JP2003317213A - Magnetoresistive effect head and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure for a magnetoresistive effect head for manufacturing ferromagnetic tunnel junction elements or magnetoresistive elements to be used in a CPP mode by mechanical polishing alone while assuring working quality and working accuracy and a method for manufacturing the same. <P>SOLUTION: The magnetoresistive effect head which is formed with laminated films interposed with an insulating layer 144 between a first magnetic layer 145 and a second magnetic layer 143 as a major part of the magnetoresistive element and consists of a system to pass a sense current in the film thickness direction of these laminated films comprises forming shielding layers 11 and 16 disposed on the outer side of the laminated films by amorphous metallic layers configurating preventive layers for suppressing the plastic flow of the magnetic layers during mechanical polishing. The electrode layers may be formed of the amorphous metallic layers in place of the shielding layers. The preventive layers for suppressing the plastic flow of the magnetic layers 145 and 143 are recommended to be formed to the spacing therebetween of a range within 40 nm in order to suppress the plastic flow of the magnetic layers. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetoresistive head and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a ferromagnetic tunnel junction element or a CPP (Current Perpen).
The present invention relates to a magnetic head used in a digital plane) mode and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A floating thin film magnetic head used in a magnetic disk device or the like generally has a structure in which a magnetic head element is provided at the rear end of a slider. The slider generally has a rail portion whose surface is a medium facing surface (air bearing surface), and has a taper portion or a step portion near the end portion on the air inflow side. Thus, the rail part is slightly floated above the surface of the recording medium such as a magnetic disk.

As the thin film magnetic head element, an inductive magnetic conversion element for writing and a magnetic resistance [M] for reading are used.
A composite type thin film magnetic head element having a structure in which an R (Magneto Resistive) element is laminated is widely used.

Generally, in order to stabilize the output characteristics and resolution of the magnetic head, it is important to keep the distance between the magnetic pole portion of the magnetic head and the surface of the recording medium at a very small constant value. For that purpose, it is an important requirement that the flatness of the recording medium facing surface of the magnetic head is kept within a predetermined accuracy, the flying height is stabilized, and the MR height value of the magnetic head is kept within a predetermined value. . The MR height means the height of the element, which is the length from the end of the MR element facing the recording medium to the end of the element on the opposite side.

Generally, the MR height is ELG (Ele).
It is processed by a polishing device of a tric lapping guide type. As a conventional method, for example, a polishing method shown in US Pat. No. 5,620,356 is generally used.

The jig used in this method is a main body fixed to a polishing apparatus and a block to be polished for polishing a plurality of MR elements at once (referred to as a bar because it is a rod-shaped sample). And a plurality of load applying sections to which a load for deforming the holding section is applied. The holding portion has an elongated structure that bends when an external force is applied.

In this jig, when a load is applied to the load applying portion from the outside, the holding portion is bent, and the bending of the holding portion allows the bar held by the holding portion to be bent. The outline of the bar polishing method using this jig will be described below.

In this polishing method, first, the bar is fixed to the holder of the jig with an adhesive or the like so that the surface of the bar to be polished (the end surface of the MR magnetic head element) is the front side.

Next, regarding the bar fixed to the jig, the MR height value (element height) of each magnetic head element in the bar
Is measured by an electrical or optical method, and a deviation between the measured value and a target value, that is, a necessary polishing amount is calculated.

Next, among the polishing portions corresponding to the respective magnetic head elements in the bar, those portions which require a larger amount of polishing than the portions corresponding to the other head elements are polished more, so that the portions have a convex shape. The load is applied to the load applying section to deform the bar.

On the other hand, a portion which requires a smaller amount of polishing than a portion corresponding to another head element is not polished as much as possible, so that a bar is deformed by applying a load to the load applying portion so that the portion has a concave shape. The bar is polished by pressing the surface of the bar facing the recording medium against a rotating surface plate in a deformed state of the bar.

In recent years, for example, in a ferromagnetic tunnel junction element, it is necessary to insulate the first and second ferromagnetic layers from each other by a tunnel barrier layer having a thickness of about several nm. However, when mechanically polishing the ferromagnetic tunnel junction element, the first ferromagnetic layer and the second ferromagnetic layer may be locally short-circuited due to the plastic flow action.

