JP2003272118A - Method for manufacturing thin-film magnetic head, method for manufacturing magneto-resistive element aggregate, and method for manufacturing magnetic head slider - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, which is capable of easily lifting-off a resist layer patterned by an electron beam, a method for manufacturing a magneto-resistive element aggregate, and a method for manufacturing a magnetic head slider. <P>SOLUTION: According to the method for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, an electron beam resist 49 is irradiated with an electron beam to form a resist layer 70 having a main pattern 72 and a plurality of projected parts 74 extended from its outer edge to the surroundings. The latent image pattern of the resist layer 70 is formed by the emitted electron beam and electrons scattered on the base layer 42 of the electron beam. Further, the width of the base 42 side by the scattered electrons on the base layer is smaller on the projected part 74 than on the primary pattern 72. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, a method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive element assembly, and
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as the areal recording density of hard disk devices has increased, there has been a demand for improved performance of thin film magnetic heads that play an important role in recording and reproducing magnetic information. As a thin-film magnetic head, recently, a magnetoresistive effect element (MR (Magneto Resistive) element) has been used instead of an inductive magnetic conversion element for both recording and reproduction.
A composite type thin film magnetic head in which a reproducing head having an element) and a recording head having an inductive magnetic conversion element are laminated is predominant. As the MR element, AMR (Anisotropy Magneto Resistiv) that utilizes the anisotropic magnetoresistive effect is used.
e) GMR (Giant M) that uses the giant magnetoresistive effect
Magneto Resistive) element, TMR (Tunnel-type Magnet)
o Resistive) elements, etc.

In forming a thin film magnetic head on a substrate, the relative position between the stage on which the substrate is mounted and the optical system for exposure is adjusted at appropriate timing.
As an example of a method of obtaining the position of the substrate in such alignment, for example, a method of irradiating an alignment mark formed on the substrate with an electron beam or an ion beam and capturing a secondary electron image generated at this time can be given. . Also,
A thin-film magnetic head is manufactured by laminating a plurality of thin films, but in order to prevent positional deviation of each layer, the alignment mark used when forming a certain layer is often used also when forming another layer. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent a situation in which the alignment mark that has been used once is removed by a manufacturing process (for example, a milling process) performed until the alignment mark is used next time. Therefore, the alignment mark when not in use is generally covered with a resist layer as a cover resist so as not to be exposed to a milling process or the like.

Such a resist layer has a large area pattern as compared with a resist used for forming a track of a reproducing head, which is required to be narrowed. Further, it is important that the resist layer covering the alignment mark has a structure that facilitates lift-off so that the subsequent alignment can be performed smoothly.

As a document showing the lift-off technique, there is, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-203406. This publication discloses a photoresist having a plurality of cutouts at the edge. Further, it is described in the same publication that the lift-off capability is excellent by narrowing the width of the notch, and specifically, the width of the notch is 3 μm,
It is described that the width of the protrusion between the cutouts is 7 μm (FIG. 4 of the same publication, etc.).

[0006]

By the way, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
The resist described in JP-A No. 1-203406 is a photoresist that is patterned by light irradiation. However, in recent years, for example, as a demand for the reproducing head unit,
It is mentioned that the track width of the MR film is miniaturized in order to improve the reading performance, and in order to meet such a demand, it is necessary to realize highly precise micromachining. Therefore, in place of photolithography, which has been frequently used in the manufacturing process of the thin film magnetic head, an attempt has been made to utilize electron beam lithography capable of more accurate drawing.

In consideration of such a situation, it is necessary to take a measure for facilitating lift-off of the resist layer patterned by the electron beam. Therefore, the inventors of the present invention have described the above-mentioned JP-A-200
An attempt was made to apply a resist layer having the shape described in JP-A No. 1-203406. However, the resist layer formed of the electron beam resist has a problem that it takes a long time to be removed or is not removed even if a stripping solution is used.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and is a method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head capable of easily lifting off a resist layer patterned by an electron beam, a method for manufacturing a magnetoresistive element assembly, and An object is to provide a method for manufacturing a magnetic head slider.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the inventors of the present invention have argued that, when a resist layer covering an alignment mark or the like is formed by electron beam lithography, the resist layer is less likely to be lifted off. As a result of pursuit, the following matters were found. That is, when the resist layer is formed by irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam, the electrons that have passed through the electron beam resist are scattered by the layer located below the resist (hereinafter, such electron scattering will occur). Is sometimes referred to as "backscattering"), and the scattered electrons are irradiated onto the electron beam resist from below. In the latent image pattern of the electron beam resist thus formed, the resist is hardly dissolved in the developing solution in the region directly irradiated with the electron beam. On the other hand, around the area irradiated with the electron beam, the electron beam is irradiated by backscattering, and the resist is less likely to be dissolved in the developing solution as compared with the area where the electron beam is not irradiated at all. For this reason, the pattern of the resist layer after development has a structure in which the lower portion is wider than the upper portion, and the resist layer is less likely to lift off.

Under these circumstances, the present inventors have completed the following inventions. (1) That is, a method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention comprises a step of applying an electron beam resist on a base layer, irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam to form a main pattern and a main pattern. Forming a resist layer having a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge portion toward the periphery, forming a deposition layer on the resist layer and the base layer, and forming the resist layer on the resist layer. A step of removing the deposited layer formed on the substrate and the deposited layer at least, and in the step of forming the thin-film magnetic head and forming the resist layer, the irradiated electron beam and the electron beam are scattered in the base layer. The latent image pattern to be the resist layer is formed by the generated electrons, and the scattered electron in the base layer is generated. Spread of the base layer side of the width that is characterized by towards the projection is smaller than the main pattern of the resist layer.

In the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the resist layer lifted off has a structure having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery. There is. The main pattern and the latent image pattern of each protrusion are formed by the electron beam directly applied to the electron beam resist and the electrons scattered by the base layer. In the latent image area formed by the electrons, it is more difficult to dissolve in the developing solution than in the area not irradiated with the electron beam.Therefore, in the resist layer after the development, the base layer side spreads and the lift-off tends to be difficult. is there. However, in the present invention, the spread of the width on the base layer side due to backscattered electrons is smaller in the protrusion than in the main pattern. Therefore, the protrusion has a structure that is easily lifted off, and the main pattern is also easily lifted off after the protrusion is removed with, for example, a stripper.

(2) Another method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention is to apply an electron beam resist on the base layer, irradiate the electron beam resist with an electron beam to form a main pattern, Forming a resist layer having a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery, forming a deposition layer on the resist layer and the base layer, and the resist layer Is removed together with the deposited layer formed thereon, and a thin film magnetic head is manufactured by at least passing through the step of forming the resist layer, and the irradiated electron beam and the electron beam Electrons scattered in the base layer form a latent image pattern to serve as the resist layer. The value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the electron beam for forming the electron beam is smaller than the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the electron beam for forming the main pattern from the width of the main pattern. It is characterized by performing beam irradiation.

