JP2006139824A - Magnetoresistive effect thin-film magnetic head and recording/reproducing thin-film magnetic head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve an S/N ratio by avoiding increase in noise due to leakaging magnetic field from an adjacent recording track, in a magnetoresistive effect thin-film magnetic head. <P>SOLUTION: In the constitution in which a flux guide 8 is disposed, so as its leading end reaches a traveling surface 3 facing a magnetic recording medium and its trailing end is connected magnetically to a magnetoresistive effect element 7, between first and second magnetic shields 4 and 5, a recessed part 9 is limitedly formed on at least one of the mutually facing surfaces of the first and second magnetic shields at the arrangement part of the magnetoresistive effect element 7. By the recessed part 9, the magnetic interval between the first and second magnetic shields 4 and 5 at the arrangement part of the magnetoresistive effect element 7 is made large. Accordingly, the leakage magnetic flux drawn into the magnetoresistive effect element 7 from the magnetic shield is prevented from being introduced into the magnetoresistive effect element. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention particularly relates to a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head and a recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head having a flux guide structure.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for an increase in the amount of information by digital recording and the like, and further higher recording density and shorter wavelength recording have been made.
Accordingly, in a magnetic recording / reproducing system, as a magnetic head mounted on the magnetic recording / reproducing system, a magnetoresistive (MR) reproducing magnetic head having a higher sensitivity than an induction reproducing head is in a mainstream direction.

However, in a reproducing magnetic head mounted on a magnetic tape streamer system, if the MR element constituting the magnetic sensing portion is directly slidably contacted with the magnetic tape, ESD breakdown (electrostatic breakdown) is likely to occur, or MR There is a problem that characteristic changes due to element wear, oxidation, etc. are likely to occur, and there are problems such as a decrease in reliability and a decrease in life, and a decrease in the S / N of a reproduction signal due to a sliding noise or the like.
Therefore, a flux guide type MR magnetic head is used as an MR magnetic head for solving this problem (Patent Document 1).
In this flux guide type MR magnetic head, the front end of the flux guide is disposed between the opposing magnetic shields so as to face the traveling surface of the magnetic tape, and the MR portion constituting the magnetic sensing portion is located at the rear end position of the flux guide. Elements are magnetically coupled and arranged.
According to this configuration, the MR element does not face the magnetic tape traveling surface of the magnetic shield, and is disposed at a position where the MR shield enters between the magnetic shields with a required depth. Thus, the MR element is not directly exposed to the outside. Since direct contact with the magnetic recording medium is avoided, it is possible to achieve the above-described characteristic changes due to ESD breakdown, wear, oxidation, etc., a decrease in reliability, a decrease in life, and an improvement in sliding noise.

However, in the MR magnetic head having such a flux guide type configuration, since the signal magnetic flux is guided to the magnetic sensitive part through the flux guide, this magnetic sensitive part is highly capable of compensating for a decrease in reproduction efficiency due to the flux guide. A giant magnetoresistive element (GMR) having sensitivity, for example, a spin valve MR element is used.
JP 2002-133615 A

As described above, the flux guide type MR magnetic head has many advantages because the MR element is prevented from being directly exposed to the magnetic tape running surface.
However, when the recording track pitch and interval are reduced in order to improve the recording density, in the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head using a highly sensitive GMR element as the magnetic sensitive portion, the leakage magnetic flux from the adjacent recording track, in particular. The effect on the S / N due to noise caused by the problem becomes a problem.
The present invention provides a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head and a recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head having the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head in which this problem is solved or reduced.

  That is, in the present invention, the leakage magnetic flux from the adjacent track faces the traveling surface relative to the magnetic recording medium, for example, the magnetic tape, of the magnetic shield arranged with the MR magnetic head element constituting the MR magnetic head interposed therebetween. On the basis of the investigation that the leakage magnetic flux from the above-mentioned adjacent track is taken in from the front surface and introduced into the MR element and the flux guide to cause a decrease in S / N. The effect of leakage magnetic flux is improved and S / N is improved.

  In the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the magnetoresistive magnetic head element is disposed between the first and second magnetic shields facing each other and having a traveling surface relative to the magnetic recording medium formed on the front surface. The magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head element includes a magnetoresistive effect element constituting a magnetosensitive portion and a flux guide, and the flux guide has a front end thereof connected to the magnetic recording medium. A magnetoresistive element that constitutes the magnetosensitive portion is magnetically coupled to the rear end of the flux guide between the first and second magnetic shields, and is arranged facing the relative running surface, A recess is limitedly formed on at least one of the opposing surfaces of the first and second magnetic shields of the placement portion of the magnetoresistive effect element, and the recess in the placement portion of the magnetoresistive effect element is formed by the recess. Magnetic spacing between the first and second magnetic shield, characterized in that it is large.

  The recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head according to the present invention is formed by laminating a reproducing magnetic head using a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head and a recording magnetic head using an electromagnetic induction thin film magnetic head. A magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head element is arranged between the first and second magnetic shields facing each other and having a traveling surface relative to the magnetic recording medium formed on the front surface. The head element includes a magnetoresistive effect element that constitutes a magnetosensitive part, and a flux guide, and the flux guide is disposed so that a front end thereof faces a relative running surface with the magnetic recording medium, Between the first and second magnetic shields, a magnetoresistive effect element constituting the magnetosensitive portion is magnetically coupled to the rear end of the flux guide, and the magnetoresistive effect element is arranged. A recess is limitedly formed on at least one of the opposing surfaces of the first and second magnetic shields of the first portion, and the first and second magnetic shields in the placement portion of the magnetoresistive effect element are formed by the recess. It is characterized in that the magnetic interval between them is increased.

Further, the present invention is the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head and the recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head having the above-described configuration, wherein the magnetoresistive element constituting the magnetosensitive portion is a spin valve magnetoresistive element. It is characterized by.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head and a recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head having the above-described configuration, wherein at least most of the arrangement portion of the stabilizing film of the spin valve magnetoresistive effect element includes the recess. The present invention is characterized in that it is located in a narrow region of the interval between the first and second magnetic shields that does not exist.
The present invention also relates to a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head and a recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head configured as described above, wherein a plurality of the magnetoresistive magnetic head elements are provided between the first and second magnetic shields. It has a multi-channel configuration arranged side by side, and the concave portion is provided in a limited manner corresponding to each of the magnetoresistive effect elements constituting the magnetosensitive portion of each of the magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head elements. And

