JP2008152869A - Heat assist magnetic head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat assist magnetic head or the like capable of applying a conventional magnetic recording element manufacturing method and improving the yield at manufacturing and the reliability at operation. <P>SOLUTION: A side light emitting element 40 is formed to emit light in -Z direction. The light emitting element 40 has an element side 403 adjoining the main surface 411 of the insulation layer 41 and a surface 402 facing the recessed surface 412 of the insulation layer 41. This light emitting element 40 is put on the recessed surface 412 through a second electrode 49 and a first electrode 42a (47) is interposed between the main surface 411 and the element side 403. The light emitting element 40 has a first electrode 42a (47) and a second electrode 49 on the element side 403 and the facing surface 402 respectively so that light can be emitted by the current when a voltage is applied between those electrodes. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermally assisted magnetic head for writing signals by a thermally assisted magnetic recording system, a head gimbal assembly (HGA) including the thermally assisted magnetic head, and a hard disk device including the HGA.

  As the recording density of hard disk drives increases, further improvements in performance of thin film magnetic heads are required. As the thin film magnetic head, a composite thin film magnetic head having a structure in which a magnetic detection element such as a magnetoresistive (MR) effect element and a magnetic recording element such as an electromagnetic coil element are laminated is widely used. Data signals are read from and written to a magnetic disk that is a magnetic recording medium.

  Generally, a magnetic recording medium is a discontinuous body in which magnetic fine particles are aggregated, and each magnetic fine particle has a single magnetic domain structure. Here, one recording bit is composed of a plurality of magnetic fine particles. Therefore, in order to increase the recording density, the magnetic fine particles must be made smaller to reduce the irregularities at the boundaries of the recording bits. However, if the magnetic fine particles are made smaller, a decrease in the thermal stability of magnetization accompanying volume reduction becomes a problem.

A measure of the thermal stability of magnetization is given by K _U V / k _B T. Here, K _U is the magnetic anisotropy energy, V the magnetic microparticle volume of one magnetic particle, k _B the Boltzmann constant, T is the absolute temperature. Making the magnetic fine particles smaller means exactly reducing V, and if it is left as it is, K _U V / k _B T becomes smaller and thermal stability is impaired. As a countermeasure to this problem, it is conceivable to increase the K _U simultaneously, increase in K _U results in an increase in the coercive force of the recording medium. On the other hand, the write magnetic field strength by the magnetic head is almost determined by the saturation magnetic flux density of the soft magnetic material constituting the magnetic pole in the head. Therefore, if the coercive force exceeds an allowable value determined from the limit of the write magnetic field strength, writing becomes impossible.

As a method for solving such a magnetization of the thermal stability problems, while the use of large magnetic material K _U, by applying heat to the recording medium immediately before the write magnetic field is applied, the write to reduce the coercive force A so-called heat-assisted magnetic recording system has been proposed. This method is roughly classified into a magnetic dominant recording method and an optical dominant recording method. In the magnetic dominant recording system, the main subject of writing is an electromagnetic coil element, and the radiation diameter of light is larger than the track width (recording width). On the other hand, in the optical dominant recording method, the main subject of writing is the light emitting portion, and the light emission diameter is substantially the same as the track width (recording width). In other words, the magnetic dominant recording system provides spatial resolution to the magnetic field, whereas the optical dominant recording system provides spatial resolution to the light.

  As such heat-assisted magnetic head recording devices, Patent Documents 1 to 7 and Non-Patent Document 1 provide a light source such as a semiconductor laser at a position away from a slider provided with a magnetic recording element that generates a magnetic field. A structure in which light from a light source is guided to a medium facing surface of a slider via an optical fiber, a lens, or the like is disclosed.

  Patent Documents 8 to 11 and Non-Patent Document 2 disclose a thermally assisted magnetic head in which a magnetic recording element and a light source are integrated on a side surface of a slider, and a thermally assisted magnetic element in which a magnetic recording element and a light source are integrated on a medium facing surface of the slider. A head is disclosed.

In addition, research has been conducted on a magnetic head using a SIL (Solid Immersion Lens) which is a high-efficiency condensing element and a plasmon probe which is a near-field light generating element. Patent Document 12 discloses an apparatus in which a plasmon probe is provided at the tip of a planar waveguide.
International Publication WO92 / 02931 Pamphlet (Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-500194) International Publication WO 98/09284 Pamphlet (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-511176) JP-A-10-162444 International Publication No. WO99 / 53482 Pamphlet (Special Table 2002-512725) JP 2000-173093 A JP 2002-298302 A JP 2001-255254 A JP 2001-283404 A JP 2001-325756 A JP 2004-158067 A JP 2004-303299 A US Pat. No. 6,795,630 ShintaroMiyanishi et al. “Near-field Assisted Magnetic Recording” IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, 2005, Vol. 41, No. 10, p. 2817-2821 Koji Shono, Mitsumasa Oshiki “Current Status and Issues of Thermally Assisted Magnetic Recording” Journal of Japan Society of Applied Magnetics, 2005, Vol. 29, No. 1, p. 5-13

