin film magnetic head 72 at the tip of the head suspension assembly 78 faces the surface of each magnetic disk 71.

  The drive arm 77, the head suspension assembly 78, and the thin film magnetic head 72 constitute the magnetic head device described with reference to FIGS. The thin film magnetic head 72 has the structure shown in FIGS. Therefore, the magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 82 has the effects described with reference to FIGS.

  Although the contents of the present invention have been specifically described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it is obvious that those skilled in the art can take various modifications based on the basic technical idea and teachings of the present invention. It is.

It is the figure which looked at the thin film magnetic head concerning the present invention from the ABS side. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the thin film magnetic head shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a structure of an electromagnetic conversion portion of the thin film magnetic head shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is the figure which looked at the electromagnetic conversion part shown in FIG. 3 from the ABS side. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a coil structure of a write element in the electromagnetic conversion portion shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows another Example about the electromagnetic conversion part of the thin film magnetic head which concerns on this invention. It is the figure which looked at the electromagnetic conversion part shown in FIG. 6 from the ABS side. It is a figure which shows the manufacturing process of the thin film magnetic head which has an electromagnetic conversion part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the process after the process shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 9. It is a figure which shows the process after the process shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 13. It is a figure which shows the process after the process shown in FIG. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 16. It is a figure which shows the process after the process shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the process after the process shown in FIG. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 19. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 20. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 21. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 22. FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 23. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 24. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 25. FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 26. FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 27. FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 28. FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 29. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 30. FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 31. FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 32. FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 33. It is the figure which looked at the writing element obtained through the process shown in FIG. 34 from the ABS side. FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 36-36 in FIG. 35. FIG. 37 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIGS. 35 and 36. FIG. 38 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 37. FIG. 39 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 38. FIG. 40 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 40-40 of FIG. 39. FIG. 41 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIGS. 39 and 40. FIG. 42 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 42-42 of FIG. 41. FIG. 43 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIGS. 41 and 42. FIG. 44 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 44-44 of FIG. 43. FIG. 45 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIGS. 43 and 44. FIG. 46 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 46-46 of FIG. 45. FIG. 47 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIGS. 45 and 46. FIG. 48 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIGS. 46 and 47. It is a figure which shows the manufacturing process of the thin film magnetic head which has an electromagnetic conversion part shown in FIG. 6, FIG. FIG. 50 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 49. It is a figure which shows the process after the process shown in FIG. FIG. 52 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 51. FIG. 53 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 52. FIG. 54 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 53. FIG. 55 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 54. FIG. 56 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 55. FIG. 57 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 56. FIG. 58 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 57. FIG. 59 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 58. FIG. 60 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 59. FIG. 61 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 60. FIG. 62 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 61. FIG. 63 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 63-63 in FIG. 62. FIG. 64 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIGS. 62 and 63. FIG. 65 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 65-65 in FIG. 64. FIG. 66 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIGS. 64 and 65. FIG. 67 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 67-67 of FIG. 66. FIG. 68 is a diagram showing a process after the processes shown in FIGS. 66 and 67. FIG. 69 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 69-69 of FIG. 68. FIG. 70 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIGS. 68 and 69. FIG. 71 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 71-71 in FIG. 70. FIG. 72 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIGS. 70 and 71. FIG. 73 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 72. FIG. 74 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 73. FIG. 75 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 74. It is the figure which looked at the state of FIG. 75 from the ABS side. FIG. 77 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 76. FIG. 78 is a diagram showing a process after the process shown in FIG. 77. 79 is a view of the state of FIG. 78 viewed from the ABS side. 1 is a front view of a magnetic head device using a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention. It is the figure which looked at the magnetic head apparatus shown in FIG. 80 from the bottom face side (ABS side). 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus in which a thin film magnetic head and a magnetic head device according to the present invention are combined with a magnetic recording medium.

Explanation of symbols

2 Electromagnetic conversion element (writing element)
211 Lower yoke 212 Second lower pole film 213 Third lower pole film 214 Fourth lower pole film 221 First upper pole film 222 Second upper pole film 223 Third upper pole film 224 Upper yoke 24 Gap Film 3 Electromagnetic conversion element (reading element)

Claims (23)