The difference between the irradiation width of the electron beam and the width of the projection or the main pattern of the resist layer after development is caused by the irradiation of the backscattered electrons to the resist. Here, the latent image area formed only by the backscattered electrons is more difficult to dissolve in the developing solution than the area not irradiated with the electron beam at all, but compared with the area directly irradiated with the electron beam. Tends to be easily dissolved in. Therefore, the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the electron beam irradiated to form the latent image pattern of each protrusion from the width of each protrusion of the resist layer forms the latent image pattern of the main pattern from the width of the main pattern. In order to make the area smaller than the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the irradiated electron beam, the area exposed by the backscattered electrons is narrower in the protrusion than in the main pattern. Therefore, the latent image pattern of the protrusion has a narrower area that is less likely to be dissolved by the developing solution than the area that is not irradiated with the electron beam, and the latent image pattern of the main pattern is smaller than the area that is not irradiated with the electron beam. As a result, the region that is less likely to be dissolved becomes wider, so that in the resist layer after development, the spread on the base layer side in the main pattern becomes larger than the spread on the base layer side in the protrusion. Therefore, the protrusion has a structure that is easily lifted off, and the main pattern is also easily lifted off after the protrusion is removed with, for example, a stripper.

In order to reduce the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the electron beam for forming each projection from the width of each projection of the resist layer, the irradiation width of the electron beam may be narrowed. This is because the narrower the irradiation width of the electron beam, the smaller the area of the latent image pattern formed by the backscattered electrons, that is, the area that is more easily dissolved in the developing solution than the area directly irradiated with the electron beam.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the width of the front end of each of the protrusions may be smaller than the width of the rear end located on the main pattern side. Since the rear end of the protrusion is connected to the main pattern, the rear end of the protrusion may be irradiated with electrons backscattered by the lower base layer of the main pattern to be wider than the tip of the protrusion. Even in such a case, the tip portion of the protrusion is hardly irradiated with electrons due to backscattering, so that it is prevented from becoming wide, and the shape is easily lifted off.

Further, in the method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head of the present invention, each of the protrusions has an undercut portion in which both sides of the bottom portion are recessed on the front side, and the bottom portion on the rear side which is the main pattern side. It may be characterized in that it has divergent portions on both sides of which spread. Since the rear end of the protrusion is connected to the main pattern, it may be irradiated with electrons backscattered by the base layer below the main pattern, and the bottom may be wider than the tip of the protrusion. . Even in this case,
Since the tip of the protrusion is hardly irradiated with electrons due to backscattering, it is possible to prevent the bottom from becoming wide. Then, if an undercut is formed on the tip side of the protrusion by developing the latent image pattern or the like, the shape can be lifted off more easily.

In this case, further, the main pattern may have a bottom portion that extends toward the periphery. Even if the main pattern is irradiated with electrons due to backscattering and the bottom is widened, the resist layer can be easily lifted off because the undercut portion is formed in the protrusion.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head of the present invention, the average width of each of the protrusions in the region where the undercut portion is formed is 0.06 μm to 0.20 μm.
Is preferred. When the width of the protrusion is as narrow as this, it is possible to effectively suppress the situation in which the bottom of the latent image pattern is widened by the irradiation of backscattered electrons.

A method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect element assembly according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect element assembly provided with a plurality of magnetoresistive effect elements, wherein:
A step of applying an electron beam resist, irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam, and a main pattern,
A step of forming a resist layer having a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery,
A plurality of magnetic layers are formed on the substrate by at least at least the steps of forming a deposited layer on the resist layer and the base layer, and removing the resist layer together with the deposited layer formed thereon. In the step of forming a resistance effect element and forming the resist layer, a latent image pattern to be the resist layer is formed by the irradiated electron beam and electrons scattered in the base layer of the electron beam. A value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the electron beam for forming the protrusions from the width of the protrusions is the irradiation width of the electron beam for forming the main pattern from the width of the main pattern. Irradiation with the electron beam is performed so as to be smaller than the subtracted value.

In the present invention, similar to the invention of the method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head described above, in the resist layer after development, the spread on the base layer side due to the backscattered electrons in the protrusions is the base layer in the main pattern. It becomes smaller than the spread on the side. Therefore, the protrusion has a structure that is easily lifted off, and the main pattern is also easily lifted off after the protrusion is removed with, for example, a stripper. In addition, in order to reduce the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the electron beam for forming each protrusion from the width of each protrusion of the resist layer, the irradiation width of the electron beam may be narrowed as described above. Further, the magnetoresistive effect element assembly mentioned here includes a wafer on which a plurality of magnetoresistive effect elements are formed, a bar obtained by dividing the wafer into bars, and the like.

A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider provided with a thin film magnetic head having a magnetoresistive effect film, which comprises:
A step of applying an electron beam resist, irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam, and a main pattern,
A step of forming a resist layer having a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery,
A plurality of magnetic layers are formed on the substrate by at least at least the steps of forming a deposited layer on the resist layer and the base layer, and removing the resist layer together with the deposited layer formed thereon. After forming the resistance effect film, the substrate is cut to form magnetic head sliders each having the magnetoresistance effect film, and in the step of forming the resist layer, the irradiated electron beam and the electron beam By the electrons scattered in the base layer, a latent image pattern to be the resist layer is formed, and the irradiation width of the electron beam for forming each protrusion is subtracted from the width of each protrusion. The value of the electronic beam is smaller than the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the electron beam for forming the main pattern from the width of the main pattern. And performing irradiation.

In the present invention, similarly to the invention of the method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, in the resist layer after development, the spread on the base layer side due to the backscattered electrons in the protrusions is the base layer in the main pattern. It becomes smaller than the spread on the side. Therefore, the protrusion has a structure that is easily lifted off, and the main pattern is also easily lifted off after the protrusion is removed with, for example, a stripper. In addition, in order to reduce the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the electron beam for forming each protrusion from the width of each protrusion of the resist layer, the irradiation width of the electron beam may be narrowed as described above.

(3) In another method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, a step of applying an electron beam resist on the base layer and irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam to form a first resist. A step of forming a layer and a second resist layer having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery to produce a thin-film magnetic head,
The protrusion of the second resist layer is removed by the same process as the removing process for the first resist layer.

In the manufacturing process of the thin film magnetic head,
Two resist layers having different areas may be lifted off. For example, a resist layer having a fine pattern used as a mask for defining the track width of the magnetoresistive film, a resist layer having a large area pattern used as a cover for the alignment mark, and the like. When these two resist layers are formed by electron beam lithography, the development time is often set under the conditions for forming a fine pattern. Then, in the latent image pattern of the large area pattern, the irradiation area due to the backscattering becomes wider in the outer peripheral portion than in the latent image pattern of the fine pattern. For this reason, after development, the resist layer having a large area pattern has a shape in which the bottom portion spreads and is difficult to lift off. On the other hand, according to the present invention, in the case where there are two first and second resist layers, the second resist layer is used as the main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery. Parts. Furthermore, the protrusion of the second resist layer is shaped so that it can be lifted off by the same process as the removing process for the first resist layer. Therefore, when a removing process such as applying a solvent to the first resist layer is performed, the protrusions of the second resist layer are also removed and the main pattern is subsequently removed, so that lift-off can be easily performed.