  However, if the light source is arranged far away from the slider, an optical fiber, a lens, a mirror, etc. must be used over a long distance to guide the light, and the light propagation efficiency is greatly reduced. Arise. If a light emitting element such as a laser diode is disposed immediately above the slider and a waveguide is provided on the slider so as to guide incident light to the medium facing surface, the light propagation efficiency can be improved. However, when a wire is connected to the electrode portion of the light-emitting element in order to apply a voltage to the light-emitting element, it is necessary to apply ultrasonic waves to the light-emitting element when the wire is connected, which may destroy the light-emitting element. In addition, the wire may be cut during handling or cleaning of the light emitting element after the wire connection. For this reason, the problem that the yield at the time of manufacture of a product falls arises. Further, since the HGA moves at a high speed during the operation of the hard disk device, there is a possibility that the wire may be cut, resulting in a problem that the reliability of the product is lowered.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a heat-assisted magnetic head that can be applied with a conventional method of manufacturing a magnetic recording element and can improve reliability during operation. An object of the present invention is to provide an HGA including a magnetic head and a hard disk device including the HGA.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a thermally-assisted magnetic head according to the present invention is located between a medium facing surface, a first surface located on the opposite side of the medium facing surface, and between the medium facing surface and the first surface. A slider substrate having a side surface, a light emitting surface having a near-field light generating portion formed on the medium facing surface side, and a magnetic recording element in the vicinity of the near-field light generating portion. A fixed magnetic head unit, a light source support substrate fixed to the first surface, and a light emitting element fixed to one side surface of the light source support substrate so as to provide light emitted from the light output surface, One side surface of the light source support substrate has a main surface and a deep surface, and a step is formed between the main surface and the deep surface, and the direction from the main surface toward the deep surface is the direction of the light emitting element. The light-emitting element is a stacking direction. And a first electrode and a second electrode interposed between the main surface and the element side surface, and the deep surface and the opposite surface, respectively. head.

  The light emitting element is fixed to the light source support substrate, and the first surface of the slider substrate is fixed to the second surface of the light source support substrate. Therefore, the positional relationship between the slider substrate and the light emitting element is fixed.

  That is, according to this heat-assisted magnetic head, the light emitted from the light emitting element is emitted from the near-field light generating portion of the light emitting surface provided on the medium facing surface, and is irradiated onto the magnetic recording medium. Therefore, the temperature of the recording area of the magnetic recording medium facing the medium facing surface rises, and the holding force of the recording area temporarily decreases. Information can be written in the recording area by energizing the magnetic recording element and generating a writing magnetic field within the period of decrease in the holding force.

  The light emitting element is provided with a first electrode and a second electrode on the element side surface and the opposite surface, respectively, and when a voltage is applied between them, the element is energized to cause the element to emit light. Can do. The light emitting element is mounted on the deep surface of the light source support substrate via the second electrode, and the first electrode is interposed between the main surface of the light source support substrate and the element side surface. With this structure, it is not necessary to connect a wire for applying a voltage to the light emitting element, so that the yield in manufacturing can be improved. Moreover, in the case of this structure, the characteristic between elements can be equalized compared with the thing using a wire.

  In addition, the light source support substrate for fixing the light emitting element is provided with a step, and when the light emitting element is placed on the deep surface, the element side surface of the light emitting element is adjacent to the main surface of the light source support substrate. The first electrode can be easily interposed between them to make electrical connection.

  The magnetic head unit preferably further includes a planar waveguide core including a light emitting surface and a light incident surface formed on the first surface side, and the light emitting element preferably faces the light incident surface. Since the light emitting element faces the light incident surface of the core, long-distance light propagation is not performed as in the conventional case, and mounting light and coupling loss of light are allowed, and the light emitted from the light emitting element reaches the medium facing surface. Can lead.

  The HGA according to the present invention preferably includes the above-described thermally-assisted magnetic head and a suspension that supports the thermally-assisted magnetic head. The hard disk device according to the present invention includes the HGA and a magnetic recording that faces the medium facing surface. And a medium.

  In the HGA and hard disk drive equipped with the heat-assisted magnetic head, since the connection for applying a voltage to the edge-emitting light emitting element is not performed, the yield during manufacturing can be improved, and the wire is not used during operation. Since there is no problem of cutting, reliability can be improved.

  According to the thermally-assisted magnetic head of the present invention, and the HGA and hard disk device including the thermally-assisted magnetic head, the reliability during operation can be improved.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated in detail, referring an accompanying drawing. In the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals. Further, the dimensional ratios in the components and between the components in the drawings are arbitrary for easy viewing of the drawings. (Hard disk device)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hard disk device according to an embodiment.