As described above, in the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, by adopting the flux guide configuration, the configuration in which the magnetoresistive element constituting the magnetosensitive portion directly faces the running surface of the magnetic recording medium is avoided. As a result, the above-described improvements such as wear, characteristic change, and lifetime reduction can be achieved. However, in the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to effectively avoid the influence of the leakage magnetic flux from the adjacent magnetic track on the MR head. it can.
That is, in the present invention, a concave portion is formed in a limited manner in the arrangement portion of the magnetoresistive effect element constituting the magnetosensitive portion of the magnetic head element, that is, the facing portion of the magnetoresistive effect element. Since the interval between the first and second magnetic shields is made large and the other part is made narrow, the leakage magnetic flux taken in from the front surface of the magnetic shield close to or opposed to the adjacent magnetic track is mainly taken in the narrow gap portion. For this reason, it is possible to avoid the leakage magnetic flux from entering the magnetic resistance effect element constituting the magnetosensitive element by traversing the flux guide facing the target recording track across the narrow recording space or in the narrow gap portion. The
As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, noise caused by the entry of the leakage magnetic flux other than the target signal magnetic flux, such as from the adjacent recording track, can be effectively avoided, and the S / N can be improved. It is what

  In the recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, since the reproducing magnetic head is composed of the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head according to the present invention described above, the recording status by the recording magnetic head is monitored by the reproducing magnetic head. In some cases, the inconvenience of hindering accurate monitoring is avoided by the unnecessary magnetic flux from the outside including the leakage magnetic flux from the adjacent recording track described above.

Embodiments of a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head and a recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.
FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of an embodiment of a recording / reproducing magnetic head 100 compatible with, for example, a linear scan type magnetic recording / reproducing system, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line BB.

A recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head 100 according to the present invention comprises a reproducing magnetic head formed by a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head (MR thin film head) 1 and a recording magnetic head formed by an electromagnetic induction thin film magnetic head 2 stacked together. The MR thin film magnetic head 1 constituting the magnetic head includes a first magnetic shield 4 and a second magnetic shield 5 which are opposed to each other and whose front surface is a magnetic medium traveling surface 3 which is relatively traveled with a magnetic recording medium. The magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head element (MR magnetic head element) 6 is arranged between the first and second magnetic shields 4 and 5.
By these first magnetic shield 4 and second magnetic shield 5, a disturbance magnetic field other than the target signal magnetic field is blocked as much as possible.

The MR magnetic head element 6 includes a magnetoresistive element (MR element) 7 including, for example, a spin-valve type giant magnetoresistive element so-called GMR element and a flux guide 8 that constitute a magnetosensitive portion.
The flux guide 8 has its front end facing the magnetic medium running surface 3, and the MR element 7 is magnetically disposed at the rear end of the flux guide 8 between the first and second magnetic shields 4 and 5. Arranged in combination.
The magnetic coupling between the MR element 7 and the flux guide 8 by GMR is such that a part of the front end of the MR element 7 overlaps the rear end of the flux guide via, for example, a fourth nonmagnetic nonconductive film 22d. It is done.

On both sides of the flux guide 8 in the track width direction, a bias layer that is magnetically coupled to a side edge of the flux guide 8 and applies a predetermined bias magnetic field to the flux guide 8, that is, a flux guide stabilization film 10 is disposed. Is done.
The GMR element constituting the MR element 7 has, for example, a laminated structure of an antiferromagnetic layer, a fixed layer, a nonmagnetic layer, and a free layer, and a predetermined bias magnetic field is applied to the free layer on both sides in the track width direction. A GMR electrode / stabilization film 11 that serves as a bias layer and an electrode is applied.

At least one of the opposing surfaces of the first and second magnetic shields 4 and 5, for example, the first magnetic shield 5, is formed with a recess 9 limitedly at a position corresponding to the arrangement portion of the MR element 7. . That is, the concave portion 9 is selected to have a shape and size that does not reach the running surface 3 and that does not face the arrangement portion of the flux guide 8 and the arrangement portions of the stabilization films 10 and 11.
Further, for example, the second magnetic shield 5 is also provided with a recess 9S, and a nonmagnetic non-conductive insulating layer 16 is formed in the recess 9S so that the second magnetic shield 5 and the MR element 7 are brought close to each other. It is possible to prevent a short circuit.

As described above, in the reproducing magnetic head 1 according to the present invention, the magnetic distance D1 between the first and second magnetic shields 4 and 5 in the arrangement portion of the MR element 7 is set to the other portion by the arrangement of the concave portion 9. The magnetic distance D2 between the first and second magnetic shields 4 and 5 in the arrangement portion of the stabilization films 10 and 11 is made larger.
The configuration of the above-described MR thin film magnetic head 1 will be further described in detail.
The MR thin film magnetic head 1 described above is formed on a substrate 21.
The substrate 21 is made of, for example, a non-magnetic substrate having a surface coated with an oxide film, that is, an insulating film (not shown) such as AlTiC.
On the substrate 21, the first magnetic shield 4 is formed below the formation part of the MR magnetic head element 6. The first magnetic shield 4 is made of a soft magnetic thin film such as a Ni—Fe alloy or a Fe—Si—Al alloy having a thickness of 3 μm, for example.

The concave portion 9 described above is formed in the first magnetic shield 4. The recess 9 has a planar contour pattern that follows the planar contour pattern of the MR element 7 constituting the magnetic sensing portion of the MR magnetic head element 6, and is slightly outside the contour of the MR element 7, for example, about 0.5 μm. It is limited to the pattern located outside. That is, the recess 9 has a size of about 0.5 μm on the outer side with respect to the track dimension and depth dimension of the MR element 7. The depth is about 1 μm. Accordingly, the distance between the first and second magnetic shields 4 and 5 is at least 1 μm larger than the distance at the position where the recess 9 is not formed at the position where the recess 9 is formed.
In addition, the recess 9 has an inclined wall surface whose inner peripheral wall surface has an inclination angle of 45 °, for example, and has a shape that widens toward the opening side.

The recess 9 is filled with a nonmagnetic nonconductive film 29 made of, for example, Al2O3, and a nonmagnetic nonconductive film 22a made of, for example, Al2O3 is formed to a thickness of about 1 μm so as to cover the first magnetic shield 4. A flux guide 8 constituting the MR magnetic head element 6 is formed on the nonmagnetic nonconductive film 22, and the tip of the MR element 7 is further connected to the flux guide 8 via the nonmagnetic nonconductive film 22 made of Al 2 O 3, for example. It is formed by overlapping and magnetically coupling with the rear end.
Further, a nonmagnetic non-conductive film 22 made of, for example, Al2O3 is formed thereon, and a second magnetic shield 5 made of a soft magnetic thin film such as a Ni-Fe alloy or a Fe-Si-Al alloy is formed thereon. Is formed.