In the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the first resist layer is formed on the magnetic film, and the magnetic film is etched by using the first resist layer as a mask. It may be characterized in that a magnetoresistive effect film is formed. Since the width of the magnetoresistive film is required to be narrowed with high accuracy, the electron beam drawing conditions are set to those suitable for forming the first resist layer. Then, since the first resist layer has a narrow pattern, it has a shape that is not easily affected by the backscattered electrons and easily lifts off, but the other second resist layer tends to have its bottom portion spread by the backscattered electrons. become. However, in the present invention, as described above, since the second resist layer is formed with the protrusion that can be removed by the same treatment as the first resist layer removing treatment, lift-off of the second resist layer can be prevented. Easy to do.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, it is preferable that each of the protrusions of the first resist layer and the second resist layer has an undercut portion having a recessed bottom portion. . By providing the undercut portion in this way, the protrusions of the first resist layer and the second resist layer can be easily lifted off.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the width of the tip of each of the protrusions may be smaller than the width of the rear end of the protrusion located on the main pattern side. Since the rear end of the protrusion is connected to the main pattern, the rear end of the protrusion may be irradiated with electrons backscattered by the lower base layer of the main pattern to be wider than the tip of the protrusion. Even in such a case, the tip of the projection is hardly irradiated with electrons due to backscattering, so that it is prevented from becoming wide, and the second resist layer has a shape that easily lifts off.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the main pattern may be characterized in that a bottom portion thereof is widened toward the periphery. Even if the bottom of the main pattern spreads due to electron irradiation due to backscattering, the second resist layer can be easily lifted off because the undercut portion is formed in the protrusion.

A method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect element assembly according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect element assembly provided with a plurality of magnetoresistive effect elements, wherein an electron beam resist is formed on the base layer. And a second resist having a first resist layer, a main pattern, and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery. Forming a plurality of magnetoresistive elements on the substrate by at least the steps of:
By the same treatment as the removal treatment for the resist layer of
The protrusion of the second resist layer is removed.

In the present invention, when the removal treatment such as coating the first resist layer with a solvent is performed, the protrusions of the second resist layer are also removed, and the main pattern is subsequently removed. Lift off can be done.

A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider having a thin film magnetic head having a magnetoresistive effect film, which comprises a step of applying an electron beam resist on a base layer. Irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam to form a first resist layer and a second resist layer having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery. The step of forming a plurality of magnetoresistive effect films on the substrate, and then cutting the substrate to form a magnetic head slider each having the magnetoresistive effect film. The protrusion of the second resist layer is removed by the same process as the removing process for the resist layer.

In the present invention, when the removal treatment such as coating the first resist layer with a solvent is performed, the protrusions of the second resist layer are also removed, and then the main pattern is also removed. Lift off can be done.

(4) Another method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention comprises the steps of applying an electron beam resist on the base layer, and irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam to form a first resist. A step of forming a layer and a second resist layer having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery to produce a thin-film magnetic head,
The first resist layer and the protrusion of the second resist layer have an undercut portion with a recessed bottom.

In the manufacturing process of the thin film magnetic head,
Two resist layers having different areas may be lifted off. For example, a resist layer having a fine pattern used as a mask for defining the track width of the magnetoresistive film, a resist layer having a large area pattern used as a cover for the alignment mark, and the like. In the large-area latent image pattern, the irradiation area due to backscattering is wider in the outer peripheral portion than the fine-pattern latent image pattern. For this reason, after development, the resist layer having a large area pattern has a shape in which the bottom portion spreads and is difficult to lift off. Therefore, in the present invention, when there are two first and second resist layers, the second resist layer includes a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery. I am preparing. Furthermore,
Since both the first resist layer and the protrusion of the second resist layer have undercut portions, they are easy to remove. In the second resist layer, after the protrusion is removed, the main pattern is subsequently removed,
Lift-off can be done easily.

In the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the average width in the region where the undercut portion of each protrusion of the second resist layer is formed is the same as that of the first resist layer. The width may be equal to or less than twice the average width in the region where the undercut portion is formed. If the width of the protrusion in the second resist layer is as narrow as this, the protrusion can be easily removed.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the main pattern may be characterized in that a bottom portion thereof is widened toward the periphery. Even if the bottom of the main pattern spreads due to electron irradiation due to backscattering, the second resist layer can be easily lifted off because the undercut portion is formed in the protrusion.

A method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect element assembly according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect element assembly provided with a plurality of magnetoresistive effect elements, wherein:
Applying an electron beam resist, irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam to form a first resist layer, and a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery. A plurality of magnetoresistive effect elements are formed on the substrate by at least the step of forming a second resist layer, and the first resist layer and the protrusions of the second resist layer are formed. , And has an undercut portion with a depressed bottom.

In the present invention, both the first resist layer and the second resist layer projections have undercut portions, so that they are easy to remove. In the second resist layer, the lift-off can be easily performed because the main pattern is subsequently removed after the protrusion is removed.

A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider having a thin film magnetic head having a magnetoresistive effect film, which comprises:
Applying an electron beam resist, irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam to form a first resist layer, and a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery. Forming a plurality of magnetoresistive effect films on the substrate by at least the step of forming a second resist layer and then cutting the substrate, and each magnetic head slider having the magnetoresistive effect film. And the first resist layer and the protrusion of the second resist layer have an undercut portion with a recessed bottom portion.

In the present invention, both the first resist layer and the second resist layer projections have undercut portions, so that they are easy to remove. In the second resist layer, the lift-off can be easily performed because the main pattern is subsequently removed after the protrusion is removed.

[0041]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, a method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect element assembly, and a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The details will be described. The same elements will be denoted by the same reference symbols, without redundant description.

Prior to the description of the manufacturing method of this embodiment, the thin film magnetic head, head gimbal assembly, and hard disk drive obtained by the manufacturing will be outlined with reference to FIGS. .

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hard disk device having a thin film magnetic head obtained by the manufacturing method of this embodiment. The hard disk device 1 operates a head gimbal assembly (HGA) 15 to record magnetic information (magnetic signal) on the recording surface (upper surface of FIG. 1) of the hard disk 2 that rotates at high speed by the thin film magnetic head 10. And to regenerate. The head gimbal assembly 15 includes a gimbal 12 having a slider (magnetic head slider) 11 on which the thin film magnetic head 10 is formed, and a suspension arm 13 connected to the gimbal 12, and is rotated around a support shaft 14 by, for example, a voice coil motor. It is possible. When the head gimbal assembly 15 is rotated, the slider 11 moves in the radial direction of the hard disk 2, that is, the direction crossing the track line.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the slider 11. The slider 11 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the thin film magnetic head 10 is formed on a base 11a made of AlTiC (Al ₂ O ₃ .TiC). The front surface in the figure is a surface facing the recording surface of the hard disk 2, and is an air bearing surface (ABS).
e) It is called S. When the hard disk 2 rotates, the airflow accompanying this rotation causes the slider 11 to float, separating the air bearing surface S from the recording surface of the hard disk 2. The thin film magnetic head 10 is provided with recording pads 18a and 18b and reproducing pads 19a and 19b. The suspension arm 13 shown in FIG. 1 is connected to each pad and is used for inputting and outputting electric signals. Wiring (not shown) is attached. Further, in order to protect the thin film magnetic head 10, an overcoat layer 21 shown by a broken line in the drawing is provided. The air bearing surface S
Alternatively, a coating such as DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) may be applied.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view schematically showing the thin film magnetic head 10 formed on the slider 11. In order to explain the outline of the thin film magnetic head 10, in the same drawing, it is shown partially broken, and illustration of layers not mentioned is omitted.
A base layer 11b made of an electrically insulating material such as alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) is formed on the base 11a, and the thin film magnetic head 10 is formed on the base layer 11b.