  The hard disk device 1 includes a magnetic disk 10 that is a plurality of magnetic recording media rotating around a rotation axis of a spindle motor 11, an assembly carriage device 12 for positioning a heat-assisted magnetic head 21 on a track, and the heat-assisted magnetic head. A recording / reproducing and light emission control circuit (control circuit) 13 is provided for controlling the writing and reading operations of 21 and controlling a laser diode which is a light source for generating laser light for heat-assisted magnetic recording, which will be described in detail later. Yes.

The assembly carriage device 12 is provided with a plurality of drive arms 14. These drive arms 14 can swing around a pivot bearing shaft 16 by a voice coil motor (VCM) 15 and are stacked in a direction along the shaft 16. A head gimbal assembly (HGA) 17 is attached to the tip of each drive arm 14. Each HGA 17 is provided with a heat-assisted magnetic head 21 so as to face the surface of each magnetic disk 10. A surface facing the surface of the magnetic disk 10 is a medium facing surface S (also referred to as an air bearing surface) of the heat-assisted magnetic head 21. The magnetic disk 10, the drive arm 14, the HGA 17, and the heat-assisted magnetic head 21 may be singular.
(HGA)
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the HGA 17. This figure shows the HGA 17 with the medium facing surface S facing up.

  The HGA 17 is configured by fixing the thermally assisted magnetic head 21 to the tip of the suspension 20 and electrically connecting one end of the wiring member 203 to the terminal electrode of the thermally assisted magnetic head 21. The suspension 20 includes a load beam 200, an elastic flexure 201 fixed and supported on the load beam 200, a tongue portion 204 formed in a leaf spring shape at the tip of the flexure, and a base of the load beam 200. It is mainly configured by a base plate 202 provided and a wiring member 203 which is provided on the flexure 201 and is composed of a lead conductor and connection pads electrically connected to both ends thereof.

It is obvious that the suspension structure in the HGA 17 is not limited to the structure described above. Although not shown, a head driving IC chip may be mounted in the middle of the suspension 20.
(Thermally assisted magnetic head)
FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the heat-assisted magnetic head 21 shown in FIG.

  The wiring member 203 is connected to a pair of electrode pads 237 and 237 for recording signals, a pair of electrode pads 238 and 238 for readout signals, and a pair of electrode pads 247 and 248 for driving a light source.

  The heat-assisted magnetic head 21 includes a slider 22, a light source unit 23 including a light source support substrate 230 and an edge-emitting laser diode element (light-emitting element) 40 serving as a light source for heat-assisted magnetic recording. The back surface (first surface) 2201 and the adhesion surface (second surface) 2300 of the light source support substrate 230 are in contact with each other to be bonded and fixed.

  Here, the back surface 2201 of the slider substrate 220 is a surface opposite to the medium facing surface S of the slider 22. In addition, the bottom surface 2301 of the light source support substrate 230 is bonded to the tongue portion 204 of the flexure 201 with, for example, an adhesive such as an epoxy resin.

  The slider 22 includes a slider substrate 220 and a magnetic head unit 32 for writing and reading data signals.

The slider substrate 220 has a plate-like shape and has a medium facing surface S processed so as to obtain an appropriate flying height. The slider substrate 220 is made of conductive Altic (Al ₂ O ₃ —TiC) or the like.

  The magnetic head portion 32 is formed on the integration surface 2202 that is a side surface substantially perpendicular to the medium facing surface S of the slider substrate 220. The magnetic head unit 32 includes an MR effect element 33 as a magnetic detection element for detecting magnetic information, an electromagnetic coil element 34 as a perpendicular (or in-plane) magnetic recording element for writing magnetic information by generating a magnetic field, and an MR effect element 33. And a waveguide (core) 35 as a planar waveguide provided between the magnetic coil element 34 and a near-field light generator (plasmon probe) for generating near-field light for heating the recording layer portion of the magnetic disk ) 36 and an insulating layer (clad) 38 formed on the integration surface 2202 so as to cover the MR effect element 33, the electromagnetic coil element 34, the core 35, and the near-field light generating part 36.

  Further, the magnetic head portion 32 is formed on the exposed surface of the insulating layer 38 and is connected to the input / output terminals of the MR effect element 33 and connected to both ends of the pair of signal terminals 371 and 371 and the electromagnetic coil element 34. Are provided with a pair of signal terminal electrode pads 373 and 373 and a ground electrode pad 375 electrically connected to the slider substrate 220. The electrode pad 375 electrically connected to the slider substrate 220 through the via hole 375a is connected to the electrode pad 247 of the flexure 201 by a bonding wire. The potential of the slider substrate 220 is, for example, grounded by the electrode pad 247. Controlled to potential.

  The end surfaces of the MR effect element 33, the electromagnetic coil element 34, and the near-field light generator 36 are exposed on the medium facing surface S. Further, both ends in the stacking direction of a plurality of layers constituting the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 are electrically connected to electrode pads 47 and 48, respectively.

  4 is a cross-sectional view of the thermally assisted magnetic head 21 shown in FIG.