The flux guide 8 is made of, for example, a soft magnetic material such as a Ni—Fe alloy, and the front end thereof constitutes a part of the magnetic medium running surface 3.
The flux guide 8 is disposed at approximately the center between the first and second magnetic shields 4 and 5.
Further, it is desirable that the magnetic anisotropy of the flux guide 8 is controlled so that the easy axis of magnetization is in a direction along the magnetic medium running surface 3. This magnetic anisotropy is controlled under application of a magnetic field when the above-described soft magnetic film for forming the flux guide 8 is formed. Alternatively, the above-described magnetic anisotropy control can be performed by performing annealing in a fixed magnetic field after the film formation.
Thus, the dynamic range of signal reproduction can be increased by controlling the magnetic anisotropy of the flux guide 8.

  Further, the stabilizing film 10 of the flux guide 8 is formed of a ferromagnetic hard film such as CoCrPt, for example, and is magnetized at the time of film formation, so that a predetermined bias magnetic field is applied to the flux guide 8. Constitute.

The MR element 7 can be composed of a GMR element having a spin valve structure showing a giant magnetoresistance effect. This GMR includes an antiferromagnetic layer made of, for example, a Pt—Mn alloy and a fixed magnetization made of Ni—Fe alloy, Co, Co—Fe alloy, Co—Ni alloy, Ni—Fe—Co alloy or the like. Layer (so-called pinned layer), non-magnetic conductive layer made of Cu or the like, and magnetization free made of Ni-Fe alloy, Co, Co-Fe alloy, Co-Ni alloy, Ni-Fe-Co alloy or the like A layered film is formed by sequentially stacking layers (so-called free layers). In this case, the magnetization direction of the pinned layer is fixed by the bias magnetic field from the antiferromagnetic layer, and the magnetization direction is selected so that the magnetization direction of the free layer can be rotated according to the signal magnetic field. .
The MR element 7 by GMR is a so-called top type in which the free layer is positioned on the overlap side with the flux guide 8, that is, in the configuration of FIGS. 1 and 2, the antiferromagnetic layer is disposed on the upper layer side. A GMR configuration is used.

In addition, the electrode / stabilization film 11 on both sides of the MR element 7 described above applies a bias magnetic field to the GMR free layer of the MR element 7 and reduces the Barkhausen noise by making the free layer into a single magnetic domain.
The pair of electrode / stabilization films 11 is composed of a laminated film made of, for example, CoCrPt / TiW / Ta, and one end thereof is magnetically and electrically connected to both side edges of the MR element 7. It can be set as the electrode and stabilization film | membrane 11 which served as the electricity supply electrode.
External terminals (not shown) are respectively arranged on the rear end portions of the pair of electrodes and stabilization film 11.

These pair of electrode / stabilization films 11 are constituted by, for example, the above-described magnetic hard film made of CoCrPt, magnetized in a predetermined direction at the stage of manufacturing the GMR element, and in the track width direction relative to the free layer of the MR head element 7 Thus, the magnetic field is magnetized in the track width direction in the absence of an external signal magnetic field. Therefore, the MR element 22 can select the direction of magnetization of the free layer in a direction perpendicular to the magnetization direction of the pinned layer in the absence of an external signal magnetic field so that the magnetoresistive effect can be maximized. To.
Moreover, it is desirable that the bias magnetic field for the MR element and the flux guide be configured in the same direction. As a result, the flux guide 8 is applied with a bias magnetic field in the same direction as the free layer in the MR element 7, so that a signal magnetic field from the outside can be guided to the MR element 22 most efficiently.

The second magnetic shield 5 is formed of a soft magnetic material film having a film thickness of, for example, about 3 μm, for example, an amorphous material such as Ni—Fe alloy, ZrNbTa, or an Fe—Si—Al alloy. .
In this way, the reproducing magnetic head 1 using the MR thin film magnetic head is constructed. In this reproducing magnetic head, the gap between the first magnetic shield 4 and the flux guide 8 of the flux guide 8 formed facing the magnetic medium running surface 3 is a nonmagnetic non-conductive film 22a described later. The gap between the flux guide 8 and the second magnetic shield 5 is similarly defined by the thickness of nonmagnetic non-conductive layers 22b and 22c described later.

The above-described electromagnetic induction type recording thin film magnetic head 2 is laminated on the reproducing magnetic head 1 to constitute a recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head 100.
In this case, for example, the second magnetic shield 5 is the first magnetic core half 12 that forms a closed magnetic path of the recording thin film magnetic head 2, and a fourth nonmagnetic nonconductive material such as Al 2 O 3 is formed thereon. A film 22d is formed, and a second magnetic core half 14 that forms the above-described closed magnetic path in cooperation with the first magnetic core half 12 is formed thereon. The second magnetic core half 14 is formed of a soft magnetic material such as an Ni—Fe alloy, an amorphous material such as ZrNbTa, or an Fe—Si—Al alloy.
The rear end of the second magnetic core half 14 is connected to and magnetically coupled to the second magnetic shield 5 through a through hole 22dW formed in the fourth nonmagnetic non-conductive layer 22d. A recording magnetic gap g is formed between the front ends of the bodies 12 and 14 by the fourth non-magnetic non-conductive film 22d, and is magnetically coupled to each other at the rear ends by the magnetic core halves 12 and 14. The recording magnetic gap g forms a closed magnetic path formed in the magnetic path.
For example, a thin film coil 15 having a single layer structure or a plurality of layer structures is disposed around the rear end of the magnetic core half body 14. These coils are insulated from each other by, for example, an insulating layer 23 obtained by heat-treating a photoresist pattern.
Thus, the electromagnetic induction type recording magnetic head 2 is configured, and the recording / reproducing magnetic head 100 in which the reproducing magnetic head 1 and the recording magnetic head 2 are formed is configured.

  1 and 2, the positional relationship between the flux guide 8 and the MR element 7 is such that the MR element 7 overlaps the rear end of the flux guide 8 with the front end of the MR element 7. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the front end of the MR element 7 may be arranged below the rear end of the flux guide 8. In this case, for example, the GMR described above has a so-called bottom type configuration in which the free layer magnetically coupled to the flux guide 8 is located in the upper layer and the antiferromagnetic layer is arranged in the lower layer (bottom side). .

1 to 3, the flux guide 8 is magnetically coupled only in front of the MR element 7, but the rear flux guide is also provided at the rear end of the MR element 7 as shown in FIG. It can also be set as the structure which couple | bonds 8B magnetically. In this case, the magnetic flux induced from the flux guide 8 can be applied to the MR element 7 more efficiently.
In FIGS. 3 and 4, portions corresponding to those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  In the above-described example, the recording / reproducing magnetic head 100 corresponding to, for example, a linear scan type magnetic recording / reproducing system having a laminated structure of the reproducing magnetic head 1 and the recording magnetic head 2 is illustrated. It is also possible to use a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head having a recording magnetic head chip, a structure sharing the reproducing magnetic head chip, and a recording / reproducing magnetic head configuration using the same.

