JP2006032717A - Manufacturing method for thin-film element and aggregate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method for a thin-film element avoiding electrostatic breakdown and being capable of inhibiting insulation degradation or breakdown, the change of the resistance value of an element section or the like. <P>SOLUTION: A conductor thin-film 50 electrically parallel with the element 33 is formed before a treatment process having a possibility generating charge. The conductor thin-film 50 has the resistance value lower than that of the element 33. The treatment process is carried out, the conductor thin-film 50 is dry-etched, and the conductor thin-film 50 is removed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a thin film element and an assembly thereof.

  As the thin film element, for example, a thin film magnetic head, an MRAM (Nonvolatile Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory), a magnetic sensor, an IC, or a semiconductor is known.

  In manufacturing this type of thin film element, a thin film formation process was performed on the wafer to obtain a multilayer film structure, then various processing steps were performed on the wafer, and the wafer was further cut. The intermediate assembly is subjected to a polishing process, a cleaning process, and the like, and finally cut to include individual thin film elements, and the individual product is taken out.

  However, the above-described manufacturing process generally includes a process for generating charging. In this type of thin film element, the main part is composed of an extremely thin multilayer film. Therefore, when charging occurs in the manufacturing process, the multilayer film is electrostatic discharge (ESD), overvoltage, overcurrent (EOS: Electrical Over Stress) may cause electrostatic breakdown, resulting in deterioration of insulation or breakdown, change in resistance value of the element portion, and the like.

  In particular, in a thin film magnetic head, a giant magnetoresistive element (Giant Magneto Resistive, hereinafter) such as a spin valve film (hereinafter referred to as an SV film) or a ferromagnetic tunnel junction film (hereinafter referred to as a TMR film) is used as a reproducing element. The one using GMR) is the mainstream. Since the SV film and the TMR film are made of a very thin multilayer film having a film thickness per nm, in the manufacturing process, ESD or EOS causes electrostatic breakdown, insulation deterioration or breakdown, and element resistance. The risk of causing a value change or the like becomes higher.

  When the reproduction element is deteriorated in insulation or dielectric breakdown, the resistance value of the element portion changes, etc., problems such as a problem that the electric noise of the reproduction signal increases and electromagnetic conversion characteristics are deteriorated. If these problems occur, it will be a major cause of reducing the product yield, and measures to prevent and prevent them must be taken. As such suppression / prevention means, various proposals have been conventionally made.

  For example, Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 are short films made of a conductive resin or a conductive film, in which a reproducing element is short-circuited, and after the polishing process or the like is completed, the short film is removed with a solvent. Is disclosed.

  However, in the techniques disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, ESD destruction may occur when the short film is removed with a solvent. In addition, since a short film made of a conductive resin or a conductive film is used, the short film may be detached in a wet process such as cleaning of a thin film element.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a technique that can achieve the same effect as a short circuit of a reproducing element without directly shorting the reproducing element by using a shield film having a complicated shape. However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3, there is a risk that ESD destruction occurs when the shunt is removed.

  Further, Patent Document 4 discloses a thin film element having a shunt resistor between reproducing elements, but does not disclose a technique for removing the shunt resistor. Moreover, since the shunt resistor is built in the thin film element, it is necessary to make the resistance value sufficiently high, and there is a possibility that electrostatic discharge or the like at the time of manufacture cannot be sufficiently prevented.

  Further, for example, Patent Document 5 discloses a technique of removing the shunt film by mechanical cutting of a grinding wheel after the polishing process or the like is completed. However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 5, when the shunt film is removed, mechanical friction may occur and ESD damage may occur.

  In addition, a technique for short-circuiting the electrodes during the entire wafer process is also known, but in this case, the characteristics between the electrode films cannot be measured in the wafer process. Even if destruction, a change in the resistance value of the element portion, etc. occur, it cannot be known.

For this reason, since the characteristic measurement work must be performed after the wafer is cut and taken out as an individual thin film element, the yield is lowered and individual characteristic measurement work for each thin film element is required. Therefore, the work becomes extremely troublesome.
JP-A-9-180130 JP 2003-36508 A JP-A-9-91623 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-233011 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-25020

  An object of the present invention is to provide a thin film element manufacturing method capable of avoiding electrostatic breakdown and suppressing the occurrence of insulation deterioration or breakdown, change in resistance value of an element portion, etc., and an assembly used for carrying out this manufacturing method Is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention discloses a method for manufacturing a thin film element and an assembly.