The thin film magnetic head 10 is a composite type thin film magnetic head in which a reproducing head section 30 having a TMR element as a magnetoresistive effect element and a recording head section 60 as an inductive magnetic conversion element are laminated. The TMR element uses a TMR film that utilizes the tunnel effect and has a higher magnetoresistance change rate than the GMR film.

The reproducing head section 30 includes a lower shield layer 32 also serving as a lower electrode, a lower gap layer 34 formed of a nonmagnetic and conductive material, a TMR element 40, and insulating layers 36 provided on both sides thereof. , And an upper shield layer 38 that also functions as an upper electrode formed on the TMR element 40. The lower gap layer 34 is for adjusting the read gap according to the recording density of the recording medium to a desired value. The lower shield layer 32 and the upper shield layer 38 have a function of preventing the TMR element from sensing an unnecessary external magnetic field. The TMR element 40 has a TMR film 42.
And a magnetic bias applying layer 43 made of, for example, a hard magnet or the like provided on both sides thereof. Although not shown, the lower shield layer 32 (lower electrode) and the upper shield layer 38 (upper electrode) are electrically connected to the reproducing pad 19a and the reproducing pad 19b (see FIG. 2), respectively. . In the present specification, the terms “upper” and “lower” may be used like the shield layer, but “lower” means the side closer to the base 11a, and “upper” Means the side far from the base 11a.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the TMR element 40 in the vicinity of the air bearing surface S slightly intruded in the vertical direction. The TMR film 42 of the TMR element 40 contains a ferromagnetic material and has a free layer 44 in which the direction of magnetization changes according to an external magnetic field and a thin non-magnetic and insulating property. A tunnel barrier layer 45 that can pass therethrough; a pinned layer 46 that includes a ferromagnetic material and whose magnetization direction is kept constant without being affected by an external magnetic field;
And a pinning layer 47 for fixing the magnetization direction of the pinned layer 46 (backward in the plane of the drawing). Incidentally, it is preferable to form a cap layer made of, for example, Ta, NiCr or the like on the pinning layer 47 to prevent the TMR film from being oxidized. The magnetic bias applying layer 43 is made of TMR.
A bias magnetic field is applied to the free layer 44 of the film 42 in the horizontal direction in FIG.

The reproducing head unit 30 as described above reproduces the magnetic information recorded on the hard disk 2 in the following manner. That is, when a voltage is applied between the reproducing pads 19a and 19b (see FIG. 2), electrons pass from the pinned layer 46 through the tunnel barrier layer 45, which is an insulating layer, and the free layer 4
Inflow to 4. As described above, the magnetization direction of the free layer 44 can be changed by the external magnetization, that is, the magnetization of the hard disk 2. When the magnetization directions of the pinned layer 46 and the free layer 44 are parallel, the resistance value is low, and when the magnetizations are antiparallel, the resistance value is high. And
By utilizing these phenomena, the free layer 44 and the pinned layer 46
Hard disk 2 based on the relative angle of magnetization of
The magnetic information recorded on is read.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the thin film magnetic head 10
The recording head unit 60 will be described. Recording head unit 6
0 is arranged on the reproducing head section 30 with an insulating layer 39 interposed therebetween, and serves as an inductive magnetic conversion element. Further, the insulating layer 39 does not necessarily have to be provided. The recording head unit 60 is formed on the lower magnetic layer 61, the lower magnetic pole 61a obtained by trimming a part of the lower magnetic layer 61, the recording gap layer 62 made of an insulating material, and the recording gap layer 62. And the lower magnetic pole 6 via the upper magnetic layer 64.
An upper magnetic pole 64a magnetically coupled to 1a (lower magnetic layer 61) and a plurality of thin film coils 66 are mainly provided. Although the manufacturing process of the upper magnetic pole 64a and the manufacturing process of the upper magnetic layer 64 are separated in this example, they may be manufactured at the same time by the same process. Recording gap layer 6
2, an opening 62a is formed at the center of the thin film coil 66, and the upper magnetic pole 64a and the lower magnetic pole 61a are magnetically coupled to each other through the opening 62a. The thin film coil 6
Recording pads 18a and 18b (see FIG. 2) are electrically connected to the recording medium 6.

The recording head unit 60 as described above records information on the hard disk 2 in the following manner. That is, the thin-film coil 6 is passed through the recording pads 18a and 18b.
When a recording current is passed through 6, the lower magnetic pole 61a and the upper magnetic pole 64
A magnetic field is generated between a and. Then, the recording gap layer 6
Information is recorded by magnetizing the hard disk 2 with a magnetic flux generated in the vicinity of 2.

The above is the outline of the thin film magnetic head, the head gimbal assembly, and the hard disk device obtained by the manufacturing method of the present embodiment. Next, the manufacturing method of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

The thin-film magnetic head 10 is manufactured by forming a portion corresponding to the reproducing head portion 30 and then manufacturing the recording head portion 6.
The procedure is to produce a portion corresponding to 0. First, as shown in FIG. 5, AlTiC (Al ₂ O ₃ .Ti
A base layer 11b made of an insulating material such as alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) having a thickness of about 1 μm to about 10 μm is formed on a wafer-shaped substrate 30 made of C) or the like by a sputtering method. The substrate 30 will be the base 11a of the slider 11 in a later step. Next, on the base layer 11b,
For example, by plating, the lower shield layer 32 made of a magnetic material such as NiFe (permalloy) has a thickness of about 1 μm.
It is formed with a thickness of about 3 μm. Further, as shown in the figure, the lower shield layer 32 is formed at each of matrix-shaped formation positions where the TMR elements 40 will be formed later.

The next step will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 shows a VI-V after performing a plurality of processes in the state of FIG.
It is a sectional view of the I direction. First, except for the portion where the lower shield layer 32 was formed, the insulating layer 11c made of alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) or the like is filled until the surface of the lower shield layer 32 is substantially the same height. Then, the lower shield layer 32
A lower gap layer 34 having a thickness of about 1 nm to about 70 nm is formed thereon by, for example, a sputtering method. As a material for forming the lower gap layer 34, for example, C
u, Al, Au, Ta, NiCr and the like can be mentioned.

After that, the TMR film 42 as a magnetic film is formed on the lower gap layer 34. Specifically, the free layer 44, the tunnel barrier layer 45, the pinned layer 46, and the pinning layer 47 are laminated in this order by, for example, a sputtering method. Preferably, a cap layer for preventing oxidation of the TMR film 42 is formed on the pinning layer 47. Free layer 4
4 has a thickness of about 1 nm to about 10 nm, for example, NiF.
It can be formed of a ferromagnetic material such as e or CoFe.
The tunnel barrier layer 45 has a thickness of about 0.5 nm to about 2 n.
m, it can be formed of an insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ , NiO, MgO, TiO ₂ . When the tunnel barrier layer 45 is formed of Al ₂ O ₃ , for example, Al
After forming a film on the free layer 44, a method of oxidizing this is adopted. The pinned layer 46 has a thickness of about 1 nm to about 1
At 0 nm, it can be formed of a ferromagnetic material such as Fe, Co, Ni, CoFe. The pinned layer 47 has a thickness of about 5 nm to about 30 nm, and can be formed of an antiferromagnetic material such as PtMn that can fix the magnetization direction of the pinned layer 46.