Next, a method for manufacturing the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head according to the present invention described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described as an example.
First, a schematic plan view is shown in FIG. 5A of FIG. 5 and a schematic cross-sectional view along the line BB of FIG. A is shown in FIG. B. The surface is coated with an oxide film (not shown), that is, an insulating layer. A first substrate 21 made of a magnetic substrate is prepared, and an opening 24W corresponding to the pattern of the ground electrode for the first magnetic shield 4 to be finally formed is formed on the substrate 21 by photolithography. A resist layer 24 is formed.
This opening 24W can be formed in a belt-like pattern extending along the so-called depth direction (X direction) of the magnetic head.

A schematic plan view is shown in FIG. A of FIG. 6, and a conductive material layer 25L that finally constitutes the ground electrode is exposed through the opening 24W, as shown in FIG. The entire surface is deposited by sputtering or the like so as to be deposited on the oxide film of the substrate 21.
Thereafter, the photoresist layer 24 is removed to remove the conductive material layer 25L on the photoresist layer 24. A schematic plan view is shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. As shown in the schematic cross-sectional view on line B, the ground electrode 25 is formed by the conductive material layer 25L left in the opening 24W.

Next, as shown in a schematic plan view in FIG. A in FIG. 8 and a schematic cross-sectional view on the line BB in FIG. A, an opening 26W is formed on the front end and the rear end of the ground electrode 25 by photolithography. A photoresist layer 26 having a film formed thereon is formed.
FIG. 9A shows a schematic plan view, and FIG. B shows a schematic cross-sectional view along the line BB in FIG. A. On the ground electrode 25 exposed through the opening 26W of the photoresist layer 26 shown in FIG. Then, using the photoresist layer 26 as a plating resist, a conductive material is plated to a thickness of 3 μm, for example, and ground electrode connection portions 27 a and 27 b are formed in the opening 26 W at the front end and the rear end of the ground electrode 25.

  Thereafter, the photoresist layer 26 is removed, and a nonmagnetic nonconductive film 28 such as Al 2 O 3 is formed on the entire surface to a thickness of about 2 μm, for example, by a sputtering method. As shown in a schematic plan view and a schematic cross-sectional view on the line BB of FIG. A in FIG. B, the nonmagnetic non-conductive film 28 is so-called lapping from the surface with diamond abrasive grains, chemical polishing, or the like. Polishing is performed by CMP or the like to expose the upper surfaces of the ground electrode connection portions 27a and 27b and planarize the surfaces.

  FIG. 11A shows a schematic plan view, and FIG. B shows a schematic cross-sectional view along the line BB in FIG. A. On the surface flattened by the nonmagnetic non-conductive film 28 described above, A soft magnetic thin film such as a Ni—Fe alloy or a Fe—Si—Al alloy is formed on the entire surface to a thickness of about 3 μm, for example, by sputtering or plating. Then, the soft magnetic thin film is connected to the front ground electrode lead-out portion 27a by photolithography technology and ion etching technology, and is connected to the top to form the first magnetic shield 4 having the required shape. A layer is formed on the rear ground electrode connection portion 27b, and the thickness of the ground electrode connection portion 27 "b is increased.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B, a schematic plan view and a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. A are shown. For the Al2O3 first magnetic shield 4, the photolithography technique and ion etching are performed. According to the technique, the above-described concave portion 9, that is, the groove is formed in the above-described dimension shape at the position corresponding to the arrangement of the MR element.
The recess 9 can form an inclined surface that widens the inner peripheral wall surface of the opening for forming the recess 9 toward the opening end by heat-treating the photoresist in the photolithography under a predetermined condition. By performing ion etching using a photoresist as a mask, the inner peripheral wall surface of the concave portion 9 can be formed as the concave portion 9 having an inclined surface that follows this inclined surface, for example, an inner peripheral wall surface having an inclination angle of about 45 °. .
Next, a nonmagnetic nonconductive film 29 made of, for example, Al2O3 is temporarily formed on the entire surface of the first magnetic shield 4 to a thickness of, for example, about 2.5 μm by sputtering or the like. Thereafter, the nonmagnetic nonconductive film 29 is polished by, for example, lapping using diamond abrasive grains and chemical polishing until the upper surface of the first magnetic shield layer 4 is exposed. In this manner, the recess 9 is filled with the nonmagnetic nonconductive film 29 and the entire surface including the surface of the first magnetic shield 4 is flattened.

  FIG. 13A shows a schematic plan view, and FIG. B shows a schematic cross-sectional view along the line BB in FIG. A. For example, a nonmagnetic nonconductive film made of Al2O3 or the like is again formed by a sputtering method or the like. The film is formed with a film thickness, and is polished by chemical polishing or the like until the film thickness reaches, for example, about 42.5 nm. In this way, the first nonmagnetic nonconductive film 22 a that forms the first gap film between the first and second magnetic shields 4 and 5 is formed on the first magnetic shield 4.

  FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view, and FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B are schematic cross-sectional views along the lines AA and BB in FIG. A photoresist layer 30 having an opening 30 </ b> W for forming a connection hole for finally conducting the first magnetic shield 4 and the flux guide 8 is formed on the entire surface of the conductive film 22 a.

  FIG. 16 is a schematic plan view, and FIGS. 17A and 17B are schematic cross-sectional views along the lines AA and BB in FIG. Through 30W, the connection hole 31 is formed in the first nonmagnetic nonconductive film 22a by ion etching.

FIG. 18 is a schematic plan view, and FIGS. 19A and 19B are schematic cross-sectional views taken along the lines AA and BB of FIG. A soft magnetic film 8L, such as a Ni—Fe alloy, which is finally connected to the first magnetic shield 4 through the connection hole 31 and finally forms the flux guide 8 over the entire surface, is formed by a sputtering method or the like. The film is formed to about 30 nm.
In the formation of the soft magnetic film 8L, the magnetic anisotropy is controlled so that the easy axis of magnetization of the flux guide 8 is along the magnetic medium running surface 3 described above, that is, parallel. The magnetic anisotropy of the soft magnetic film 8L is controlled by, for example, forming the soft magnetic film 8L by sputtering in a magnetic field or annealing the soft magnetic film 8L after forming the soft magnetic film 8L. This can be done by processing.

Next, a schematic plan view is shown in FIG. 20, and the soft magnetic film 8L is formed by photolithography, as shown in FIGS. 21A and 21B. FIG. 20 is a schematic sectional view on the AA line and the BB line in FIG. A photoresist layer 32 in which a pair of openings 32W according to the formation pattern of the pair of stabilization films 10 formed on both sides of the flux guide 8 is finally formed on the top.
Further, the soft magnetic film 8L constituting the flux guide previously formed through the opening 32W is removed by, for example, ion etching, and the opening 8LW is formed below the opening 32W.