1. Method for Manufacturing Thin Film Element A thin film element to which the manufacturing method according to the present invention is applied includes an element part, and the element part is provided on a base. In this structure, a conductive thin film that is electrically parallel to the element portion is formed before a processing step that may cause charging. The conductive thin film has a resistance value lower than the resistance value of the element portion. Next, after performing the processing step, the conductive thin film is removed by dry etching the conductive thin film.

  As described above, in the manufacturing method according to the present invention, the conductive thin film that is electrically parallel to the element portion is formed before the processing step that may cause charging. The conductive thin film has a resistance value lower than the resistance value of the element portion. The conductive thin film is removed after processing steps that may cause charging are performed. That is, while a processing step that may cause charging is performed, a conductive thin film having a resistance value lower than the resistance value of the element unit is electrically connected in parallel to the element unit. Therefore, even if charging occurs in the processing process, the element portion avoids electrostatic discharge (ESD), electrostatic breakdown due to overvoltage or overcurrent, and the element portion is deteriorated or deteriorated. Generation | occurrence | production of the resistance value change of an element part, etc. can be suppressed.

  After executing the processing step, the conductive thin film is dry-etched to remove the conductive thin film. The advantage of removing the conductive thin film by dry etching is that there is no possibility of causing electrostatic breakdown due to friction when the conductive thin film is removed. In addition, since there is no need to use a solvent, there is no room for electrostatic damage due to the solvent. After the process of removing the conductive thin film is completed, the characteristics of the element part can be measured and the apparatus can be used for normal use. Since the element portion is in an open state before the conductor thin film is formed, the characteristics of the element portion can be measured if necessary.

  The present invention further discloses a specific embodiment. In the manufacturing method according to this specific aspect, the thin film element includes a first terminal, a second terminal, and an element part. The element portion is provided on a base and is covered with a protective film. The first terminal is provided on one surface of the protective film, and is electrically connected to one end side of the element portion. The second terminal is provided on the one surface of the protective film, and is electrically connected to the other end side of the element portion.

  In the above configuration, a conductive thin film that connects the first terminal and the second terminal is formed on the one surface of the protective film before a processing step that may cause charging. The conductor thin film has a resistance value lower than the resistance of the element portion.

  Next, after the processing step is performed, the conductive thin film is dry-etched to remove the conductive thin film at least between the first terminal and the second terminal.

  Also in the manufacturing method according to this aspect, the conductor thin film having a resistance value lower than the resistance of the element portion between the first terminal and the second terminal during the processing step that may cause charging. Since the element part is bypassed by the conductive thin film, the element part is subjected to electrostatic discharge (ESD), electrostatic breakdown due to overvoltage and overcurrent. By avoiding this, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of insulation deterioration or breakdown of the element portion, change in resistance value of the element portion, and the like.

  In addition, since the conductive thin film does not come off in a wet process such as cleaning, electrostatic breakdown can be reliably avoided.

  After performing the processing step that may cause charging, the conductive thin film is dry-etched to remove at least the conductive thin film between the first terminal and the second terminal. The advantage of removing the conductive thin film over dry etching is that, as already described, there is no possibility of causing electrostatic breakdown due to friction when the conductive thin film is removed. In addition, since there is no need to use a solvent, there is no room for electrostatic damage due to the solvent.

  After the process of removing the conductive thin film is completed, the characteristics of the element part can be measured and the apparatus can be used for normal use. Since the element portion is in an open state before the conductor thin film is formed, the characteristics of the element portion can be measured if necessary. Since the first terminal and the second terminal are provided on one surface of the protective film, the measurement operation can be easily performed on the same plane using the first terminal and the second terminal. Can do.

  In both cases described above, the formation and removal of the conductor thin film is preferably performed in a neutral atmosphere. This is because electrostatic breakdown can be avoided more reliably.

  Moreover, in the manufacturing method which concerns on this invention, it is preferable to measure the characteristic of an element part before conductor thin film formation. This is because, by measuring the characteristics of the element part, only the normal part can be advanced to the subsequent process, the waste of the process can be omitted, and the decrease in the manufacturing yield can be prevented.