That is, since the tunnel barrier layer is as thin as several nm or less, when the first magnetic layer is subjected to plastic deformation in the mechanical polishing process and flows in the polishing direction, electrons cross the tunnel barrier layer and reach the second strong layer. May reach the magnetic layer. First
If a short-circuited state occurs in which the second ferromagnetic layer and the second ferromagnetic layer are in direct contact with each other, the tunnel effect through the tunnel barrier layer cannot be sufficiently obtained, and good device characteristics are impaired.

As a method of preventing a short circuit between the first and second ferromagnetic layers in this mechanical polishing step, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-175927, a two-step polishing process is carried out as follows: A method for manufacturing a ferromagnetic tunnel junction device comprising a tunnel barrier layer sandwiched between a first ferromagnetic layer and a second ferromagnetic layer, the first ferromagnetic layer, the tunnel barrier layer, and the first ferromagnetic layer. The step of collectively polishing the end faces of the second ferromagnetic layer includes sequentially a first polishing process of mechanically polishing the end faces and a second polishing process of dry etching the end faces. I am trying.

In the method of manufacturing a ferromagnetic tunnel junction element according to the above invention, since the end face mechanically polished in the first polishing process is dry-etched in the second polishing process, the first and Even if a local short circuit occurs between the second ferromagnetic layers, the short circuit can be effectively removed. Therefore, it is possible to improve the reproducing characteristic when the ferromagnetic tunnel junction element is used in the magnetic head.

[0016]

When the recording density of the magnetic disk device is higher and the flying height of the magnetic head is in the region of a dozen nanometers, the output characteristics and resolution of the elements of the magnetic head are improved. In addition to improving the accuracy of the MR height (height restriction), reducing the recess (dent) of the magnetic head element is an important issue.

The slider surface of the magnetic head has a hard slider material (for example, alumina-titanium carbide Al ₂ O ₃ -T).
iC, Vickers hardness Hv = 2000) and a magnetic core (for example, permalloy NiFe, Hv = 300). Therefore, the magnetic core is softer than the hard slider material.
Therefore, when the slider surface is dry-etched, there is a problem that the soft magnetic core portion is deeply cut due to the difference in etching rate. As a result, a recess (recess) of several nanometers is produced in the magnetic core portion on the magnetic air bearing surface rather than the slider material, and the flying height of the magnetic head is substantially increased, and the output characteristics and resolution of the magnetic head element are increased. It becomes an obstacle.

Further, there arises a problem that the flying height is stabilized and the MR height of the magnetic head cannot be kept within a predetermined value. Even if the values of the throat height and the MR height of the magnetic head are kept within predetermined values in the mechanical polishing process, the values become a cause of variation due to the etching process.

Further, if the dry etching process is performed after the mechanical polishing process, the manufacturing process increases, that is, the manufacturing cost increases.

Further, in this kind of high recording density magnetic disk device, in order to make the flying height of the magnetic head smaller, the MR element surface is made to face the recording medium surface, resulting in contact start / stop (CSS). Abbreviated)
Alternatively, during repeated loading and unloading, the magnetic core portion of the MR element, which is softer than the slider material, is worn and the flying height is substantially increased, and head crash occurs.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and in particular, the processing quality and processing accuracy of a ferromagnetic tunnel junction element or a magnetoresistive element used in a CPP (Current Perpendicular plane) mode are improved. The object of the present invention is to provide an element structure and a manufacturing method for ensuring the above-mentioned structure and manufacturing only by mechanical polishing.

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of various experiments conducted by the present inventors in order to achieve the above object, a laminated film in which an insulating layer is sandwiched between a first magnetic layer and a second magnetic layer is obtained. In the manufacturing process of the magnetoresistive element in which the end faces of are collectively polished, a plastic flow prevention layer that suppresses element flow in the polishing direction is provided in order to suppress plastic flow in the polishing direction due to plastic deformation of the magnetic layer that occurs during polishing. I got the knowledge that I should do it.

At this time, in order to suppress the plastic flow layer to several nm, it is achieved by disposing the plastic flow prevention layer for suppressing element flow in the range of several 40 nm from the magnetic layer. This can be achieved, for example, by using a soft magnetic amorphous material having a larger yield stress than a metal-based material for the magnetic shield layer that covers the outside of the magnetoresistive element. Alternatively, it is possible to use a so-called amorphous alloy whose yield stress is larger than that of a metallic material for the electrode layer.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above findings. (1) A first invention is a laminated film having an insulating layer interposed between a first magnetic layer and a second magnetic layer. A magnetoresistive head, which is a main part of the magnetoresistive element, in which a sense current is passed in the film thickness direction of the laminated film, and an amorphous metal layer is provided outside the laminated film.