  The MR effect element 33 includes an MR multilayer 332 and a lower shield layer 330 and an upper shield layer 334 disposed at positions sandwiching the MR multilayer 332. The lower shield layer 330 and the upper shield layer 334 are made of a magnetic material such as NiFe, CoFeNi, CoFe, FeN, or FeZrN having a thickness of about 0.5 to 3 μm formed by a pattern plating method including a frame plating method, for example. can do. The upper and lower shield layers 334 and 330 prevent the MR multilayer 332 from being affected by an external magnetic field that causes noise.

  The MR multilayer 332 is composed of an in-plane energization type (CIP (Current In Plane)) giant magnetoresistance (GMR (Giant Magneto Resistance)) multilayer film, a vertical energization type (CPP (Current Perpendicular to Plane)) GMR multilayer film, or a tunnel. It includes a magnetoresistive film such as a magnetoresistive (TMR (Tunnel Magneto Resistance)) multilayer film, and senses a signal magnetic field from a magnetic disk with very high sensitivity.

  When the MR multilayer 332 includes, for example, a TMR effect multilayer film, the antiferromagnetic layer having a thickness of about 5 to 15 nm made of IrMn, PtMn, NiMn, RuRhMn, and the like, and CoFe that is a ferromagnetic material, for example, or Ru A magnetization pinned layer composed of two layers of CoFe or the like with a nonmagnetic metal layer or the like sandwiched therebetween and the magnetization direction of which is pinned by an antiferromagnetic layer, and a thickness of 0.5 to 1 nm made of, for example, Al or AlCu A tunnel barrier layer made of a non-magnetic dielectric material in which a metal film of a degree is oxidized by oxygen introduced into the vacuum apparatus or by natural oxidation, and a CoFe having a thickness of about 1 nm, for example, a ferromagnetic material, A magnetization free layer that is composed of a two-layer film of about 4 nm of NiFe or the like and that forms a tunnel exchange coupling with the magnetization fixed layer via the tunnel barrier layer is sequentially laminated. Have a structure.

  An inter-element shield layer 148 made of the same material as that of the lower shield layer 330 is formed between the MR effect element 33 and the waveguide 35. The inter-element shield layer 148 plays a role of blocking the MR effect element 33 from the magnetic field generated by the electromagnetic coil element 34 and preventing external noise during reading. Further, a backing coil portion may be further formed between the inter-element shield layer 148 and the waveguide 35. The backing coil section generates a magnetic flux that is generated from the electromagnetic coil element 34 and cancels the magnetic flux loop passing through the upper and lower electrode layers of the MR effect element 33, and is a wide adjacent track that is an unnecessary write or erase operation on the magnetic disk. This is intended to suppress the erasing (WAIT) phenomenon.

  Between the shield layer 330 334 opposite to the medium facing surface S of the MR stack 332, between the shield layer 330 334 148 opposite to the medium facing surface S, between the lower shield layer 330 and the slider substrate 220, An insulating layer 38 made of alumina or the like is formed between the inter-element shield layer 148 and the waveguide 35.

  When the MR multilayer 332 includes a CIP-GMR multilayer film, an insulating upper and lower shield made of alumina or the like is formed between each of the upper and lower shield layers 334 and 330 and the MR multilayer 332. Each gap layer is provided. Further, although not shown, an MR lead conductor layer for supplying a sense current to the MR multilayer 332 and taking out a reproduction output is formed. On the other hand, when the MR multilayer 332 includes a CPP-GMR multilayer film or a TMR multilayer film, the upper and lower shield layers 334 and 330 also function as upper and lower electrode layers, respectively. In this case, the upper and lower shield gap layers and the MR lead conductor layer are unnecessary and are omitted.

  A hard bias layer (not shown) made of a ferromagnetic material such as CoTa, CoCrPt, or CoPt for applying a longitudinal bias magnetic field for stabilizing the magnetic domain is formed on both sides in the track width direction of the MR multilayer 332. Is done.

  The electromagnetic coil element 34 is preferably for perpendicular magnetic recording, and includes a main magnetic pole layer 340, a gap layer 341a, a coil insulating layer 341b, a coil layer 342, and an auxiliary magnetic pole layer 344, as shown in FIG.

  The main magnetic pole layer 340 is a magnetic path for guiding the magnetic flux induced by the coil layer 342 while converging it to the recording layer of the magnetic disk (medium) on which writing is performed. Here, the width in the track width direction (the depth direction in the drawing in FIG. 4) and the thickness in the stacking direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 4) of the end of the main magnetic pole layer 340 on the medium facing surface S side are compared with those in other portions. It is preferable to make it small. As a result, it is possible to generate a fine and strong write magnetic field corresponding to high recording density.