  In the present invention, processing steps that may cause charging include formation of a mask for forming a predetermined pattern, removal of the mask, cutting of the substrate, polishing, or washing. The conductive thin film is made of a material having high adhesion strength and excellent chemical stability, for example, a metal material, in consideration of the properties of these processing steps. Thereby, peeling and damage in the treatment process can be prevented, and electrostatic breakdown can be avoided.

2. Assembly The assembly according to the present invention includes a substrate and a thin film element. The thin film element includes a plurality of elements, each including an element part and a conductive thin film, and is arranged on the base body sharing the base body. The conductive thin film has a resistance value lower than the resistance of the element portion, and is electrically connected to the element portion in parallel.

  The aggregate | assembly which concerns on this invention may contain the base | substrate, the protective film, the thin film element, and the conductor thin film as a specific aspect. There are a plurality of thin film elements, and each of the thin film elements includes a first terminal, a second terminal, and an element portion, and is aligned on the base using a common base. The element portion is provided on the base and is covered with a protective film. The first terminal is provided on one surface of the protective film and connected to one end of the element portion, and the second terminal is provided on the one surface of the protective film, Connected to the other end. The conductor thin film has a resistance value lower than the resistance of the element portion, and shorts the other end of the first terminal and the other end of the second terminal on one surface of the protective film.

  Any of the above-described aggregates can be directly applied to the implementation of the manufacturing method according to the present invention, and the effects thereof can be achieved. For example, since the first terminal and the second terminal are short-circuited, due to electrostatic discharge (ESD) between one end side and the other end side of the element portion, overvoltage, or overcurrent when the substrate is subjected to the processing step. It is possible to avoid electrostatic breakdown and suppress the occurrence of insulation deterioration or breakdown, change in resistance value of the element portion, and the like.

  The aggregate according to the present invention may be an array of thin film elements, that is, a wafer, or an intermediate aggregate (bar-shaped aggregate) cut from the wafer.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there are provided a method for manufacturing a thin film element and an assembly that can prevent electrostatic breakdown and suppress the occurrence of insulation deterioration or breakdown, resistance value change of an element portion, and the like. can do.

  Other features of the present invention and the operational effects thereof will be described in more detail by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the steps of manufacturing a thin film element according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 17 are views showing the steps of the method of manufacturing a thin film element according to the present invention. The thin film element manufacturing method according to the present invention can be widely applied to thin film magnetic heads, MRAMs, ICs, semiconductors, magnetic sensors, and the like. However, for the sake of concrete explanation, the thin film magnetic head manufacturing method is described as an example. To do.

<Magnetic head element formation process>
First, a process of forming a magnetic head element (thin film element) on a wafer is performed. FIG. 2 is a view showing the wafer (aggregate) after the magnetic head element forming step is completed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in a state where the magnetic head element formation process is completed, a plurality of magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm are already formed on the substrate 1. Each of the magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm is formed to be aligned on the plane of the substrate 1 so that there are n rows in the longitudinal direction (n is an arbitrary natural number) and m columns in the width direction (m is an arbitrary natural number). Has been. The magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm are covered with a protective film 17. As is well known, the magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm can be formed by a high-precision pattern forming technique mainly using photolithography.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged view schematically showing a part of the wafer shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a part of the wafer shown in FIG. 3, schematically showing one of the magnetic head elements. FIG. In the figure, each of the magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm includes a reproducing element 30 and a recording element 40, shares the base 1, and is aligned on the base 1.

  Next, a specific example of the MR element 33 in each of the magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm will be described. 5 is a sectional view showing one of the magnetic head elements extracted from the wafer shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the terminal portion. 5 to 7, dimensions, proportions, etc. are exaggerated or omitted for convenience of illustration.

The substrate 1 is made of a ceramic structure such as Altic (Al ₂ O ₃ .TiC). The reproducing element 30 includes a first terminal 31, a second terminal 32, and an element unit 33. The element unit 33 is composed of an MR element. Hereinafter, the element unit 33 is referred to as an MR element.