(2) A second aspect of the present invention is the first magnetic layer and the second aspect.
And a pair of electric electrodes electrically connected to the first and second magnetic layers, respectively, and a laminated film in which an insulating layer is interposed between the magnetic layer and the magnetic layer. A magnetoresistive head of the type in which a sense current flows in the film thickness direction of a magnetoresistive element having a magnetic shield layer, wherein at least one of the electrode of the magnetoresistive element or the magnetic shield layer is formed of an amorphous metal layer. Is characterized by.

(3) A third invention is the magnetoresistive head according to the above (1) or (2), wherein an insulating layer is provided.
It is characterized in that the magnetoresistive element is a tunnel type magnetoresistive element by being constituted by a tunnel barrier layer.

(4) A fourth invention is the magnetoresistive head according to the above (1) or (2), wherein an insulating layer is provided.
The first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer are partially in contact with each other and electrically connected to each other by forming an insulating layer partially provided with a plurality of current constriction openings. Thus, the magnetoresistive element is a magnetoresistive effect element used in the CPP mode.

(5) A fifth invention is that in the magnetoresistive head according to any one of the above (1) to (4), the amorphous metal layer is composed of an amorphous soft magnetic material layer. Characterize.

(6) A sixth aspect of the present invention is the magnetoresistive head according to any one of the above (2) to (5), wherein the distance between the magnetic shield layers does not exceed 40 nm. Characterize.

(7) A seventh invention is the magnetoresistive head according to any one of the above (1) to (5), wherein the amorphous metal layer is made of an amorphous alloy having a Vickers hardness of at least 800. It is characterized by

(8) An eighth invention is the magnetoresistive head according to any one of the above (1) to (7), wherein the amorphous alloy is an amorphous alloy containing Co as a main component. Characterize.

(9) A ninth aspect of the present invention is the first magnetic layer and the second aspect.
Forming a laminated film forming an essential part of the magnetoresistive element by interposing an insulating layer between the laminated film and the magnetic layer, and mechanically polishing the end face of the laminated film so as to be orthogonal to the laminated film thickness direction. A method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect head, comprising: a step of regulating a height of an element from the end face, wherein in the step of forming the laminated film, an amorphous material is formed outside the first magnetic layer or the second magnetic layer. In the step of forming a metal layer and mechanically polishing the end surface of the laminated film, the amorphous metal layer suppresses plastic flow of the magnetic layer, thereby forming a first magnetic layer on the end surface of the laminated film. It is characterized in that it is configured to prevent a short circuit with the second magnetic layer.

The first and second magnetic layers are generally used ferromagnetic layers, such as CoFe,
Multilayer film of NiFe or CoFe, NiFe (CoF
e / NiFe) or CoFe / Ru / NiFe.

The insulating layer sandwiched between the first and second magnetic layers is, for example, a natural oxide film of Al, MgO, S.
It is composed of a non-magnetic oxide such as rTiO ₃ , HfO ₂ , TaO, NbO and MoO. As described above, in the tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR) element, the first and second ferromagnetic layers are insulated from each other by the tunnel barrier layer having a thickness of about several nm (for example, 1 to 2 nm, the thinner the better). It is necessary to

In the case of a magnetoresistive head in which the magnetoresistive element is used in the CPP mode, for example, a plurality of current constriction openings are partially provided in the insulating layer, and the first through the openings. The magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer are partially brought into contact with each other to increase the resistance value between these two magnetic layers. However, the difference is that an opening for current constriction is provided in the insulating layer. The other structure of the magnetic head is basically the same as that of the tunnel magnetoresistive (TMR) element.

[0035]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a ferromagnetic tunnel type magnetoresistive effect element according to the present invention. In the figure, 11 is an upper shield (consisting of an amorphous magnetic material) for blocking an external magnetic pole which is noise, 12 is an upper gap layer, 13 is an insulating film in which a TMR element is embedded, and 14 is an end face of a laminated film. Polished ferromagnetic tunnel magnetoresistive (TMR) element (hereinafter T
MR element), 15 is a lower gap layer, 16 is a lower shield (made of an amorphous magnetic material), and 10 is a base plate.

As shown in FIG. 1, the TMR element 14 has a structure in which the tunnel barrier layer 143 is sandwiched between the first magnetic layer 145 and the second magnetic layer 143.