  FIG. 22 is a schematic plan view, and FIGS. 23A and 23B are schematic cross-sectional views taken along lines AA and BB in FIG. A ferromagnetic hard film 10L such as a CoCrPt alloy for forming the stabilization film 10 is formed to a thickness of, for example, about 50 nm by a sputtering method or the like.

FIG. 24 is a schematic plan view, and FIGS. 25A and 25B are schematic cross-sectional views taken along lines AA and BB in FIG. The ferromagnetic hard film 10L on the resist layer 32 is lifted off, leaving only the ferromagnetic hard film 10L formed in the photoresist layer 32W, thereby forming the stabilization film 10 of the flux guide pair.
Under the flux guide stabilization film 10 forming portion, the soft magnetic film 8L constituting the flux guide forming the flux guide is removed, and the soft magnetic film 8L is removed from the removal portion. The circumferential surface of the stabilization film 10 is in contact with and magnetically coupled to the circumferential surface, and is electrically coupled to the first magnetic shield 4 through the connection hole 31.

Next, FIG. 26 shows a schematic plan view, and FIGS. 27A, 27B, and 27C show schematic cross-sectional views on the AA line, the BB line, and the CC line of FIG. 26, respectively. Then, a photoresist layer 33 is formed in a limited manner on the flux guide stabilization film 10 finally formed on the flux guide 8 forming portion and both sides in the track width direction by photolithography.
28 is a schematic plan view, and FIGS. 29A and 29B are schematic cross-sectional views along the lines AA and BB in FIG. The magnetic film 8L is ion etched, and then the photoresist layer 33 is removed. By doing so, the flux guide 8 is formed by the remaining soft magnetic film 8L.

  30A is a schematic plan view, and FIG. B is a schematic cross-sectional view along the line BB in FIG. A. For example, Al2O3 is formed on the entire surface by sputtering or the like to form a second nonmagnetic non-magnetic layer. The conductive layer 22b is formed, and is subjected to, for example, chemical polishing from the surface thereof, and is polished to a position where the thickness on the flux guide 8 becomes 42.5 nm, for example. That is, in this example, the thickness from the first magnetic shield 4 to the surface of the second nonmagnetic nonconductive film 22b is 115 nm.

  31A is a schematic plan view, and FIG. B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. A. As shown in FIG. The above-described top-type GMR, that is, the free layer, the nonmagnetic layer, the pinned layer, the antiferromagnetic layer, etc. are formed by sputtering, for example, so that the antiferromagnetic layer is located in the uppermost layer and the free layer is located in the lowermost layer. Then, for example, a GMR structure laminated film 7L having a thickness of about 50 nm is formed. The laminated film 22 has the easy axis of the free layer of the finally obtained GMR element parallel to the magnetic medium traveling surface 3 in the absence of a magnetic field, and the easy axis of magnetization of the pinned layer is relative to the magnetic medium traveling surface 3. Film is formed vertically

32A is a schematic plan view, and FIG. B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. A. A photoresist layer 34 is applied over the entire surface, and finally MR is applied by photolithography. (GMR) A pair of openings 34 </ b> W corresponding to the pattern of the electrode / stabilization film 11 is formed at a position where the bias layer, i.e., the electrode / stabilization film 11, which also serves as the energizing electrode of the (GMR) element 7 is formed.
Then, the GMR laminated film 22 in the opening 34W is removed by etching using the photoresist layer 34 as a mask.

Next, as shown in the schematic plan view of FIG. 33A and the schematic cross-sectional view along the line BB of FIG. A, the entire surface of the photoresist layer 34 is closed so as to close the opening 34W. Finally, the ferromagnetic hard film 11L made of a laminated film of, for example, CoCrPt / TiW / Ta, which constitutes the above-mentioned pair of electrode / stabilization film 11 of the GMR element, is formed to a film thickness of, eg, about 50 nm by, eg, sputtering. Be filmed.
At this time, since the GMR laminated film 7L is removed at the position where the opening 34W of the photoresist layer 34 is provided, the GMR laminated film 7L becomes a second gap film to be described later through the opening 34W. It is formed on the non-magnetic non-conductive film 22b and is formed in contact with the electrode / stabilization film 11 on the inner peripheral surface of the opening 34W, that is, electrically and magnetically coupled.

34 is a schematic plan view, and FIGS. 35A and 35B are schematic cross-sectional views taken along lines AA and BB in FIG. The ferromagnetic hard film 11L formed thereon is lifted off.
In this way, the GMR electrode / stabilization film 11 is formed leaving only the ferromagnetic hard film 11L formed in the opening 34W.

36 is a schematic plan view, and FIGS. 37A and 37B are schematic cross-sectional views along the lines AA and BB in FIG. In the illustrated example, a photoresist layer 35 is formed in a U-shaped pattern across the top and the central portion of the recess 9 between them by a photolithography technique.
Then, the GMR laminated film 7L other than the portion where the photoresist layer 35 is formed is removed by ion etching using the photoresist layer 35 as a mask, and the GMR laminated film 7L under the photoresist layer 35 is left, leaving a GMR element, that is, an MR element. 7 is formed.
A recess 9 is formed under the MR element 7 thus formed, that is, the GMR element.
A GMR electrode / stabilization film 11 is formed on both sides of the GMR element 7 in contact therewith.

Further, as shown in FIG. 38A, a schematic plan view is shown, and FIG. B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. A. For example, Al2O3 is sputtered over the entire surface to form a third nonmagnetic nonconductive film 22c. Is then polished by chemical polishing or the like until the film thickness is about 135 nm on the MR element (GMR element) 7.
39 is a schematic plan view, FIG. 40 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line α-α in FIG. 39, and FIGS. 41A and 41B are taken along the lines AA and BB in FIG. As shown in the schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, a pair of openings 36W1 is formed at the formation position of a connection hole for connecting the MR element 7 to an electrode formed in a later process by photolithography, and for example one of the flux guides 8 A photoresist layer 36 in which an opening 36W2 is formed at a position for forming a connection hole for connecting the stabilization film 10 to an electrode formed in a later step, and an opening 36W3 is formed on the rear end portion of the ground electrode 25. Is formed entirely.

  42 is a schematic plan view, FIG. 43 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line α-α in FIG. 42, FIGS. 44A and 44B are taken along the line AA in FIG. As shown in a schematic cross-sectional view on the line -B, for example, ion etching is performed using the photoresist layer 36 as a mask, and the third nonmagnetic nonconductive film 22c is etched through the opening 36W1 to form the electrode / stabilization film 11. And the third and second nonmagnetic nonconductive films 22c and 22b are etched through the opening 36W2 to form a connection hole 37H2 that leads to one of the stabilization films 10 and below. Further, through the opening 36W3, a connection hole 37H3 communicating with the ground electrode connection portion 27b is formed by etching the first to third nonmagnetic nonconductive films 22a to 22c.