The next step will be described with reference to FIG. This figure shows a state where the substrate 30 is viewed from above, and the lower shield layer 32 located below the TMR film 42 is shown by a broken line for easy understanding. An alignment mark 50 used for adjusting the relative position of the substrate 30 and the optical system is formed on the TMR film 42, and after forming the mark 50, an electron beam resist 49 is applied. Here, it is assumed that the electron beam resist 49 is a negative type in which a portion irradiated with the electron beam remains as a resist layer. In this embodiment, a chemically amplified negative resist is used. Further, in this embodiment, the TMR film 42
Is the base layer to which the electron beam resist 49 is applied.

The alignment mark 50 is formed on the TMR film 42.
Is formed by etching by ion milling or the like. Although not shown, the alignment mark 50
Are formed at a plurality of locations on the substrate 30. The alignment mark 50 is scanned with an electron beam, and the reference position of the substrate 30 is recognized from the intensity of the reflected electrons generated at that time. Since the intensity of the reflected electrons is different between the patterned and removed TMR film 42 and the unremoved portion, the center position of the alignment mark 50 can be obtained.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, an electron beam drawing device (not shown) is operated to irradiate a predetermined position of the electron beam resist 49 with an electron beam under predetermined drawing conditions. As a result, a latent image pattern 48a is formed on the electron beam resist 49. This latent image pattern 48a
Based on the above, a hardened resist layer for patterning the TMR film 42 in a later step is formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the latent image pattern 7 of the cover resist layer (second resist layer) is formed so as to cover the alignment mark 50.
0a is formed. Latent image pattern 70 of cover resist layer
The a is formed by irradiating the electron beam resist 49 with an electron beam by the electron beam drawing apparatus.
The drawing conditions (accelerating voltage, irradiation amount) at this time are the same as those at the time of forming the latent image pattern 48a of the resist layer 48. Further, such a latent image pattern 70a includes a substantially rectangular main pattern 72a in plan view and a plurality of needle-shaped protrusions 74a extending from the outer edge of the main pattern 72a toward the periphery. ing. The process of forming the cover resist layer will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG.

After the substrate 30 is post-baked, the developing solution is applied to the latent image pattern 48a.
And the latent image pattern 70a is developed. As shown in FIG. 10, the developed latent image pattern 48a and latent image pattern 70 are formed.
a is a cured resist layer (first resist layer) 48 and a cover resist layer (second resist layer) 7 respectively.
It becomes 0. The latent image patterns of the main pattern 72a and the protrusion 74a are the main pattern 72 and the protrusion 74, respectively.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI of FIG. In the resist layer 48, recessed undercut portions 48c are formed on both sides (left and right in the drawing) of the bottom portion (near the interface with the TMR film 42). By forming such an undercut portion 48c, the resist layer 48 can be easily lifted off, which will be described later. Undercut part 4
As a method of forming 8c, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-60
As described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-58, a method of coating a layer of low molecular weight polymethylglutarimide (PMGI) on the TMR film 42 and then coating an electron beam resist on this layer can be mentioned. Also, Japanese Patent No. 29738
The undercut portion 48c can be formed by various known techniques such as the method described in Japanese Patent No. 74 or Japanese Patent No. 2922855.

Next, the structure of the cover resist layer 70 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the area XII in FIG. 10 showing the vicinity of the protrusion 74. FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG. 12 and shows a sectional structure on the front side of the protrusion 74. FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV in FIG. 12, showing a sectional structure on the rear side, which is the main pattern 72 side.

As shown in FIG. 13, an undercut portion 74c is formed on the front side of the protrusion 74, in which both sides of the bottom portion (near the boundary with the TMR film 42) are recessed. On the other hand, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, a divergent portion 74w is formed on the rear side of the protrusion 74 so that both sides of the bottom portion are widened. That is, the protrusion 74
Has a shape that narrows toward the bottom on the front side of the virtual boundary line 74l and on the rear side of the virtual boundary line 74l.
It has a shape that expands toward the bottom. The average width of the protrusion 74 in the region where the undercut portion 74c is formed is
The thickness is preferably 0.06 μm to 0.20 μm. Further, since the divergent portion 74w is provided on the rear side, the width of the tip portion of the protrusion 74 is smaller than the width of the rear end portion.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line XV-XV in FIG. 12, partially showing the sectional structure of the main pattern 72. As shown in FIG. 15, the main pattern 72 is formed with a divergent portion 72w whose bottom portion is widened toward the periphery. This divergent portion 72w is located near the base of the protrusion 74
It is connected to w. Main pattern width W1 (see FIG. 10)
Is, for example, about 100 μm to about 5000 μm, which is much larger than the width of the protrusion 74.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 16 (a) and 16 (b), the process of forming the protrusion 74 having such a configuration will be described in more detail than the description in FIG. . still,
Each figure schematically shows the formation process for easy understanding, and does not necessarily show the electron behavior accurately. In addition, here, the description will be made by focusing on the portion of the protrusion 74 on the front side of the boundary line 74l.

First, as shown in FIG. 16A, the electron beam resist 49 is irradiated with an electron beam. The irradiation width determined by the electron beam drawing apparatus at this time is defined as EN ₁ . Since the narrow protrusion 74 is formed, the irradiation width EN ₁ has a small value. Further, the irradiated electron beam is, for example, the TMR film 4 under the electron beam resist 49.
It is scattered (backscattered) by the base layer such as 2. Therefore, the latent image pattern 74 a of the protrusion 74 is formed on the electron beam resist 49 by the electron beam directly irradiated and the electrons backscattered. Since the backscattered electrons are also irradiated in this way, the width EN ₂ of the latent image pattern 74a is slightly wider than the irradiation width EN ₁ as shown in FIG. 16B. The small spread is due to the small amount of electrons backscattered because the irradiation width EN ₁ is narrow. However, since the irradiation width EN ₁ is narrow, in some cases, the latent image pattern 7
The width EN ₂ of 4a can be as high as the irradiation width EN ₁ .

Next, the process of forming the main pattern 72 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 17 (a) and 17 (b). The irradiation width determined by the electron beam drawing apparatus at this time is EW ₁ . The width direction corresponds to the width W1 shown in FIG. Since the main pattern 72 is wider than the protrusion 74, the irradiation width EW ₁ is considerably wider than the irradiation width EN ₁ in FIG. 16A. Further, even when the latent image pattern 72a of the main pattern 72 is formed, the electron beam resist 49 is affected by the electron beam directly irradiated and the electrons backscattered, but since the irradiation width EW ₁ is large, The amount of backscattered electrons is larger than that when the protrusion 74 is formed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 17B, the width EW ₂ of the latent image pattern 72a is significantly wider than the irradiation width EW ₁ . That is, the latent image pattern 74a on the protrusion
The value obtained by subtracting the electron beam irradiation width EN ₁ from the width EN _{2 of}
It is smaller than the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width EW ₁ of the electron beam from the width EW ₂ of the latent image pattern 72a of the main pattern.