  The end portion on the medium facing surface S side of the auxiliary magnetic pole layer 344 magnetically coupled to the main magnetic pole layer 340 forms a trailing shield part having a wider layer cross section than the other part of the auxiliary magnetic pole layer 344. The auxiliary magnetic pole layer 344 faces the end of the main magnetic pole layer 340 on the medium facing surface S side via a gap layer (cladding) 341a and a coil insulating layer 341b formed of an insulating material such as alumina. By providing such an auxiliary magnetic pole layer 344, the magnetic field gradient between the auxiliary magnetic pole layer 344 and the main magnetic pole layer 340 in the vicinity of the medium facing surface S becomes steeper. As a result, the jitter of the signal output is reduced, and the error rate at the time of reading can be reduced.

  The auxiliary magnetic pole layer 344 is, for example, an alloy made of any two or three of Ni, Fe, and Co formed by using, for example, a frame plating method, a sputtering method or the like with a thickness of about 0.5 to about 5 μm. Or an alloy containing these as a main component and a predetermined element added thereto.

The gap layer 341a separates the coil layer 342 and the main magnetic pole layer 340. For example, Al ₂ having a thickness of about 0.01 to about 0.5 μm and formed using, for example, a sputtering method, a CVD method, or the like. O ₃ or DLC is composed of (diamond-like carbon) or the like.

  The coil layer 342 is made of, for example, Cu having a thickness of about 0.5 to about 3 μm and formed by using, for example, a frame plating method. The rear end of the main magnetic pole layer 340 and the portion of the auxiliary magnetic pole layer 344 away from the medium facing surface S are coupled, and the coil layer 342 is formed so as to surround the coupled portion.

  The coil insulating layer 341b separates the coil layer 342 and the auxiliary magnetic pole layer 344, and is made of, for example, an electrically insulating material such as thermoset alumina or a resist layer having a thickness of about 0.1 to about 5 μm. .

  The waveguide (core) 35 is located between the MR effect element 33 and the electromagnetic coil element 34 and extends in parallel with the integration surface (YZ plane) 2202, and from the medium facing surface S of the magnetic head portion 32. The magnetic head portion 32 extends to a surface 32a opposite to the medium facing surface S, and in this example is a rectangular plate. The core 35 extends from the medium facing surface S and has two side surfaces 351a and 351b facing each other in the track width direction, two upper surfaces 352a and 352b parallel to the accumulation surface 2202, and a light emitting surface 353 that forms the medium facing surface S. And a light incident surface 354 opposite to the light emitting surface 353 (see FIG. 8). The upper surface 352a, the lower surface 352b, and the two side surfaces 351a and 351b of the waveguide 35 are in contact with an insulating layer 38 that has a refractive index smaller than that of the waveguide 35 and functions as a cladding for the waveguide 35.

  When the thickness direction of the waveguide 35 is the X axis, the width direction is the Y axis, and the longitudinal direction is the Z axis, the light emitted from the light emitting surface of the laser diode 40 along the Z axis enters the light incident surface 354. .

  The waveguide 35 guides the light incident from the light incident surface 354 to the light emitting surface 353 which is the end surface on the medium facing surface S side while reflecting the light on the both side surfaces 351a and 351b and the upper surface 352a and the lower surface 352b. Is possible. The width of the core 35 in the track width direction can be, for example, 1 to 200 μm, the thickness can be, for example, 2 to 10 μm, and the height can be 10 to 300 μm.

The core 35 is made of a dielectric material having a refractive index n higher than that of the material forming the insulating layer 38, for example, using a sputtering method or the like in any part. For example, when the insulating layer 38 as a clad is formed from SiO ₂ (n = 1.5), the core 35 may be formed from Al ₂ O ₃ (n = 1.63). Further, when the insulating layer 38 is made of Al ₂ O ₃ (n = 1.63), the core 35 is composed of Ta ₂ O ₅ (n = 2.16), Nb ₂ O ₅ (n = 2.2. 33), TiO (n = 2.3 to 2.55), or TiO ₂ (n = 2.3 to 2.55). By configuring the core 35 with such a material, not only the good optical characteristics of the material itself but also the total reflection conditions at the interface are adjusted, so that the propagation loss of the laser light is reduced, and the near-field light is reduced. The generation efficiency is improved.

  The near-field light generating unit 36 is a plate-like member that is disposed substantially at the center of the light emitting surface 353 of the waveguide 35. The near-field light generating unit 36 is embedded in the light emitting surface 353 of the waveguide 35 so that the end surface thereof is exposed to the medium facing surface S.

  Although the magnetic recording medium is also heated by directly irradiating light from the light emitting element, the heat-assisted magnetic head 21 of the present invention includes a near-field light generating unit 36 provided on the light emitting surface 353 of the core 35. ing. In this case, near-field light is generated by irradiating the near-field light generator 36 with light from the edge-emitting light emitting element 40. When the near-field light generating part 36 is irradiated with light, electrons in the metal constituting the near-field light generating part 36 vibrate in plasma, and an electric field is concentrated at the tip part. Since the spread of the near-field light is about the radius of the tip of the plasmon probe, if the radius of the tip is set to be equal to or less than the track width, there is an effect that the emitted light is artificially narrowed to the diffraction limit or less. .