  Next, the photoresist layer 36 is removed, a schematic plan view is shown in FIG. 45, and schematic cross-sectional views on the AA line and the BB line in FIG. 45 are shown in FIGS. A pair of MR element electrodes 38 finally connected to the MR element (that is, GMR element) 7 and the external terminal of the MR element by photolithography technology, sputtering technology, etc., are respectively paired GMR electrodes and stabilizing films through the openings 37H1. 11 is extended on the third nonmagnetic nonconductive film 22c in parallel with the ground electrode 25, for example.

Next, as shown in a schematic plan view in FIG. 47, a nonmagnetic insulating layer 16 for insulating the MR element electrode 38 and the second magnetic shield 5 shown in FIG. 1 is formed. The non-magnetic insulating layer 16 can be formed by forming a photoresist layer in a predetermined pattern by photolithography and heat-treating it to make it electrically insulating.
An opening is formed in the nonmagnetic insulating layer 16 in the formation of the photoresist layer, thereby finally electrically connecting the stabilization film 10 of the flux guide 8 and the second magnetic shield 5. A connection hole 16H is formed.

As shown in a schematic plan view in FIG. 48, on the nonmagnetic insulating layer 16, an Ni—Fe alloy, an amorphous material such as ZrNbTa, or an Fe—Si—Al alloy that constitutes the second magnetic shield 5 is formed. A soft magnetic thin film is once formed to a thickness of about 3 μm, for example, by sputtering or plating, and processed into a predetermined shape by photolithography and ion etching to form the second magnetic shield 5. To do.
Then, in the same material and the same process as the second magnetic shield 5, the third nonmagnetic nonconductive film is formed from the ground electrode connection portion 27 b through the electrode connection portion 38 b and the connection hole 37 H 3 at the rear end of the MR element electrode 38. 22 and the ground electrode connection extension 27bE is formed.

As shown in a schematic plan view in FIG. 49, the pattern of the ground electrode of the second magnetic shield layer 5 in the final configuration is formed on the second magnetic shield 5 over the ground electrode connection extension 27bE by photolithography. A photoresist layer 41 having an opening 41W is formed on the entire surface.
As shown in FIG. 50, a conductive material layer is formed on the entire surface including the inside of the opening 41W by a sputtering method or the like, the photoresist layer 41 is removed, and the conductive material formed on the photoresist layer 41 is lifted off. Thus, the second magnetic shield ground electrode 42 that connects the second magnetic shield 5 to the ground electrode connection extension 27bE is formed by the conductive material layer formed in the opening 41W.
In this way, the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head 1, that is, the reproducing magnetic head according to the present invention is constituted. Then, as shown in FIG. 1 facing the magnetic medium running surface 3 between the first and second magnetic shields of the magnetic head 1, each magnetism formed by the first to third nonmagnetic nonconductive layers 22a to 22b. A gap is formed.

Next, the electromagnetic induction type magnetic head 2 shown in FIG. 1, that is, the recording magnetic head is formed on the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head 1.
Therefore, as shown in a schematic plan view in FIG. 51, a fourth nonmagnetic non-conductive layer 22d that defines the recording magnetic gap at the front end is entirely formed by sputtering, for example, Al2O3.
In the fourth nonmagnetic non-conductive layer 22d, the second magnetic shield 5 described in FIG. 1 by photolithography and ion etching, for example, is used as one of the recording magnetic heads, that is, the first magnetic core half body 12, A pair of holes 22dW for magnetically coupling the second magnetic core half 14 to this, an electrode connection portion 38b of the MR element electrode 38, and a rear end portion 42E of the second magnetic shield earth electrode 42 are respectively paired. The connection through hole 22dWb and the connection through hole 22dE are formed.

As shown in a schematic plan view in FIG. 52, for example, a first thin film coil 15A is formed around the through hole 22dW by a plating method or the like. The outer end of the first thin film coil 15A extends rearward to form a first coil terminal lead-out portion 15AT.
As shown in a schematic plan view in FIG. 53, an intermediate insulating layer 43 is formed on the first thin film coil 15A in a pattern covering the first thin film coil 15A by, for example, heat-treating a photoresist layer formed by a photolithography technique. In the intermediate insulating layer 43, a through hole 43W is formed on the through hole 22dW simultaneously with the formation thereof, and a coil connection hole 43WC is formed on the outer side thereof so that the inner end of the first thin film coil 15A can face.

  As shown in a schematic plan view in FIG. 54, on the intermediate insulating layer 43, the second thin film coil 15B is formed by pattern plating or the like in the same manner as the first thin film coil 15A. At this time, the second thin-film coil 15B has an inner end connected to one end of the first thin-film coil 15A through the coil connection hole 43WC, and an outer end extending rearward to form the second coil terminal. Deriving portion 15BT is formed.

As shown in a schematic plan view in FIG. 55, a coil connection hole 44WC that covers the second thin film coil 15B, leads the first and second coil terminal lead-out portions 15AT and 15BT to the outside, and communicates with the coil connection hole 43WC. The upper insulating layer 44 with the formed is formed. The upper insulating layer 44 can be formed by forming a photoresist layer in a required pattern by photolithography and making it insulating by performing heat treatment.
In this upper insulating layer 44, the inclination angle of the inclined surface 44S can be selected to be 45 degrees, for example, by adjusting the heat treatment of the photoresist layer so as to form the inclined surface 44S at least at the front end thereof.

As shown in a schematic plan view in FIG. 56, on the upper insulating layer 44, for example, a soft magnetic thin film such as an Ni-Fe alloy, an amorphous material such as ZrNbTa, or an Fe-Si-Al alloy is formed by sputtering or plating. For example, the film is formed with a film thickness of about 3 μm by a film forming method such as a method. The soft magnetic thin film is processed into a predetermined shape by a photolithographic technique and an ion etching technique to form the second magnetic core half body 14.
The front end of the second magnetic core half 14 is, as shown in FIG. 1, the first magnetic core half 12, ie, the second magnetic shield, via the fourth nonmagnetic non-conductive layer 22d. 5 is formed so as to face the front end so as to form a recording magnetic gap g. The second core half 14 is magnetically coupled to the first core half 22dW through the through holes 44W, 43W, and 22dW.
In this way, the electromagnetic induction thin film coil 15 is formed by the first and second thin film coils 15A and 15B around the coupling portion, and the magnetic gap g is formed by the first and second core halves 12 and 14. An inductive recording magnetic head 2 having a closed magnetic path into which is inserted is configured.