In this way, the latent image patterns 72a, 74
After forming a, development processing is performed. At this time, however, a layer of polymethylglutarimide (PMGI), which is easily dissolved in a developing solution, is provided in the lower layer of the electron beam resist 49 as described above ( The bottom of each of the latent image patterns 72a and 74a (not shown) narrows during development. Here, in the latent image patterns 72a and 74a,
An area exposed outside only by electrons backscattered by the base layer such as the TMR film 42 (area outside the irradiation area) is less likely to be dissolved in the developing solution than an area not irradiated with the electron beam from the electron beam drawing apparatus. Has become. For this reason, the undercut portion 74c is formed on the bottom of the protrusion 74, in which the extent of the bottom of the latent image pattern 74a is small, particularly on the tip side of the protrusion 74, because the region that is difficult to dissolve in the developer is narrow. It will be. On the other hand, with respect to the main pattern 72 in which the bottom portion of the latent image pattern 72a has a large spread, the area that is not easily dissolved in the developing solution is large, and therefore the bottom portion does not become depressed due to the development processing, and the divergent portion 7 still remains.
2w remains (see FIGS. 12 and 15).
On the rear side of the protrusion 74, the divergent portion 74w remains as shown in FIGS. 12 and 14, but this is the divergent portion 7
This is because the region in which 4w is formed is irradiated with electrons backscattered when the main pattern 72 is formed.

When the relationship between the protrusions 74 and the main pattern 72 after the development processing is examined, the average value in the length direction of the protrusions 74 of the value obtained by subtracting the electron beam irradiation width EN ₁ from the width W2 of each protrusion 74. Is smaller than the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width EW ₁ of the electron beam from the width W1 of the main pattern 72. Further, a value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width EN ₁ from the width of the bottom of the region where the undercut portion 74c of the protrusion 74 is formed (this value becomes negative) and the bottom of the main pattern 72 where the divergent portion 74w is formed. When compared with the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width EN ₂ from the width of (1), the difference between the two becomes even larger (of course, the former is smaller).

Here, according to this embodiment, the width of the bottom portion due to backscattered electrons is smaller in the protrusion 74 than in the main pattern 72. Therefore, the protrusion 74 has a structure that makes it easy to lift off,
For example, the main pattern 72 is easily lifted off after the protrusion 74 is removed with a stripper or the like.

The next step will be described with reference to FIG.
After forming the resist layer 48 and the cover resist layer 70, the TMR film 42 as a magnetic film is etched by ion milling or the like using the resist layer 48 as a mask. At this time, since the alignment mark 50 is covered with the cover resist layer 70, it can be used in a later step without milling. After the milling process, a pair of magnetic bias applying layers 43 are formed on both sides of the TMR film 42 by, for example, a sputtering method, and the TMR element 40 is obtained. The magnetic bias applying layer 43 is formed of a high coercive force material such as CoPt. After that, an insulating layer 36 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like is deposited by, for example, a sputtering method so as to cover the lower shield layer 32, the lower gap layer 34, and the magnetic bias applying layer 43. 3 and 4, since the insulating layer 11c and the insulating layer 36 are made of the same material (alumina), they are collectively referred to as the insulating layer 36. After forming the insulating layer 36 as a deposition layer, lift-off is performed with a stripping solution, and the resist layer 48 and the cover resist layer 70 are removed by the same removal process together with the material laminated thereon.

Since the resist layer 48 has the undercut portion 48c (see FIG. 11), it can be easily lifted off. Further, in the cover resist layer 70, since the undercut portion 74c is formed in the protrusion 74, the vicinity thereof is first removed by the stripping liquid. After that, the stripping solution penetrates and is removed also in the protrusion 74 on the rear side of the boundary line 74l in FIG. 12, and further, the main pattern 72 is also removed. As described above, in this embodiment, since the main pattern 72 is a large-area pattern, the divergent portion 72w is formed, but the undercut portion 74 is formed.
Since it has the protrusion 74 having c, it is easy to lift off.

Further, in this embodiment, since the undercut portion 74c is formed, the projection 74 of the cover resist layer 70 is also removed by the same processing as the removal processing for the resist layer 48, so that the lift-off work is easy. is there.

The resist layer 48 is formed by the same removing process.
In order to remove the cover resist layer 70, the average width of the protrusions 74 in the longitudinal direction in the region where the undercut portions 74c of the protrusions 74 are formed is such that the undercut portions 48c of the resist layer 48 are formed. It is preferable that the width is not more than twice the average width in the longitudinal direction of the resist layer 48 in the region.

Further, as described above, the average width in the area where the undercut portion 74c of the protrusion 74 is formed is
The thickness is preferably 0.06 μm to 0.20 μm. By narrowing the size to this extent, it is possible to effectively suppress the situation in which the bottom of the latent image pattern 74a is widened by the irradiation of backscattered electrons, and it is easy to lift off.

As described above, the rear end portion of the protrusion 74 is wider than the front end portion, but the front end side is removed first by the stripper or the like, so that the cover resist layer 7 is formed.
As a whole, it is easy to lift off.

In the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-203406, the lift-off cannot be performed easily as in this embodiment. The reason for this is as follows. That is, in the technique of the publication, photolithography is premised, and the width of the protrusion between the notches in the lift-off structure is set to 7 μm, for example. However, even if such a wide protrusion is formed using an electron beam resist, the backscattering amount of the electron beam is increased, and the bottom portion is widened like the main pattern 72 in the present embodiment. It becomes. That is, the spread width of the protrusion and the spread width of the main pattern are substantially the same. as a result,
Of course, smooth lift-off is not possible.

The next step will be described with reference to FIG.
After lifting off the resist layer 48 and the cover resist layer 70, an electron beam resist 49 is applied to the substrate. Then, the electron beam is scanned on the alignment mark 50 exposed by removing the cover resist layer 70, and the substrate 3
Align 0. After the position adjustment is completed, the electron beam resist 49 near the TMR element 40 is irradiated with an electron beam to form a resist layer 51 used to bring the MR height close to a desired value. The MR height refers to the distance in the depth direction of the TMR element as viewed from the air bearing surface S.
After forming the resist layer 51, the TMR element 40 is patterned by ion milling or the like using the resist layer 51 as a mask. Although not described in detail, the TMR element 40 is made to have a desired MR height by lapping processing performed in a subsequent process.

After patterning the TMR element 40 by ion milling, an insulating layer is formed by sputtering or the like, and then the resist layer 51 is lifted off. Then T
An upper shield layer 38 is formed so as to cover the MR film 42 and the insulating layer 36 by, for example, a plating method. Examples of the material forming the upper shield layer 38 include NiFe and the like. The state in which the upper shield layer 38 is formed is as shown in FIG. The lower shield layer 32 (lower electrode) and the upper shield layer 38 (upper electrode) are electrically connected to the reproducing pad 19a and the reproducing pad 19b (see FIG. 2) by a known through-hole forming technique or the like. To do. Through the above process, a portion functioning as the reproducing head unit 30 of the thin film magnetic head is obtained.