  FIG. 5 is an end view taken along line VV in FIG.

  The insulating layer 41 has a main surface 411 and a deep surface 412, and a step S <b> 41 is formed by a difference in position in the X direction between these surfaces.

  The edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is provided such that the −X direction in FIG. 5 is the stacking direction of the elements and emits light in the −Z direction. The edge-emitting light-emitting element 40 includes an element side surface 403 adjacent to the main surface 411 of the insulating layer 41 and a facing surface 402 facing the deep surface 412 of the insulating layer 41 (the anode of the edge-emitting light-emitting element 40). Surface). The shape of the light emitting element 40 is a hexahedron. In this example, this hexahedron indicates a rectangular parallelepiped, but depending on the crystal structure used for the light emitting element and its dicing method, it may be a parallelepiped such as a rhomboid. The electrode 42a, which is also a conductive adhesive, is interposed between the exposed surface 401 at the top of the step and the element side surface 403.

  Several electrode layers are formed on the main surface 411 and the deep surface 412. The distance S40 between the exposed surfaces is smaller than the thickness (maximum value) of the light emitting elements 40 in the stacking direction. In addition, since the thickness of each electrode layer is thin, the distance (shown by the same symbol for convenience) S41 of the step S41 is also smaller than the thickness (maximum value) of the light emitting element 40 in the stacking direction.

  The light emitting element 40 is placed on the deep surface 412 via the second electrode 49, and the first electrode 42 a (47) is interposed between the main surface 411 and the element side surface 403. The light emitting element 40 is provided with a first electrode 42a (47) and a second electrode 49 on the element side surface 403 and the opposing surface 402, respectively. When a voltage is applied between them, the element is energized. The element can emit light. A solder layer 42 as an electrode layer is interposed between the second electrode 49 and the light emitting element 40.

  The distance (minimum value) from the facing surface 402 to the contact position between the first electrode 42a and the element side surface 403 is the distance from the facing surface 402 to the cladding layer 40c farthest from the facing surface 402 of the light emitting element 40 (see FIG. 11). It is preferable that the distance is larger than the above distance (= S40). Only by applying a voltage to the first electrode 42a (47) and the second electrode 49, a current can be supplied to the active layer of the light emitting element via the cladding layer 40c. That is, the first electrode 42a is in contact with the side surface of the cladding layer 40c and is electrically connected.

  With this structure, it is not necessary to connect a wire for applying a voltage to the light emitting element 40, so that the yield in manufacturing can be improved. Moreover, in the case of this structure, the characteristic between elements can be equalized compared with the thing using a wire.

  The light source support substrate that fixes the light emitting element 40 is provided with a step S41. When the light emitting element 40 is placed on the deep surface 412, the element side surface 403 of the light emitting element 40 is adjacent to the main surface 403. The first electrode 42a can be easily interposed between them to make electrical connection.

  The element side surface 403 of the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is fixed to the main surface 411 of the light source support substrate 230 via the solder layer 42 a and the electrode pad 47. The facing surface 402 of the light emitting element 40 is fixed to the deep surface 412 of the light source support substrate 230 via the solder layer 42 and the electrode pad 49 (second electrode).

  In the main surface 411 of the insulating layer 41, an electrode pad 48 for applying a voltage to the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is formed in a region on the positive side in the Y direction from the edge-emitting light emitting element 40. Yes. The electrode pad 48 is electrically connected to the solder layer 42 and the electrode pad 49 via a contact 48 b in a via hole 48 a formed in the insulating layer 41. Therefore, when a voltage is applied between the electrode pad 47 and the electrode pad 48, the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 can emit light. The electrode pad 47 and the electrode pad 48 are electrically connected to the electrode pads 247 and 248 shown in FIG. 3, respectively.

  Further, it is preferable that the surfaces other than the element side surface 403 and the facing surface 402 of the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 are not in contact with other members.

  With the above-described configuration, it is not necessary to use a wire for electrical connection to the edge-emitting light emitting element 40. For this reason, destruction of the element by the ultrasonic wave given to the element at the time of wire connection is prevented. In addition, the trouble that the wire is cut at the time of manufacturing or operating the final product HDD cannot occur. Therefore, the yield at the time of manufacture of a product improves, and the reliability at the time of use improves.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the stepped portion formed in the insulating layer 41 is insulative, and this does not cause a short circuit of the edge-emitting light emitting element 40.

  FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of the heat-assisted magnetic head 21.

  One of the wirings constituting the wiring member 203 is electrically connected to the element side surface 403 (see FIG. 5) of the light emitting element 40 via the electrode pad 247, the electrode pad 47, and the solder layer 42a. Is electrically connected to the facing surface (anode) 402 of the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 through the electrode pad 248 and the electrode pad 48. When a driving current is supplied between the electrode pads 247 and 248, the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 emits light. This light is applied to the recording area of the magnetic recording medium through the core of the planar waveguide and the medium facing surface S.