  Further, as shown in a schematic plan view in FIG. 57, by forming a conductive layer on each pair of connection hole 22dWb, connection hole 22dWE, and coil terminal lead-out portions 15AT and 15BT at both ends of the thin film coil, grounding is performed. Terminal 45E is formed, both terminals 45MR of MR element 7 are formed, and terminal 45C of thin film coil 15 is formed.

The front of the MR magnetic head thus obtained, that is, the recording / reproducing magnetic head formed by stacking the reproducing magnetic head and the inductive recording magnetic head, is polished to the position indicated by the chain line a in FIG. A thin film recording / reproducing magnetic head 100 according to the present invention is formed by forming the medium running surface 3.
That is, by applying current based on the recording signal between the terminals 15BT and 15AT of the recording magnetic head 2, a recording magnetic field is generated from the magnetic gap g facing the magnetic medium running surface 3, and recording on a magnetic recording medium, for example, a magnetic tape, is performed. Is made.
Further, in the MR thin film magnetic head 1 as a reproducing magnetic head, a signal magnetic field generated by recording on a target recording track on a magnetic recording medium, for example, a magnetic tape, is introduced into a flux guide 8 facing the magnetic medium running surface 3, and MR MR It is induced by the element 7 and detected as a resistance change. This resistance change is input to an external circuit connected to the MR terminal 45MR, and the resistance change is detected as a voltage change, for example, and the recorded signal is reproduced.

In the MR thin film magnetic head 1 having the above-described configuration, the ground terminal 45E is grounded. In this MR magnetic head 1, the MR element 7 does not directly face the magnetic medium running surface 3, so that the MR element is oxidized or worn, resulting in characteristic deterioration due to the so-called flux guide configuration. It can be avoided.
In the above-described configuration, for example, the upper first magnetic shield 5 is grounded by the ground electrode 42 connected to the ground terminal 45E through the ground electrode 42. At the same time, the flux guide 8 is connected to the ground terminal 45E through the connection hole 31-the first connection terminal portion 27a-the ground electrode 25-the rear ground connection terminal 27b and is grounded.
That is, since the flux guide 8 facing the magnetic medium traveling surface 3 and the first and second magnetic shields 4 and 5 are connected to the ground terminal 45E, static electricity generated by contact with the magnetic medium traveling surface 3 is not generated. The electrostatic discharge of the flux guide 8 is avoided. Further, although the MR element 7 and the flux guide 8 are magnetically coupled, the second nonmagnetic non-conductive film 22b is interposed between them, so that the MR element 7 is destroyed by a current due to electrostatic charges. Is also avoided.

The thin-film type recording / reproducing magnetic head 100 can have a single channel configuration or a multi-channel configuration.
For example, as shown in FIG. 58, the present invention is applied to a recording / reproducing magnetic head device 200 mounted on a linear tape streamer system in which a plurality of recording tracks are juxtaposed in the width direction of the magnetic tape 70 and formed along the longitudinal direction of the tape 70. can do.
In this case, the recording / reproducing magnetic head device 200 can be configured such that the first and second magnetic head stacks 71 and 72 are joined.
Each of the magnetic head stacks 71 and 72 has a configuration in which thin film type magnetic heads formed by stacking the recording magnetic head 2 and the MR magnetic head 1 are vertically arranged in the width direction of the magnetic tape 70.
With this configuration, for example, with respect to the forward path of the magnetic tape 70, recording is performed by the recording head of one magnetic head stack 71, and this recording is reproduced by the reproducing magnetic head of the other magnetic head stack 72 to monitor the recording. Do. The return path of the magnetic tape 70 can be recorded by the recording head of the other magnetic head stack 72, and this recording can be reproduced by the reproducing magnetic head of the other stack 71 to monitor the recording. .

An example of a manufacturing method of the multi-channel recording / reproducing magnetic head device 200 in this case will be described. In this case, as shown in FIG. 59, a large number of thin-film recording magnetic heads 100 having the structure shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 60, a large number of wafers 101 are cut into a strip shape from the wafer 101 to obtain a head substrate 102. As shown in FIG. 61, the head substrate 102 cut out in a strip shape is sandwiched and joined together by a nonmagnetic pair of first and second substrates 103A and 103B.
Then, a plurality of protrusions 104 extending in the juxtaposition direction of the head substrate 102, the first and second substrates 103A, and 103B are formed in parallel with the joined body in a comb-like cross section. A non-magnetic holding substrate 105 is bonded.