A thin film magnetic head including a writing element,
The writing element includes a lower yoke, a lower pole, an upper yoke, an upper pole, a gap film, a lower coil, and an upper coil.
The lower pole protrudes on one surface of the lower yoke on the medium facing surface side,
The upper yoke is disposed at a distance from the lower yoke, and is coupled to the lower yoke by a back gap portion on the rear side with respect to the medium facing surface.
The upper pole is adjacent to the gap film, is opposed to the lower pole with the gap film in between, and the uppermost surface is adjacent to one surface of the upper yoke,
The lower coil is spirally wound around the back gap portion within the height of the lower pole with respect to the one surface of the lower yoke,
The upper coil is disposed above the lower coil using the height of the upper pole with respect to the one surface of the upper yoke, and circulates around the back gap portion in a spiral shape. ,
The gap film is positioned between the height of the lower pole and the length of the pole determined by the height of the upper pole. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 1,
The lower coil includes a first coil and a second coil,
One of the first coil and the second coil is insulatively fitted in the space between the other coil turns, and is connected to each other so as to generate magnetic flux in the same direction. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 2,
The upper coil includes a third coil and a fourth coil,
One of the third coil and the fourth coil is insulatively fitted in the space between the other coil turns, and connected to each other so as to generate a magnetic flux in the same direction. Are connected to generate magnetic flux in the same direction. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 3,
The lower pole includes a plurality of lower pole films,
The first lower pole film is constituted by the lower yoke,
The second lower pole film is adjacent to the first lower pole film, and is flattened so that one surface is at the same height as the lower coil,
The other lower pole film is provided adjacent to the second lower pole film in order, and the surface is planarized at the same height as the insulating film provided around the lower pole film,
Of the other lower pole films, the uppermost lower pole film is adjacent to the gap film. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 4,
The lower pole includes a third lower pole film and a fourth lower pole film, the third lower pole film is adjacent to the second lower pole film, and the fourth lower pole film is the third lower pole film. The uppermost layer is formed adjacent to the lower pole film. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 5,
The upper pole includes a plurality of upper pole films, the plurality of upper pole films are sequentially adjacent to the gap film, and the uppermost upper pole film is adjacent to the upper yoke. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 6,
The upper pole includes a first upper pole film to a third upper pole film, the first upper pole film is adjacent to the gap film, and the second upper pole film is the first upper pole film. Adjacent to the film, the third upper pole film is adjacent to the second upper pole film. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 7,
In addition, it includes a coil connection conductor,
The coil connection conductor includes a first connection conductor film to a sixth connection conductor film,
The first connection conductor film is an inner end of the first coil film, and a surface thereof is at the same height as the first coil, the second coil, and the second lower pole film. Flattened,
The second connection conductor film is made of the same material as the first connection conductor film, is formed on the surface of the first connection conductor film, and the surface is adjacent to the second lower pole film. Is flattened at the same height as the third lower pole film,
The third connecting conductor film is adjacent to the second connecting conductor film, the fourth connecting conductor film is adjacent to the third connecting conductor film, and the fifth connecting conductor film is the fourth connecting conductor film. Adjacent to the connecting conductor film, the sixth connecting conductor film is adjacent to the fifth connecting conductor film,
The back gap portion includes first to sixth back gap films,
The first back gap film is made of the same material as that of the first lower pole film, and is formed adjacent to the one surface of the lower yoke, and the surface thereof is formed by the first coil and the second coil. Planarized at the same height as the coil and the second lower pole film,
The second back gap film is made of the same material as the third lower pole film, is formed adjacent to the first back gap film, and the surface thereof is the same as the third lower pole film. Is flattened at a height of
The third back gap film is adjacent to the second back gap film;
The fourth back gap film is adjacent to the third back gap film;
The fifth back gap film is adjacent to the fourth back gap film;
The sixth back gap film is adjacent to the fifth back gap film. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 8,
The third lower pole film, the second connection conductor film, and the second back gap film have their surfaces flattened at the same height,
The fourth lower pole film, the third connection conductor film, and the third back gap film have their surfaces planarized at the same height,
The surfaces of the first upper pole film, the fourth connection conductor film, and the fourth back gap film are planarized at the same height.
The surfaces of the second upper pole film, the fifth connection conductor film, and the fifth back gap film are planarized at the same height.
The surfaces of the third upper pole film, the sixth connection conductor film, and the sixth back gap film are flattened at the same height as the surfaces of the third coil and the fourth coil. Has been
Both ends of the upper yoke are adjacent to the third upper pole film and the sixth back gap film. A magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus including a thin film magnetic head and a magnetic recording medium,
The thin film magnetic head includes a writing element,
The writing element includes a lower yoke, a lower pole, an upper yoke, an upper pole, a gap film, a lower coil, and an upper coil.
One surface of the lower yoke is a plane,
The lower pole protrudes on the one surface of the lower yoke on the medium facing surface side, and an end adjacent to the gap film is a portion with a reduced track width,
The upper yoke is disposed at a distance from the lower yoke, and is coupled to the lower yoke by a back gap portion on the rear side with respect to the medium facing surface.
The upper pole is adjacent to the gap film, facing the end of the lower pole with the gap film in between, and the uppermost surface is adjacent to one surface of the upper yoke,
The lower coil is spirally wound around the back gap portion within the height of the lower pole with respect to the one surface of the lower yoke,
The upper coil is disposed above the lower coil using the height of the upper pole with respect to the one surface of the upper yoke, and circulates around the back gap portion in a spiral shape. ,
The gap film is positioned between the height of the lower pole and the length of the pole determined by the height of the upper pole. The magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 10,