  Another pair of wires constituting the wiring member 203 is connected to both ends of the electromagnetic coil element 34 via the electrode pad 237, the bonding wire BW, and the electrode pad 371, respectively. When a voltage is applied between the pair of electrode pads 237, the electromagnetic coil element 34 as a magnetic recording element is energized and a writing magnetic field is generated. In the heat-assisted magnetic head 21, the light emitted from the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is incident on the light incident surface 354 (see FIG. 3) of the core 35 of the planar waveguide and is provided on the medium facing surface S. The light exits from the light exit surface and irradiates the recording area of the magnetic recording medium. Therefore, the temperature of the recording area of the magnetic recording medium facing the medium facing surface rises, and the holding power of the recording area temporarily decreases. Information can be written in the recording area by energizing the electromagnetic coil element 34 and generating a write magnetic field within the decrease period of the holding force.

  Another pair of wirings constituting the wiring member 203 is connected to both ends of the MR effect element 33 via the electrode pad 238, the bonding wire BW, and the electrode pad 373, respectively. When a voltage is applied to the pair of electrode pads 238, a sense current flows through the MR effect element 33. Information written in the recording region R can be read by passing a sense current through the MR effect element 33.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view of the main part of the magnetic head viewed from the medium facing surface side.

  The tip of the main magnetic pole layer 340 on the medium facing surface S side is tapered so that the length of the side on the leading side, that is, the side of the slider substrate 220 becomes an inverted trapezoid shorter than the length of the side on the trailing side. .

  The end face of the main magnetic pole layer 340 on the medium facing surface side is provided with a bevel angle θ so that unnecessary writing or the like is not exerted on an adjacent track due to the influence of a skew angle generated by driving with a rotary actuator. The magnitude of the bevel angle θ is, for example, about 15 °. Actually, the write magnetic field is mainly generated in the vicinity of the long side on the trailing side. In the case of a magnetic dominant, the width of the write track is determined by the length of the long side.

  Here, the main magnetic pole layer 340 has, for example, a total thickness of about 0.01 to about 0.5 μm at the end on the medium facing surface S side, and a total thickness of other than this end is about 0.5. About 3.0 μm, for example, an alloy composed of any two or three of Ni, Fe and Co formed by using frame plating method, sputtering method or the like, or a predetermined element containing these as main components is added. It is preferable that it is comprised from the alloy etc. which were made. The track width can be set to 100 nm, for example.

  The heat-assisted magnetic head 21 described above includes the medium facing surface S, the first surface 2201 positioned on the opposite side of the medium facing surface S, and the side surface (2202) positioned between the medium facing surface S and the first surface 2201. The slider substrate 220, the planar waveguide core 35 having the light exit surface 353 on the medium facing surface S side, and the magnetic recording element 34 adjacent to the light exit surface 353, and the side surface (2202) of the slider substrate 220. The light source support substrate 230 having the magnetic head part 32 fixed to one of the above, the second surface 2300 fixed to the first surface 2201, and the light incident surface 354 of the core 35, and fixed to the light source support substrate 230. The edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is provided (see FIG. 4). Note that the proximity means a distance at which the recording area of the magnetic recording medium heated by the light emitting surface 353 can apply a magnetic field from the magnetic recording element 34 to the recording area before returning to the original temperature. Further, the thickness of the core 35 in the X-axis direction is constant, and the XY cross section is a quadrangle.

  The edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is fixed to the light source support substrate 230, and the first surface 2201 of the slider substrate 220 is fixed to the second surface 2300 of the light source support substrate 230, so The positional relationship with the light emitting element 40 of the mold is fixed. Since the edge-emitting light-emitting element 40 faces the light incident surface 354 of the core, long-distance light propagation is not performed as in the conventional case, and mounting errors and light coupling loss are allowed, and the light-emitting element is output. The incident light can be guided to the medium facing surface.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the near-field light generating unit (plasmon probe) 36 viewed from the medium facing surface S.

  The near-field light generator 36 has a triangular shape when viewed from the medium facing surface S, and is formed of a conductive material. A triangular base 36d is arranged parallel to the integration surface 2202 of the slider substrate 220, that is, parallel to the track width direction, and a vertex 36c facing the base is arranged closer to the main magnetic pole layer 340 of the electromagnetic coil element 34 than the base 36d. Specifically, the apex 36 c is disposed so as to face the leading edge E of the main magnetic pole layer 340. A preferred form of the near-field light generator 36 is an isosceles triangle in which the two base angles at both ends of the base 36d are the same.

  The radius of curvature r of the apex 36c of the near-field light generator 36 is preferably 5 to 100 nm. The height H36 of the triangle is preferably smaller than the wavelength of the incident laser beam and is preferably 20 to 400 nm. The width W of the base 36d is preferably sufficiently smaller than the wavelength of the incident laser light and is preferably 20 to 400 nm. The angle β of the vertex 36c is 60 degrees, for example.