As shown in FIG. 62, the holding substrate 105 bonded in this way is cut and polished from the rear surface, leaving only the protrusions 104.
As shown in FIG. 63, for each placement portion of each protrusion 104, the guide pair by the protrusion 104 is cut out along the protrusion 4 through the bonding pair of the first and second substrates and the magnetic head substrate 1, A plurality of magnetic head array portions 115 each including a part of the head substrate 102 and having a plurality of recording / reproducing magnetic heads 100 arrayed, and a plurality of first and second substrates 103A and B being disposed at both ends thereof. The head stack 70 is formed.
As shown in FIG. 64, the front surface of the head stack 70 is polished to form the magnetic medium running surface 3.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 65, the pair of head stacks 70 are joined as the first and second head stacks to constitute the recording / reproducing magnetic head device 200 shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, the recess 9 is limitedly provided in the portion where the MR element 7 is formed, so that the interval between the magnetic shields 4 and 5 in the portion where the MR element 7 is disposed is Since it is made larger than the interval other than the formation portion, the transmission efficiency of the signal magnetic flux from the adjacent track that has entered the magnetic shields 4 and 5, that is, the leakage magnetic flux, passes through the MR element 7 can be suppressed.
Therefore, according to the configuration of the present invention, the problem of noise due to the introduction of leakage magnetic flux from the adjacent recording track can be solved, and the S / N can be improved.
Further, as described above, since the introduction of the leakage magnetic field from the adjacent recording track into the MR element of the magnetosensitive portion is effectively avoided, the interval between the magnetic tracks can be reduced. The track pitch can be reduced, and thus the high recording density can be improved.
Then, the baseline shift of the reproduced waveform can be adjusted by adjusting the depth of the concave portion 9.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head according to the present invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the BB line of FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the other example of the magnetoresistive effect type thin film magnetic head by this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the further another example of the magnetoresistive effect type thin film magnetic head by this invention. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a manufacturing method of an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a manufacturing method of an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a manufacturing method of an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a manufacturing method of an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a manufacturing method of an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a manufacturing method of an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a manufacturing method of an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a manufacturing method of an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view and FIG. B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. A is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 14, and FIG. B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. A is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 16, and FIG. B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. A is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 18, and FIG. B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. A is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 20, and FIG. B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. A is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 22, and FIG. B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. A is a schematic sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 24, and FIG. B is a schematic sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view and FIG. B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line β-β in FIG. FIG. A is a schematic sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 26, and FIG. B is a schematic sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. A is a schematic sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 28, and FIG. B is a schematic sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a method for manufacturing an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a method for manufacturing an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a method for manufacturing an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a manufacturing method of an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. A is a schematic sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 34, and FIG. B is a schematic sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. A is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 36, and FIG. B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of a method for manufacturing an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a process diagram of a method for manufacturing an example of a magnetic head according to the present invention. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. A is a schematic sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 39, and FIG. B is a schematic sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. A is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line α-α in FIG. FIG. A is a schematic sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 42, and FIG. B is a schematic sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. A is a schematic sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 45, and FIG. B is a schematic sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. It is a schematic plan view of one process figure of the manufacturing method of an example of the magnetic head by this invention. FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of an example in which a magnetic head according to the present invention is applied to a linear tape streamer system. FIG. 59 is a schematic perspective view of a wafer in one process of an example of the manufacturing method applied to the example in FIG. 58. It is a typical perspective view in 1 process of an example of the manufacturing method applied to the example of FIG. It is a typical perspective view in 1 process of an example of the manufacturing method applied to the example of FIG. It is a typical perspective view in 1 process of an example of the manufacturing method applied to the example of FIG. It is a typical perspective view in 1 process of an example of the manufacturing method applied to the example of FIG. It is a typical perspective view in 1 process of an example of the manufacturing method applied to the example of FIG. It is a typical perspective view in 1 process of an example of the manufacturing method applied to the example of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head (MR thin-film magnetic head), 2 ... Recording thin-film magnetic head, 3 ... Magnetic medium running surface, 4 ... First magnetic shield, 5 ... Second magnetic shield 6... Magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head element (MR magnetic head element), 7... Magnetoresistive effect element (MR element), 7L... GMR laminated film, 8... Flux guide, 8B. ...... ferromagnetic hard film, 9 ... concave, 10 ... flux guide stabilization film, 10L ... ferromagnetic hard film, 11 ... electrode and stabilization film of magnetoresistive effect element (GMR), 11L ... strong Magnetic hard film, 12... First magnetic core half, 16, 22, 28, 29... Nonmagnetic non-conductive film, 14... Second magnetic core half, 15.・ First thin film coil, 15AT ...... First Coil terminal lead-out part, 15B ... second thin film coil, 15BT ... second coil terminal lead-out part, 16 ... nonmagnetic insulating layer, 21 ... substrate, 22a ... first nonmagnetic nonconductive film, 22b: second nonmagnetic nonconductive film, 22c: third nonmagnetic nonconductive film, 22d: fourth nonmagnetic nonconductive film, 22dW: through hole, 22dWb, 22dWE: connection through hole , 23... Insulating layer, 24, 26, 30, 32... Photoresist layer, 24 W, 26 W, 30 W, 32 W, 33... Opening, 25... Earth electrode, 25 L. ... earth electrode connection part, 31 ... connection hole, 32 ... photoresist layer, 35, 36 ... photoresist layer, 36W1, 36W2, 36W3 ... opening, 37H1, 37H2, 37H3 ... connection hole, 38 ... MR element electrode, 38b ... Electrode connection portion 39... Photoresist layer 41... Photoresist layer 42. Ground electrode of second magnetic shield 42 E. Rear end portion 43 43 Intermediate insulating layer 43 WC Coil connection Hole: 43W: Through-hole, 44: Upper insulating layer, 100: Recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head, 70: Magnetic tape, 71: First magnetic head stack, 72: Second magnetic head stack, 100 ... Recording / reproducing magnetic head, 200 ... Recording / reproducing magnetic head device

Claims (8)

A magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head element is disposed between the first and second magnetic shields opposed to each other and formed with a relative running surface with the magnetic recording medium on the front surface.
The magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head element has a magnetoresistive effect element constituting a magnetosensitive portion, and a flux guide,
The flux guide is disposed with its front end facing the running surface relative to the magnetic recording medium, and between the first and second magnetic shields, the magnetic sensing portion is disposed at the rear end of the flux guide. The magnetoresistive effect element to be constructed is magnetically coupled,
A recess is limitedly formed on at least one of the opposing surfaces of the first and second magnetic shields of the arrangement portion of the magnetoresistive element,
A magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic distance between the first and second magnetic shields in the arrangement portion of the magnetoresistive element is increased by the recess.   The magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the magnetoresistive effect element constituting the magnetosensitive portion is a spin valve magnetoresistive effect element.   It is characterized in that at least most of the arrangement portion of the stabilization film of the spin valve magnetoresistive effect element is located in a narrow region of the first and second magnetic shield intervals where the concave portion does not exist. The magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head according to claim 1.   A plurality of the magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head elements are arranged in parallel between the first and second magnetic shields, and the concave portion is a magnetic sensitive element of each of the magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head elements. 2. The magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head is provided in a limited manner corresponding to each of the magnetoresistive effect elements constituting the portion. A reproducing magnetic head using a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head and a recording magnetic head using an electromagnetic induction thin film magnetic recording head are laminated.
In the magnetoresistive effect type thin film magnetic head, a magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head element is disposed between the first and second magnetic shields facing each other and having a traveling surface relative to the magnetic recording medium formed on the front surface. Consisting of
The magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head element has a magnetoresistive effect element constituting a magnetosensitive portion, and a flux guide,
The flux guide is disposed with its front end facing the running surface relative to the magnetic recording medium, and between the first and second magnetic shields, the magnetic sensing portion is disposed at the rear end of the flux guide. The magnetoresistive effect element to be constructed is magnetically coupled,
A recess is limitedly formed on at least one of the opposing surfaces of the first and second magnetic shields of the arrangement portion of the magnetoresistive element,
A recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head characterized in that the magnetic distance between the first and second magnetic shields in the arrangement portion of the magnetoresistive element is increased by the recess.   6. The recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head according to claim 5, wherein the magnetoresistive effect element constituting the magnetosensitive portion is a spin valve magnetoresistive effect element.   The arrangement of at least most of the electrode / stabilizing film of the spin-valve magnetoresistive effect element is located in a narrow region of the first and second magnetic shield intervals where the concave portion does not exist. The recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head according to claim 5.   A plurality of the magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head elements are arranged in parallel between the first and second magnetic shields, and the concave portion is a magnetic sensitive element of each of the magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head elements. 6. The recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head according to claim 5, wherein the recording / reproducing thin film magnetic head is provided in a limited manner corresponding to each of the magnetoresistive effect elements constituting the portion.

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