Next, referring to FIG. 20, the recording head unit 6
The manufacturing process for 0 will be briefly described. 18 is the same as FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view in the XX-XX direction after a plurality of steps has been performed from that state.

First, an insulating layer 39 made of an insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ is formed on the upper shield layer 38 to have a thickness of about 0.1 μm to about 0.5 μm by, for example, a sputtering method. Then, the recording head portion 60 is formed on the insulating layer 39 later.
The lower magnetic layer 61 including the portion to be the lower magnetic pole 61a (see FIG. 3) is formed. Further, a recording gap layer 62 made of an insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ is formed on the lower magnetic layer 61 by, for example, a sputtering method so as to have a thickness of about 0.05 μm to about 0.5 μm. At this point, the upper portion of the recording gap layer 62 and the lower magnetic layer 61 near the air bearing surface S does not have the narrow pattern as shown in FIG. 3, and the lower magnetic pole 61a is not formed.

A photoresist layer 63 is formed on the recording gap layer 62 in a predetermined pattern with a thickness of about 1.0 μm to about 2.0 μm. Then, a thin film coil 66 of the first stage is formed on the photoresist layer 63 to have a thickness of about 1 μm to about 3 μm.
And the photoresist layer 6 is formed on the thin film coil 66.
Form 7. Recording pads 18a and 18b (see FIG. 2) are electrically connected to the thin-film coil 66 by a known method.

Next, the upper magnetic pole 64a is formed. First,
A magnetic film (not shown) that will become the upper magnetic pole 64a in a later step is
For example, it is formed on the recording gap layer 62 by sputtering to have a thickness of about 3 μm. The magnetic film 64c is, for example,
It is formed of a magnetic material such as NiFe having a high saturation magnetic flux density. Next, a negative type electron beam resist is applied on this magnetic film, and then an electron beam is applied to this to form a predetermined resist layer. Then, after the post-baking treatment, the uncured electron beam resist is washed and removed, and then the magnetic film is selectively etched using the resist layer as a mask by, for example, ion milling or the like, as shown in FIG. Narrow pattern of the upper magnetic pole 64a
To form. Although the method of forming the upper magnetic pole 64a by the sputtering method (dry step) has been described here, the upper magnetic pole 64a can also be manufactured by a wet step such as a plating method.

After that, the second-stage thin-film coil 66 is formed, and the upper magnetic layer 64 (see FIG. 3) which is the rear end of the magnetic pole is formed so that the core is formed through the opening 62a.
Then, a trimming process for further narrowing the upper magnetic pole 64a is performed, and at the same time, the upper portions of the recording gap layer 62 and the upper shield layer 38 are selectively etched. Then, the overcoat layer 2 made of an insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ is formed on the upper magnetic pole 64a by, for example, a sputtering method.
1 is formed with a thickness of about 20 μm to about 30 μm. More than,
This is a manufacturing process of a portion corresponding to the recording head portion 60.

At this stage, as shown in FIG. 21A, since a plurality of thin film magnetic heads 10 are formed on the substrate 30, first, as shown in FIG. The substrate 30 is cut to obtain a plurality of bars 31.
It should be noted that the magnetoresistive effect element assembly referred to in the present specification refers to FIG.
1 (a) means both a substrate on which a plurality of thin film magnetic heads 10 are formed, and a bar obtained by cutting the substrate as shown in FIG. 21 (b). This is a concept that includes all the thin film magnetic heads 10 mounted by cutting a plurality of thin film magnetic heads.

Next, the bar 31 is cut into blocks each having the thin film magnetic head 10. Then, the slider rail is formed by ion milling or the like to obtain the slider 11 shown in FIG. Furthermore, this slider 1
After mounting 1 on the gimbal 12, it is connected to the suspension arm 13 to complete the head gimbal assembly 15 shown in FIG. After the head gimbal assembly 15 is manufactured, the slider 11 is assembled so that the slider 11 can move on the hard disk 2 and the recording and reproducing of the magnetic signal can be performed, so that the hard disk device 1 shown in FIG.
Is completed.

Although the invention made by the present inventors has been specifically described above based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, an MR element using a magnetoresistive film is used instead of an TMR element instead of an AM element.
AMR element using R film, GMR using GMR film
Even in the case of an element or the like, the resist layer patterned by the electron beam can be easily lifted off as in the above embodiment.

[0088]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The resist layer patterned by the electron beam can be easily lifted off.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a hard disk device manufactured according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a magnetic head slider.

3 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the thin film magnetic head in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view near a TMR element.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a substrate on which a plurality of lower shield layers are formed.

FIG. 6 shows a lower gap layer and a T on the lower shield layer.
It is a figure which shows the state which formed the MR film.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which an alignment mark is formed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which a resist layer (first resist layer) for patterning the TMR film is formed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which a latent image pattern of a cover resist layer (second resist layer) having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions is formed.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which a latent image pattern of a cover resist layer (second resist layer) has been developed.

11 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI in FIG.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of a region XII in FIG. 10, showing a protrusion.

13 is a sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG.

14 is a sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV in FIG.

15 is a sectional view taken along line XV-XV in FIG.

16 (a) and 16 (b) are views showing a process of forming a protrusion.

17 (a) and 17 (b) are diagrams showing a process of forming a main pattern.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a state in which the TMR film is patterned and the resist layer (first resist layer) and the cover resist layer (second resist layer) are lifted off.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a state in which a resist layer for shortening the depth direction of the TMR film is formed.

FIG. 20 is a diagram used for explaining the manufacturing process of the recording head unit.

FIG. 21A shows a plurality of thin film magnetic heads 10.
FIG. 22 (b) is a perspective view showing the substrate on which the
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a bar obtained by cutting this substrate.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Hard disk device, 2 ... Hard disk, 10 ...
Thin film magnetic head, 11 ... Slider (magnetic head slider), 11b ... Underlayer, 11a ... Base, 11c ... Insulating layer, 15 ... Head gimbal assembly, 21 ... Overcoat layer, 30 ... Playback head section, 31 ... Bar, 32 ... Lower shield layer (lower electrode), 34 ... Lower gap layer, 3
6 ... Insulating layer (deposited layer), 38 ... Upper shield layer (upper electrode), 39 ... Insulating layer, 40 ... TMR element, 42 ... TMR
Film (magnetoresistive film), 43 ... Magnetic bias applying layer, 4
4 ... Free layer, 45 ... Tunnel barrier layer, 46 ... Pinned layer, 47 ... Pinning layer, 48 ... Resist layer (first resist layer), 48c ... Undercut portion of first resist layer, 48a ... First Latent image pattern of the resist layer of 49, ...
Electron beam resist, 50 ... Alignment mark, 60
... recording head portion, 61 ... upper magnetic layer, 61 ... lower magnetic layer, 61a ... lower magnetic pole, 62 ... recording gap layer, 64 ...
Upper magnetic layer, 64a ... Upper magnetic pole, 66 ... Thin film coil, 7
0 ... Cover resist layer (second resist), 70a ... Latent image pattern of second resist, 72 ... Main pattern, 72
the divergent portion of the w ... main pattern, 74 ... protruding portion, the undercut portion of the 74c ... projection, the divergent portion of 74W ... projection, EN ₁ ... (projection formed) irradiation width, EW ₁ ... irradiation width (main pattern (For formation), W1 ... Width of main pattern, W2 ... Width of protrusion, S ... Air bearing surface.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Tsuneo Kagoya             1-13-1, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo             -In DC Inc. F-term (reference) 5D033 DA07 DA31                 5D034 DA07                 5D042 AA07 NA01 PA08