  The MR element 33 includes an SV film or a TMR film. The MR element 33 using the SV film and the TMR film can take two different structures. In general, a head structure that sends a sense current parallel to the film surface is called a CIP (Current In Plane) structure, and a head structure that sends a sense current perpendicular to the film surface is called a CPP (Current Perpendicular to Plane) structure. The TMR film basically has a CPP structure. The SV film includes both a CIP structure and a CPP structure. The present invention can be applied to any type. In the illustrated embodiment, a CPP structure is shown.

  The MR element 33 is disposed between the lower electrode film 25 and the upper electrode film 26. The MR element 33 includes a free layer 302, has a nonmagnetic layer 303 adjacent to the free layer 302, and a pinned layer 304 whose magnetization direction is fixed is adjacent to the nonmagnetic layer 303. An antiferromagnetic layer 305 is adjacent to the pinned layer 304. The pinned layer 304 has its magnetization direction fixed by exchange coupling with the antiferromagnetic layer 305.

For the film structures and composition materials of the free layer 302, the nonmagnetic layer 303, the pinned layer 304, and the antiferromagnetic layer 305, known techniques can be arbitrarily applied. For example, the free layer 302 and the pinned layer 304 are made of, for example, NiFe, NiFeCo, CoFe, or the like, and the antiferromagnetic layer 305 is made of FeMn, MnIr, NiMn, CrMnPt, PtMn, or the like. Nonmagnetic layer 303, if the SV film formed of a conductive material layer mainly composed of Cu or the like, in the case of a TMR film, made of an insulating material layer, such as the Al ₂ O ₃ layer.

Magnetic domain control films 21 and 22 are provided on both sides of the MR element 33. The magnetic domain control films 21 and 22 control the magnetic domain of the free layer 302. The magnetic domain control films 21 and 22 are electrically exposed from the MR element 33 by insulating films 203 and 204. Insulating film 203 and 204, specifically, Al ₂ O _3, or, made of SiO ₂ or the like.

  The lower electrode film 25 is provided on one surface of the substrate 1 and functions as a lower magnetic shield. A base metal film 306 is formed thinly on one surface of the lower electrode film 25, and the MR element 33 is formed thereon. The upper electrode film 26 is also used as an upper magnetic shield film, is formed on the metal film 301, and is covered with the upper shield gap layer 7.

  The lower electrode film 25 is adjacent to the lower surface of the MR element 33, and the upper electrode film 26 is adjacent to the upper surface of the MR element 33. Therefore, a CPP structure is formed in which a sense current flows in a direction perpendicular to the film surface of the reproducing element 30.

  The recording element 40 includes a lower magnetic pole layer 8, an upper magnetic pole layer 12, a recording gap layer 9, and thin film coils 10 and 15. The lower magnetic pole layer 8 and the upper magnetic pole layer 12 are magnetically coupled to each other. The lower magnetic pole layer 8 is formed on the upper shield gap layer 7. The recording gap layer 9 is provided between the magnetic pole portion of the lower magnetic pole layer 8 and the magnetic pole portion of the upper magnetic pole layer 12. The thin film coils 10 and 15 are disposed in an insulated state between the inner gaps between the lower magnetic pole layer 8 and the upper magnetic pole layer 12. The recording element 40 is covered with the protective film 17. The protective film 17 is made of alumina, for example.

The first terminal 31 is connected to the upper electrode film 26, and the second terminal 32 is connected to the lower electrode film 25. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a connection structure between the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32 and the upper electrode film 26 and the lower electrode film 25. In the illustrated embodiment, the first terminal 31 is connected to the extended portion 311 of the upper electrode film 26 by a lifting portion 312 guided through the inside of the protective film 17. The second terminal 32 is connected to the extended portion 321 of the lower electrode film 25 by a pulling portion 322 guided through the inside of the protective film 17. The first terminal 31 is formed on the upper end surface of the lifting portion 312, and the second terminal 32 is formed on the upper end surface of the lifting portion 322. The first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32 are made of, for example, Au and have a thickness of several μm. The thickness (height or depth) of the lifting portion 312 and the lifting portion 322 is, for example, several tens of μm.