Here, the first magnetic layer 145 is the substrate 1
0 is formed on the lower shield 16 and is connected to an external electric circuit. The second magnetic layer 143 is also connected to the external electric circuit via the antiferromagnetic layer 141 and the upper gap 12.

These two types of magnetic layers 145 and 143
Have different coercive forces, there is a phenomenon that the relationship between the magnetization directions of the magnetic layers 145 and 143 changes depending on the change of the external magnetic field between the case where they are parallel and the case where they are antiparallel. Occur.

The magnetic layers 145 and 143 are made of CoFe,
Multilayer film of NiFe or CoFe and NiFe (CoF
e / NiFe) or CoFe / Ru / CoFe.

The tunnel barrier layer is a natural oxide film of Al, MgO, SrTiO ₃ , HfO ₂ , TaO, NbO,
It is composed of a non-magnetic oxide film such as MoO. As described above, in the TMR element, it is necessary that the first and second ferromagnetic layers are insulated from each other by the tunnel barrier layer having a thickness of about several nm.

However, when mechanically polishing the tunnel junction element, the first ferromagnetic layer and the second ferromagnetic layer may be locally short-circuited by the plastic flow action. That is, since the tunnel barrier layer is extremely thin, such as several nanometers or less, when the first magnetic layer 145 is plastically deformed and flows in the polishing direction, for example, in the mechanical polishing step of polishing the polishing direction from the lower side to the upper side in FIG. , The electrons may cross the tunnel barrier layer 144 and reach the second ferromagnetic layer 143.

When a short circuit state occurs in which the first and second ferromagnetic layers are in direct contact with each other, the tunnel effect through the tunnel barrier layer cannot be sufficiently obtained, and good device characteristics are impaired.

However, in the case of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
Since the upper shield 11 and the lower shield 16 made of an amorphous magnetic material are provided as the plastic flow prevention layers within the thickness of the R element 14 within 40 nm, the first magnetic layer 145 is not plastically deformed by polishing. It does not flow in the polishing direction (in this case, from the lower side to the upper side) in the polishing direction to cross the tunnel barrier layer 144 and reach the second ferromagnetic layer 143.

The reason is that the upper shield 11 made of an amorphous magnetic material as the plastic flow prevention layer has an effect of preventing the plastic flow of the first magnetic layer 145, as described later.

In the above FIG. 1, the upper and lower shields 11 and 1
Although an example in which 6 is also used as an electrode to form an amorphous magnetic material is shown, the first magnetic layer 144 may be similarly formed even if the upper electrode 12 and the lower electrode 15 are made of an amorphous alloy.
It is possible to prevent plastic flow.

As the amorphous magnetic material (alloy), for example, Fe-B-Si amorphous alloy, Co
-Fe-Ni-Bi-Si amorphous alloy, other C
o-Ta-Zr, Co-Nb-Zr, etc. are mentioned.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, by providing an amorphous magnetic material (alloy) layer as a plastic flow prevention layer on the outside of the TMR element, the plasticity between the magnetic layers is mechanically polished when the end face of the TMR element is mechanically polished. The reason why the short circuit can be prevented by the flow will be described.

FIG. 3 shows an AFM (Atomic-Force-Microscop).
It is the figure which showed the relationship between the scratch load and the scratch depth by performing the scratch test of the material using e). That is, it represents the relationship between the scratch depth (scratch depth) and the load when a predetermined scratch load is applied to the indenter (single needle) and the sample surface is scratched. In FIG. 3, 31 is permalloy, 32 is alumina titanium carbide (Al2O3).
-TiC) corresponding to each sample data. From the figure, the scratch depth depends on the material for the same scratch load.
You can see that it is completely different.

Consider the cutting depth of abrasive grains during polishing with permalloy, which is a typical magnetic shield material. When the load applied per abrasive grain is roughly calculated from the load applied in the actual polishing process, the number of embedded abrasive grains, etc., it is about 1 to 2 μN.

As the polishing plate (polishing platen), a sample is pressed against a platen of a tin-based alloy having a single crystal diamond with an average particle diameter of 0.125 μm embedded therein under a predetermined load for polishing. The scratch depth corresponding to a scratch load of about 1 to 2 μN can be estimated to be about 1 to 2 nm. Therefore, it can be determined that the depth of cutting of the abrasive grains during the actual polishing process is about 1 to 2 nm.