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, comprising: applying an electron beam resist on a base layer; irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam to form a main pattern and an outer edge of the main pattern. Forming a resist layer having a plurality of protrusions extending from the portion toward the periphery, forming a deposition layer on the resist layer and the base layer, and forming the resist layer on the resist layer The thin film magnetic head is manufactured by at least passing through the step of removing together with the formed deposited layer, and in the step of forming the resist layer, the irradiated electron beam and the scattered electron beam are scattered in the base layer. Latent image pattern to be the resist layer is formed by the electrons and the electrons scattered in the base layer. The broadening of the base layer side, the method of manufacturing the thin film magnetic head, characterized in that towards the projection is smaller than the main pattern of the resist layer that. 2. A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, comprising: applying an electron beam resist on a base layer; irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam to form a main pattern and an outer edge of the main pattern. Forming a resist layer having a plurality of protrusions extending from the portion toward the periphery, forming a deposition layer on the resist layer and the base layer, and forming the resist layer on the resist layer The thin film magnetic head is manufactured by at least passing through the step of removing the deposited layer together with the formed electron beam, and in the step of forming the resist layer, the irradiated electron beam and the electron beam scattered in the base layer are scattered. A latent image pattern to be the resist layer is formed by the electrons, and each protrusion is formed from the width of each protrusion. Irradiation of the electron beam such that the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the electron beam for reducing the irradiation width is smaller than the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the electron beam for forming the main pattern from the width of the main pattern. A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, comprising: 3. The thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein a width of a tip portion of each of the protrusions is smaller than a width of a rear end portion located on the main pattern side. Method. 4. Each of the protrusions has an undercut portion in which both sides of the bottom portion are recessed on the front side, and a divergent portion on which both sides of the bottom portion expand on the rear side which is the main pattern side. The method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein 5. The method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to claim 4, wherein a bottom portion of the main pattern is widened toward the periphery. 6. The average width of each of the protrusions in the region where the undercut portion is formed is 0.06 μm to 0.2.
The method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the thin film magnetic head has a thickness of 0 μm. 7. A method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect element assembly provided with a plurality of magnetoresistive effect elements, comprising: applying an electron beam resist on a base layer; and an electron beam resist on the electron beam resist. And forming a resist layer having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery, and a deposition layer on the resist layer and the base layer. And a step of removing the resist layer together with the deposited layer formed thereon to form a plurality of magnetoresistive effect elements on the substrate to form the resist layer. In the step, the resist layer is formed by the irradiated electron beam and the electrons scattered in the base layer of the electron beam. A latent image pattern is formed, a value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the electron beam for forming each protrusion from the width of each protrusion, the value for forming the main pattern from the width of the main pattern A method for manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect element assembly, which comprises irradiating the electron beam so as to be smaller than a value obtained by subtracting an irradiation width of the electron beam. 8. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider having a thin film magnetic head having a magnetoresistive effect film, comprising: applying an electron beam resist on a base layer; and irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam. And forming a resist layer having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery, and forming a deposition layer on the resist layer and the base layer. And a step of removing the resist layer together with the deposited layer formed thereon, after forming a plurality of magnetoresistive film on the substrate by at least through, the substrate is cut, Forming a magnetic head slider each having the magnetoresistive film, and forming the resist layer, the irradiated electron beam; And the electrons scattered by the electron beam in the base layer form a latent image pattern to serve as the resist layer, and the irradiation of the electron beam to form each protrusion from the width of each protrusion. The irradiation of the electron beam is performed such that the value obtained by subtracting the width is smaller than the value obtained by subtracting the irradiation width of the electron beam for forming the main pattern from the width of the main pattern. Manufacturing method of magnetic head slider. 9. A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, comprising: applying an electron beam resist on a base layer; and irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam,
A resist layer and a second resist layer having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery, to thereby produce a thin-film magnetic head. The method for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, wherein the protrusion of the second resist layer is removed by the same process as the removing process for the first resist layer. 10. A magnetoresistive effect film is formed by forming the first resist layer on a magnetic film and etching the magnetic film using the first resist layer as a mask. 10. The method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to claim 9. 11. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 9, wherein the protrusions of the first resist layer and the second resist layer have an undercut portion having a recessed bottom portion. Manufacturing method. 12. The width of a tip end portion of each of the protrusions is smaller than the width of a rear end portion located on the main pattern side, according to claim 9. Of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head of. 13. The main pattern according to claim 9, wherein a bottom portion of the main pattern is widened toward the periphery.
9. A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to any one of the above. 14. A method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect element assembly having a plurality of magnetoresistive effect elements, comprising: applying an electron beam resist on a base layer; and an electron beam resist on the electron beam resist. Irradiate the first
And a second resist layer having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery of the main pattern. A method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect element assembly, wherein a resistance effect element is formed, and the protrusion of the second resist layer is removed by the same processing as the removal processing for the first resist layer. . 15. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider provided with a thin film magnetic head having a magnetoresistive film, the method comprising: applying an electron beam resist on a base layer; and irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam. And then the first
And a second resist layer having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery of the main pattern and forming a plurality of magnetic layers on the substrate. After forming the resistance effect film, the substrate is cut to form the magnetic head sliders each having the magnetoresistive effect film, and the second processing is performed by the same processing as the removal processing for the first resist layer. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider, wherein the protrusion of the resist layer is removed. 16. A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, comprising: applying an electron beam resist on a base layer; irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam, and
A resist layer and a second resist layer having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery, to thereby produce a thin-film magnetic head. The method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, wherein the first resist layer and the protrusion of the second resist layer have an undercut portion having a recessed bottom portion. 17. The average width of the protrusions of the second resist layer in the region where the undercut portion is formed is an average width of the region of the first resist layer where the undercut portion is formed. 17. The method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to claim 16, wherein the number is less than or equal to 2 times. 18. The method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to claim 16, wherein a bottom portion of the main pattern is widened toward the periphery. 19. A method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect element assembly having a plurality of magnetoresistive effect elements, comprising: applying an electron beam resist on a base layer; and an electron beam resist on the electron beam resist. Irradiate the first
And a second resist layer having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery of the main pattern. A resistance effect element is formed, and the first resist layer and the protrusion of the second resist layer have an undercut portion with a recessed bottom portion. Method. 20. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider having a thin film magnetic head having a magnetoresistive effect film, comprising: applying an electron beam resist on a base layer; and irradiating the electron beam resist with an electron beam. And then the first
And a second resist layer having a main pattern and a plurality of protrusions extending from the outer edge of the main pattern toward the periphery of the main pattern. After forming the resistance effect film, the substrate is cut to form a magnetic head slider each having the magnetoresistive effect film, and the first resist layer and the protrusion of the second resist layer are formed. Is a method for manufacturing a magnetic head slider, characterized in that it has an undercut portion having a recessed bottom portion.