<Measurement process>
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the measurement process. As shown in FIG. 9, in the measurement process, the measurement probes 61 and 62 are applied to the first and second terminals 31 and 32 formed on the surface 401, and the characteristics of the MR element 33 are measured using the measurement device 63. To do. Here, since the MR element 33 is covered with the protective film 17, it is protected by the protective film 17. Since the upper electrode film 26 adjacent to the MR element 33 is connected to the first terminal 31 and the lower electrode film 25 is connected to the second terminal 32, the first terminal 31 and the second terminal The characteristics of the MR element 33 can be measured by applying the measurement probes 61 and 62 to 32 and using the measurement device 63. This measurement makes it possible to determine whether or not the wafer process has been performed normally, so that only normal wafers can be transferred to the next processing process and waste can be eliminated.

<Conductive thin film formation process>
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a process for forming a conductive thin film, and FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view of a terminal portion. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, in the conductor thin film forming step, the conductor thin film 50 is formed on one surface 401 of the protective film 17, and the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32 are short-circuited by the conductor thin film 50. To do. The conductor thin film 50 has a resistance value lower than the resistance of the MR element 33, that is, a resistance value lower than the resistance seen between the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32. The conductor thin film 50 may be formed on the entire surface 401 or may be formed only between the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32 using a mask or the like. The conductor thin film 50 is made of, for example, Ti (3 nm) / Au (28 nm) and has a thickness of about several tens of nm. Note that the wafer described above is included in the aggregate that is the subject of the present invention.

  Here, since each of the 1st terminal 31 and the 2nd terminal 32 is formed on the same surface 401 of the protective film 17, the conductor thin film 50 which short-circuits this is the same using a thin film process technique. It can be formed on the surface 401.

  According to the application of the thin film process technology, the conductive thin film 50 is formed to be extremely thin, such as several tens of nm, compared to the thickness (for example, several μm) of the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32. Can do. The conductor thin film 50 is for avoiding electrostatic breakdown, and even with a thin film thickness as described above, the resistance value can be lowered as compared with the element portion, so that a protective function can be sufficiently exhibited.

  In addition, since the conductive thin film 50 can be generally composed of a metal thin film with high adhesion, the conductive thin film 50 is not detached in a wet process such as cleaning, and electrostatic breakdown can be reliably avoided.

  Furthermore, since the conductive thin film 50 can be formed by using a general thin film process, it is not necessary to provide a special processing machine, and an increase in equipment cost can be avoided.

<Processing process>
After the process described above, the process proceeds to the processing process. The processing steps include, for example, mask formation for forming a predetermined pattern, removal of the mask, cutting step of the substrate 1 constituting the wafer, polishing step of the intermediate assembly obtained by cutting the substrate, intermediate assembly And the like. These steps are processing steps that may cause electrification through the substrate 1 or the like to some extent. 12 and 13 are diagrams for explaining the substrate cutting step.

  As shown in FIG. 12, in the cutting process, first, a circular arc shape (ear) generated outside the region where the magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm are formed is removed from the wafer by cutting, and a quadrangular aggregate is formed. Get. The above-described quadrangular aggregates are also included in the aggregates that are claimed by the present invention.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 13, the quadrangular aggregate is cut along one direction to cut out an intermediate aggregate (bar-shaped aggregate) as shown in FIG. 14. In FIG. 14, in the intermediate assembly, the reproducing elements 30 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the substrate. The surface 404 of the aggregate is a medium facing surface. The MR element 33 and the recording element 40 of the reproducing element 30 are exposed on the medium facing surface 404. Intermediate assemblies are also the subject of the present invention.

  Next, a polishing process is performed. In the polishing process, the intermediate assembly is attached to a jig (not shown). Polishing using the attaching jig can be performed by applying a known technique. Since the magnetic head elements are aligned in the longitudinal direction, the intermediate assembly can be polished for a large number of magnetic head elements at the same time by one polishing. The polishing process is performed, for example, for determining the throat height of the recording element 40, determining the height (MR height) of the reproducing element 30, and forming an air bearing surface for controlling the floating characteristics. 404 is polished.

Here, in the present invention, the conductive thin film 50 is formed on the one surface 401 of the protective film 17 and the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32 are short-circuited by the conductive thin film 50 before performing the above-described processing steps. The process of carrying out is included. Therefore, the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32 are short-circuited during the processing step, so that the MR element 33 is protected from electrostatic discharge (ESD), electrostatic breakdown due to overvoltage and overcurrent. It is possible to protect and avoid the occurrence of insulation deterioration or breakdown, change in resistance value of the element portion, and the like .