Next, FIG. 4 shows the results calculated by FEM analysis of the relationship between the radius of the plastic deformation region and the amount of indentation that occurs when the indenter is pushed into Permalloy. From the figure, it can be seen that the region having a radius of about 40 nm undergoes plastic deformation with respect to the indentation of 2 nm.

As will be described in detail later, since the alloy material used for the magnetoresistive effect has substantially the same mechanical properties as permalloy, when a 2 nm cut is made by polishing abrasive grains, the entire laminated film is plastically deformed. Then, the magnetic layer undergoes plastic deformation in the mechanical polishing step and flows in the polishing direction, and electrons cross the tunnel barrier layer to reach the second ferromagnetic layer, causing a short circuit state.

Therefore, the magnetoresistive film (the TMR element 1 of FIG. 1 is
By laminating a deformation suppressing layer made of an amorphous magnetic material on the outer side of 4), it is possible to suppress the plastic flow in the polishing step. FIG. 5 shows the magnetic shield layer 1 according to the present invention.
It is a figure explaining the material characteristic required for the deformation control by 1 and 16 (refer to Drawing 1), and its control effect. In FIG. 5, 51 (circle mark) is the yield stress, 52 (triangle mark) is the longitudinal elastic modulus, 53
(Open square mark) indicates the plastic flow amount ratio, which indicates the plastic flow suppressing effect of the present invention.

Generally, plastic deformation occurs when the internal stress of a material exceeds a predetermined value (yield stress). The strain until reaching the yield stress is determined by the longitudinal elastic modulus.
Therefore, the larger the yield stress and the larger the longitudinal elastic modulus, the smaller the plastic deformation amount. Further, the yield stress and the longitudinal elastic modulus are almost correlated with hardness.

In FIG. 5, the region 54 indicates the range of Vickers hardness Hv that can be obtained with general metal materials and alloy materials. Moreover, in FIG. 5, 56 shows the value of permalloy. The plastic flow amount ratio 53 is based on the result of calculating the plastic flow amount by FEM analysis using a model simulating the scratch test. The FEM analysis was performed on a model in which a shield layer of Permalloy 1 μm was adjacent to a magnetoresistive layer of 40 nm, the magnetoresistive layer was cut by 2 nm, further scratched by 2 nm toward the shield direction, and then the indenter was unloaded.
The ratio of the amount of plastic flow when the shield material is changed is shown.

From FIG. 5, the plastic flow rate ratio 53 increases with an increase in Vickers hardness. However, for metal and alloy materials, the range of Vickers hardness that can be taken is about 400, and the plastic flow rate ratio 53 in that case is 80%,
Only a 20% reduction. In FIG. 5, a region 55 is a Co-based or Fe-based amorphous magnetic material (soft magnetic alloy).
The yield stress (circle mark) and the longitudinal elastic modulus (triangle mark) that can be taken are shown in the range. Co-based or Fe-based amorphous magnetic materials have excellent properties as soft magnetic materials and can be sufficiently used as magnetic shield materials.

Incidentally, 51a-52 in the area 55 in FIG.
a-53a is a Co-Fe-Ni-Bi-Si amorphous alloy, and 51b-52b-53b is Fe-Bi-Si.
Examples of amorphous alloys are shown respectively.

Since the longitudinal elastic modulus is an amorphous metal,
Although it does not take a value on the extrapolation line as a function of the Vickers hardness of the metal and alloy material 54, the yield stress is on the extrapolation line as a function of the Vickers hardness, and the plastic flow rate ratio 53 in that case is about 60, The amount of plastic flow can be reduced by about 40% compared to the case where Permalloy is used as the shield material. As a result, the ferromagnetic tunnel junction element can be mechanically polished without locally short-circuiting the first ferromagnetic layer and the second ferromagnetic layer due to the plastic flow action.

[0059]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. Specific materials, dimensions, conditions and the like when the TMR element is used for the magnetoresistive head shown in FIG.

On the lower magnetic shield film 16 on the ceramic substrate 10, 1 μm of CoTaZr which is a Co-based amorphous alloy is used.
m, Ta in the lower gap film 15 is 15 nm, and in the TMR element 14, the free layer 145 is made of (NiFe (5 nm) / Co).
Fe (1 nm)) tunnel barrier layer 144 with Al oxide (1.5 nm), underlying film 142 with CoFe (5 nm),
The antiferromagnetic film 141 has PtMn (5 nm), the upper gap film 12 has Ta of 3 nm, and the upper magnetic shield film 11 has Co.
Co-based amorphous alloy CoTaZr with 1μm,
The upper and lower shield spacing was about 36 nm.