The lower coil includes a first coil and a second coil,
One of the first coil and the second coil is insulatively fitted in the space between the other coil turns, and is connected to each other so as to generate magnetic flux in the same direction. The magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 11,
The upper coil includes a third coil and a fourth coil,
One of the third coil and the fourth coil is insulatively fitted in the space between the other coil turns, and connected to each other so as to generate a magnetic flux in the same direction. Are connected to generate magnetic flux in the same direction. The magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 12,
The lower pole includes a plurality of lower pole films,
The first lower pole film is constituted by the lower yoke,
The second lower pole film is adjacent to the first lower pole film in front of the coil and is flattened so that one surface is at the same height as the coil.
The other lower pole film is provided adjacent to the second lower pole film in order, and the surface is planarized at the same height as the insulating film provided around the lower pole film,
Of the other lower pole films, the uppermost lower pole film is adjacent to the gap film. The magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 13,
The lower pole includes a third lower pole film and a fourth lower pole film, the third lower pole film is adjacent to the second lower pole film, and the fourth lower pole film is the third lower pole film. The uppermost layer is formed adjacent to the lower pole film. The magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 14,
The upper pole includes a plurality of upper pole films, the plurality of upper pole films are sequentially adjacent to the gap film, and the uppermost upper pole film is adjacent to the upper yoke. The magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 15,
The upper pole includes a first upper pole film to a third upper pole film, the first upper pole film is adjacent to the gap film, and the second upper pole film is the first upper pole film. Adjacent to the film, the third upper pole film is adjacent to the second upper pole film. The magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 16,
In addition, it includes a coil connection conductor,
The coil connection conductor includes a first connection conductor film to a sixth connection conductor film,
The first connection conductor film is an inner end of the first coil film, and a surface thereof is at the same height as the first coil, the second coil, and the second lower pole film. Flattened,
The second connection conductor film is made of the same material as the first connection conductor film, is formed on the surface of the first connection conductor film, and the surface is adjacent to the second lower pole film. Is flattened at the same height as the third lower pole film,
The third connecting conductor film is adjacent to the second connecting conductor film, the fourth connecting conductor film is adjacent to the third connecting conductor film, and the fifth connecting conductor film is the fourth connecting conductor film. Adjacent to the connecting conductor film, the sixth connecting conductor film is adjacent to the fifth connecting conductor film,
The back gap portion includes first to sixth back gap films,
The first back gap film is made of the same material as that of the first lower pole film, and is formed adjacent to the one surface of the lower yoke, and the surface thereof is formed by the first coil and the second coil. Planarized at the same height as the coil and the second lower pole film,
The second back gap film is made of the same material as the third lower pole film, is formed adjacent to the first back gap film, and the surface thereof is the same as the third lower pole film. Is flattened at a height of
The third back gap film is adjacent to the second back gap film;
The fourth back gap film is adjacent to the third back gap film;
The fifth back gap film is adjacent to the fourth back gap film;
The sixth back gap film is adjacent to the fifth back gap film. The magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 17,
The third lower pole film, the second connection conductor film, and the second back gap film have their surfaces flattened at the same height,
The fourth lower pole film, the third connection conductor film, and the third back gap film have their surfaces planarized at the same height,
The surfaces of the first upper pole film, the fourth connection conductor film, and the fourth back gap film are planarized at the same height.
The surfaces of the second upper pole film, the fifth connection conductor film, and the fifth back gap film are planarized at the same height.
The surfaces of the third upper pole film, the sixth connection conductor film, and the sixth back gap film are flattened at the same height as the surfaces of the third coil and the fourth coil. Has been
Both ends of the upper yoke are adjacent to the third upper pole film and the sixth back gap film. A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head including a writing element,
A lower pole, a lower coil, a back gap film, and a coil connection conductor are formed on one surface of the lower yoke, and the lower coil is within the height of the lower pole with respect to the one surface of the lower yoke. The periphery of the gap is spirally wound, and one end is a first connection conductor film for the coil connection conductor,
Next, an insulating film covering the lower coil and a gap film adjacent to the lower pole are formed,
Next, an upper pole is formed on the gap film, and an upper coil is formed on the insulating film. The upper coil is formed above the lower coil using the height of the upper pole. Arranged around the back gap portion in a spiral shape and connected to the lower coil by a coil connection conductor;
Next, the method includes a step of forming an upper yoke so as to connect the upper pole and the back gap. The manufacturing method according to claim 19, comprising:
In forming the lower coil, after the first coil is formed in a spiral shape, the second insulating coil is electrically insulated and fitted in the space between the coil turns of the first coil, and in the same direction. Connecting to the first coil to generate a magnetic flux. A manufacturing method according to claim 20, comprising:
In forming the upper coil, after the third coil is formed in a spiral shape, the fourth coil is electrically insulated and fitted in the space between the coil turns of the third coil, and the magnetic flux in the same direction. A step of connecting to the first to third coils so as to generate The manufacturing method according to claim 21,
After forming the lower coil, the second lower pole film, the first back gap film, and the first connection conductor film on one surface of the lower yoke that becomes the first lower pole film, the surfaces thereof are flattened. And
Thereafter, the method includes forming the gap film, the upper pole, the upper coil, and the upper yoke. A manufacturing method according to claim 22, comprising:
After forming the gap film, the upper pole and the upper coil, the surfaces of the upper pole and the upper coil are planarized,
Next, an insulating film is formed on the planarized surface, and the upper yoke is formed on the insulating film.

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