  As the processing means, mechanical polishing, dry etching, chemical etching, or a combination thereof can be applied. After the polishing process is completed, it is preferable to form a protective film such as a DLC film on the medium facing surface 404.

  Next, a cleaning process is performed. In the cleaning step, each of the reproducing elements 30 is short-circuited by the conductor thin film 50, so that, for example, even when an organic cleaning agent or the like is used, electrostatic breakdown does not occur.

<Conductor thin film removal process>
Next, a conductor thin film removal process is performed. FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the conductor thin film removing step. In the conductor thin film removal step, the conductor thin film 50 is dry-etched to remove at least the conductor thin film 50 between the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32. Dry etching is performed inside a vacuum chamber according to a normal method. Examples of dry etching include ion beam etching, ion milling, sputter milling, and reactive. ion. Dry etching such as etching, plasma etching, or sputter etching can be used.

  In dry etching, the medium facing surface (ABS surface) 404 is preferably covered with a protective film 7 as shown in FIG. This is to prevent the medium facing surface 404 from being affected by dry etching.

The dry etching is preferably performed so that the etching beam is electrically neutral, that is, in a neutral atmosphere. This is because by performing in a neutral atmosphere, electrostatic breakdown due to ions during etching can be avoided. For example, Ar ⁺ (argon) can be used as the etching beam.

  In order to perform dry etching in a neutral atmosphere, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, a plasma source 91, a grid 92, a potential detecting element 93, a feedback circuit 94, a neutral device (neutrizer) : Neutralizer) 95 can be used.

In FIG. 16, the plasma source 91 outputs an etching beam, for example, Ar ⁺ (argon) through a grid 92. The potential detection element 93 is, for example, a non-contact potential sensor, and monitors the potential at or near the portion where the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32 are formed (hereinafter referred to as a sample portion). . The feedback circuit 94 constantly applies feedback so that the potential of the sample portion becomes zero, and adjusts the output of the neutral device 95.

The neutral device 95 outputs electrons (e ⁻ ) based on the feedback signal output from the feedback circuit 94, and converts the etching beam Ar ⁺ into electrically neutral Ar.

  According to the above process, there is no possibility of causing electrostatic breakdown due to friction or solvent when the conductive thin film 50 is removed.

  In the illustrated embodiment, since the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32 are arranged on the same surface 401, all of the conductive thin film 50 is simultaneously applied to the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32. Can be removed.

  Further, the conductive thin film 50 can be formed extremely thin compared to the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32. For this reason, only the conductive thin film 50 can be reliably removed by dry etching without damaging the first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32 and without leaving uncut portions of the conductive thin film 50.

  For example, when the thickness of the conductive thin film 50 is set to 1/10 or less of the thickness of the other end 311 of the first terminal 31 and the other end 321 of the second terminal 32, dry etching is performed on the first terminal 31. In addition, the influence on the second terminal 32 can be extremely reduced.

  Furthermore, since the conductive thin film 50 can be removed using a general dry etching process, it is not necessary to provide a special processing machine, and an increase in equipment cost can be avoided.

<Final process>
After completion of the above-described steps, as shown in FIG. 17, the intermediate assembly is cut along cutting lines X1-X1 and X2-X2, and each of the magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm is cut out individually. Thereby, a thin film magnetic head can be obtained.

  The cut surfaces (X1-X1, X2-X2 in FIG. 17) when cutting each of the magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm individually are surfaces orthogonal to the surface 404 (ABS surface). Therefore, no frictional force is applied to the surface 404 (ABS surface) at the time of cutting, so there is no possibility that the MR element 33 is electrostatically broken.

  In the above-described embodiments, the method for manufacturing a thin film element according to the present invention has been described using the method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head. However, the thin film element may be an MRAM, IC, semiconductor, sensor, or the like. In addition, processing steps that may cause charging include processes on the wafer, so that the present invention may also be applied to wafer processes. For example, a short-circuiting conductor thin film is formed on the wafer, a processing step that may cause charging is performed, and then the conductor thin film is removed on the wafer.