The thickness of the lower magnetic shield film 16 and the upper shield film 11 may be 1 to 5 μm. Lower gap film 12
May be Nb, Ru, Mo, Pt, Ir, or an alloy containing these elements, or an alloy with W, Cu, Al, or a multi-layer structure composed of different elements.

The upper gap film 12 may be Au, Al, or the like. The base layer 142 may be NiFe or the like. The antiferromagnetic film 141 is made of MnIr, MnPt, FeMn, C.
An rMn-based alloy, MnPtPd, NiMn-based alloy or the like may be used.

The fixed layer 143 and the free layer 145 are made of NiF.
A single-layer structure of ferromagnetism such as an e-alloy, a Co alloy, a CoFe alloy, or a CoNiFe alloy, or a multilayer structure of the above-mentioned ferromagnetic film may be used.

The tunnel barrier layer 144 is made of Al--O, Si.
A single layer film such as -O or Ta-O, or a laminated structure in which a ferromagnetic film is sandwiched between laminated films of these materials can be used.

Next, a method of manufacturing the magnetoresistive effect sensor 20 will be described. First, the lower magnetic shield film 16 is formed on the substrate 10 by the sputtering method or the plating method, and then the lower gap film 15 is formed by the sputtering method.

After the surface of the lower gap film 15 is ion-cleaned, the free layer 144 of the TMR film 14 is formed by the sputtering method, and then the vacuum is not broken and several tens Torr is maintained.
Then, the tunnel barrier layer 143 is formed by performing natural oxidation for several tens of minutes in the oxygen atmosphere.

After that, films for forming the fixed layer 142, the base film 142 and the antiferromagnetic film 141 are successively formed in order. Thus, the TMR film 13 according to the present invention is formed.

Thereafter, a resist film is formed in a desired shape on the TMR film, and then TM is formed by ion milling.
The R film 14 is processed into a predetermined shape. After lightly ion-cleaning the surface of the TMR film 14, the magnetic domain control film 13 is processed by the sputtering method and the resist is lifted off.

Next, the upper gap film 12 is formed by the sputtering method or the vapor deposition method. Finally, the upper magnetic shield film 11 is formed by the sputtering method or the plating method to complete the magnetoresistive effect sensor as shown in FIG.

Further, in this embodiment, the TMR film 14 is formed from the bottom to the free layer 144, the tunnel barrier layer 143, and the fixed layer 14.
3, laminated with the antiferromagnetic layer 141. However, the TMR film has the antiferromagnetic layer 141 and the fixed layer 14 from the bottom.
3, the tunnel barrier layer 143 and the free layer 144 can be laminated in the opposite manner.

A reproducing head was manufactured using the TMR element 14 and a scratch test by the AFM was conducted.
The results are shown in Fig. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the output change ratio 21 of the magnetoresistive effect sensor according to the present invention is, for comparison, compared with the output change ratio 22 of the conventional magnetoresistive effect sensor using NiFe as the shield material. It was confirmed that there was no. Also, since it is strong against scratches, H
As a result of performing a sliding test by incorporating it in the DD, there was no head crash.

The case of the TMR element in the magnetoresistive head shown in FIG. 1 has been described.
Even in the case of the MR element, the same effect can be naturally obtained. In particular, in the case of a CPP type GMR element, since the resistance value of the element itself is small, an oxide layer may be inserted between the element layers to increase the resistance of the element. In this case, the same effect as that of the TMR element can be obtained. Needless to say.

[0073]

As described above, according to the present invention, the plastic flow prevention film for suppressing the plastic flow of the magnetic film in the mechanical polishing step to prevent the short circuit of the TMR element and the plastic flow preventive film for suppressing the plastic flow are provided. It was possible to achieve the intended purpose of reducing head crush by forming it with a high amorphous alloy.

That is, the plastic deformation of the magnetic layer in the mechanical polishing step is achieved by providing a layer for suppressing element flow in the polishing direction in order to suppress plastic flow in the polishing direction.
At this time, in order to suppress plastic flow, it is achieved by disposing a layer that suppresses element flow within a range of 40 nm from the magnetic layer.