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

1 is a flowchart showing a manufacturing process of a thin film element according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the wafer after the formation process of a magnetic head element is complete | finished. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an enlarged part of the wafer shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing one of the thin film elements by enlarging a part of the wafer shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing one extracted magnetic head element on the wafer shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. It is the elements on larger scale of FIG. It is a partial expanded sectional view of a terminal portion. It is a figure which shows the measurement process performed after the process shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the metal film formation process performed after the process shown in FIG. It is an expanded sectional view of the terminal part in the process shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a step after the step shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a step after the step shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a step after the step shown in FIG. 13. It is a figure which shows the process after the process shown in FIG. It is another figure which shows the process after the process shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a step after the step shown in FIGS. 15 and 16.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base | substrate Q11-Qnm Magnetic head element 40 Recording element 30 MR element 31 1st terminal 32 2nd terminal 33 MR element

Claims (21)

A method of manufacturing a thin film element,
The thin film element includes an element part,
The element portion is provided on a base,
Before the processing step that may cause charging, a conductive thin film that is electrically parallel to the element portion is formed, and the conductive thin film has a resistance value lower than the resistance value of the element portion. ,
Next, after performing the said process process, the manufacturing method including the process of performing the dry etching to the said conductor thin film, and removing the said conductor thin film. A method of manufacturing a thin film element,
The thin film element includes a first terminal, a second terminal, and an element part,
The element portion is provided on a base and covered with a protective film,
The first terminal is provided on one surface of the protective film, and is electrically connected to one end side of the element portion,
The second terminal is provided on the one surface of the protective film, and is electrically connected to the other end side of the element portion,
Prior to a treatment step that may cause charging, a conductive thin film that connects the first terminal and the second terminal is formed on the one surface of the protective film, and the conductive thin film is formed of the element portion. Has a lower resistance value than the resistance of
Next, a manufacturing method including a step of performing the etching process and then performing dry etching on the conductive thin film to remove the conductive thin film at least between the first terminal and the second terminal .   3. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the processing step includes forming a mask for forming a predetermined pattern, removing the mask, cutting the base, polishing the base, or the base. A manufacturing method comprising at least one of the washings.   4. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the dry etching is electrically performed in a substantially neutral atmosphere. 5.   5. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the dry etching includes ion beam etching, ion milling, sputter milling, reactive. ion. A manufacturing method that is etching, plasma etching, or sputter etching.   6. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of measuring characteristics of the thin film element before forming the conductive thin film. A manufacturing method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The manufacturing method, wherein the thin film element is plural, and each of the thin film elements shares the base and is aligned on the base.   8. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the thin film element is a thin film magnetic head, and the element unit is a reproducing element. A manufacturing method according to claim 8, comprising:
The thin film element includes a recording element.   The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the element portion includes a magnetoresistive element. The manufacturing method according to claim 10, comprising:
The element part includes a spin valve film or a ferromagnetic tunnel junction film.   The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the thin film elements are arranged in a lattice pattern.   The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the thin film elements are arranged in a line. An assembly including a substrate and a thin film element,
The thin film element is a plurality, each including an element portion and a conductive thin film, sharing the base and aligned on the base,
The conductive thin film has a resistance value lower than the resistance of the element portion, and is electrically connected in parallel with the element portion.
Aggregation. An assembly including a substrate and a thin film element,
The thin film element includes a plurality of elements, each including an element part, a first terminal, a second terminal, and a conductive thin film, sharing the base and being aligned on the base;
The element portion is provided on the base and is covered with a protective film,
The first terminal is provided on one surface of the protective film, and is electrically connected to one end side of the element portion,
The second terminal is provided on the one surface of the protective film, and is electrically connected to the other end side of the element portion,
The conductor thin film has a resistance value lower than the resistance of the element portion, and connects the first terminal and the second terminal on the one surface of the protective film.
Aggregation.   16. The assembly according to claim 15, wherein the thin film element is a thin film magnetic head, and the element unit is a reproducing element. An assembly as recited in claim 16, wherein
The thin film element is an aggregate including a recording element. An assembly according to any one of claims 14 to 17,
The element unit is an assembly which is a magnetoresistive element. An assembly as recited in claim 18, wherein
The element section includes an assembly including a spin valve film or a ferromagnetic tunnel junction film.   The assembly according to any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein the thin film elements are arranged in a lattice pattern. 20. The aggregate according to any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein the thin film elements are arranged in a line.

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