For that purpose, as shown in the embodiment, it is possible to use a so-called soft magnetic amorphous material having a larger yield stress than the metallic material for the shield layer. Alternatively, it has been clarified that this is possible by using a so-called amorphous alloy having a larger yield stress than the metal material for the electrode layer.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of a ferromagnetic tunnel type magnetoresistive effect element according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram illustrating a plastic flow suppressing effect for explaining the effect of the present invention in comparison with a comparative example.

FIG. 3 is a correlation diagram showing the relationship between scratch depth and scratch load for explaining the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a correlation diagram showing a relationship between a scratch depth and a plastic region radius for explaining the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing a plastic flow suppressing effect for explaining the principle of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Upper shield (amorphous magnetic material), 12 ...
Upper gap film, 13 ... Insulating film, 14 ... Ferromagnetic tunnel type magnetoresistive (TMR) element, 15 ... Lower gap film, 16 ... Lower shield (amorphous magnetic material), 3
1 ... Permalloy data, 32 ... AlTiC (Al ₂ O ₃
-TiC) data, 51 ... Yield stress, 52 ... Longitudinal elastic modulus, 53 ... Plastic flow rate ratio, 54 ... Characteristic range that can be taken by metal material and alloy material, 55 ... Co-based or Fe-based amorphous magnetic material Range of possible characteristics, 56 ...
Permalloy data.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kenji Furusawa             292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa             Inside the Hitachi, Ltd. production technology laboratory F-term (reference) 5D034 BA03 BA09 BB08 DA01 DA07

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A method in which a laminated film having an insulating layer interposed between a first magnetic layer and a second magnetic layer is a main part of a magnetoresistive element, and a sense current is passed in the film thickness direction of the laminated film. 2. A magnetoresistive effect head characterized in that an amorphous metal layer is provided outside the laminated film. 2. A laminated film having an insulating layer interposed between a first magnetic layer and a second magnetic layer, and a pair of electrodes electrically connecting the first and second magnetic layers. A magnetic head in which a sense current flows in the film thickness direction of a magnetoresistive element having a magnetic shield layer provided outside the electrode, wherein at least one of the electrodes of the magnetoresistive element is formed of an amorphous metal layer. A magnetoresistive effect head characterized in that. 3. A laminated film having an insulating layer interposed between a first magnetic layer and a second magnetic layer, and a pair of electrodes electrically connecting the first and second magnetic layers. A magnetic head of the type in which a sense current flows in the film thickness direction of a magnetoresistive element that also serves as a magnetic shield layer, wherein at least one of the electrodes of the magnetoresistive element is formed of an amorphous metal layer. head. 4. The magnetoresistive element according to claim 1, wherein the magnetoresistive element is a tunnel type magnetoresistive element by forming the insulating layer by a tunnel barrier layer. Effect head. 5. The insulating layer is composed of an insulating layer in which a plurality of current confinement openings are partially provided, and the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer are partially provided through the openings. 4. The magnetoresistive head according to claim 1, wherein the magnetoresistive element is a magnetoresistive effect element used in a CPP mode by being connected. 6. The magnetoresistive head according to claim 1, wherein the amorphous metal layer is an amorphous soft magnetic layer. 7. The magnetoresistive head according to claim 1, wherein the shield layers have an interval of 40 nm or less. 8. The magnetoresistive head according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the electrode layers is within a range not exceeding 40 nm. 9. The amorphous metal layer is at least 80.
9. The magnetoresistive head according to claim 1, wherein the magnetoresistive head is made of an amorphous alloy having a Vickers hardness of 0. 10. The magnetoresistive head according to claim 1, wherein the amorphous alloy layer contains Co as a main component. 11. The magnetoresistive head according to claim 1, wherein the amorphous alloy layer contains Fe as a main component. 12. A step of forming a film forming a main part of a magnetoresistive element with an insulating layer interposed between a first magnetic layer and a second magnetic layer, and mechanically forming an end face of the laminated film. Polished to
A method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect head, comprising: a step of defining an element height from the end face orthogonal to the laminated film thickness direction, wherein the step of forming the laminated film includes the step of forming the first magnetic layer or the first magnetic layer. In the step of forming an amorphous metal layer on the outer side of the second magnetic layer and mechanically polishing the end face of the laminated film, the plastic flow of the magnetic layer is suppressed, so that the first face is formed on the end face of the laminated film. Magnetic layer and second
A method for manufacturing a magnetoresistive effect head, characterized in that it is configured to prevent short-circuiting with the magnetism.