  The thickness T36 of the near-field light generator 36 is preferably 10 to 100 nm.

  When such a near-field light emitting unit 36 is provided on the light emitting surface 353 of the core 35, the electric field is concentrated in the vicinity of the vertex 36c of the near-field light emitting unit 36, and the near field from the vicinity of the vertex 36c toward the medium. Light is generated.

  The near-field light generally has the strongest intensity at the boundary of the near-field light generating unit 36 when viewed from the medium facing surface S, although it depends on the wavelength of the incident laser light and the shape of the core 35. In particular, in the present embodiment, the electric field vector of the light reaching the near-field light generating unit 36 is the stacking direction (X direction) of the edge-emitting light emitting element 40. Therefore, the strongest near-field light is emitted in the vicinity of the vertex 36c. That is, in the heat assisting action of heating the recording layer part of the magnetic disk with light, the part facing the vicinity of the apex 36c becomes the main heating action part.

  The electric field strength of this near-field light is orders of magnitude stronger than that of incident light, and this very strong near-field light rapidly heats the opposing local portion of the magnetic disk surface. As a result, the coercive force of this local portion is reduced to a size that allows writing by a write magnetic field, so that even if a high coercivity magnetic disk for high-density recording is used, writing by the electromagnetic coil element 34 is possible. Become. The near-field light reaches a depth of about 10 to 30 nm from the medium facing surface S toward the surface of the magnetic disk. Accordingly, in the present situation where the flying height is 10 nm or less, the near-field light can sufficiently reach the recording layer portion.

  Further, the width of the near-field light generated in this way in the track width direction and the width in the medium movement direction is approximately the same as the above-mentioned depth of arrival of the near-field light, and the electric field intensity of the near-field light is Since it decays exponentially as the distance increases, the recording layer portion of the magnetic disk can be heated very locally.

  FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the wavelength λ (nm) of the incident light to the near-field light generator 36 and the near-field light intensity I (au). Note that the length H36 of the near-field light generator 36 is 100 nm.

  When Al is used as the near-field light generating unit 36, the incident light wavelength λ (nm) has an intensity peak of near-field light near 350 nm, and when Ag is used, it has an intensity peak near 530 nm. However, when Au is used, it has an intensity peak near 650 nm. As a material of the near-field light generating part 36, Cu, Pd, Pt, Rh, or Ir can be used in addition to Al, Ag, Au. Further, as the material of the near-field light generating part 36, an alloy made of some combination of these metal materials can be adopted.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the wavelength λ (nm) of the incident light to the near-field light generating unit 36 and the near-field light intensity I (au). The material of the near-field light generator 36 is Au, and the length H36 is 100 nm, 200 nm, or 300 nm. The length H36 is preferably 20 to 400 nm. However, when the light having a short wavelength is incident, the half-value width of the spectrum tends to be narrowed, and resistance to fluctuations in the near-field light intensity against fluctuations in the incident light wavelength is increased.
(Light source unit)
Next, the components of the light source unit 23 of the thermally-assisted magnetic head 21 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The light source unit 23 mainly includes a light source support substrate 230 and an edge-emitting laser diode element (light emitting element) 40 whose outer shape has a step.

The light source support substrate 230 is a substrate made of AlTiC (Al ₂ O ₃ —TiC) or the like, and has a bonding surface 2300 bonded to the back surface 2201 of the slider substrate 220. A heat insulating layer 230 a such as alumina is formed on the bonding surface 2300. An insulating layer 41 made of an insulating material such as alumina and having a step shape is provided on an element forming surface 2302 which is one side surface when the adhesive surface 2300 is a bottom surface. An electrode pad 47 is formed on the main surface 411 of the insulating layer 41, and an electrode pad 49 is formed on the deep surface 412 of the insulating layer 41. The main surface 411 and the element side surface 403 are connected via the solder layer 42a and the electrode pad 47, and the deep surface 412 and the opposing surface 402 are connected via the solder layer 42 and the electrode pad 49, The edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is fixed to the light source support substrate 230.

  The electrode pad 48 and the electrode pad 49 are electrically connected by a contact 48b in the via hole 48a, whereby the electrode pad 47 and the electrode pad 48 serve as driving electrodes for the edge-emitting light emitting element 40.

  The contact 48b in the via hole 48a also functions as a heat sink for releasing heat when driving the edge emitting light emitting element 40 to the light source support substrate 230 side.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the electrode pad 47 is formed at the center of the surface 411 of the insulating layer 41 so as to extend in the track width direction. On the other hand, the electrode pad 48 is formed at a position separated from the electrode pad 47 in the track width direction. The electrode pads 47 and 48 further extend toward the flexure 201 side for connection to the flexure 201 by solder reflow.

  The electrode pads 47 and 48 are electrically connected to the electrode pads 247 and 248 of the flexure 201 by reflow soldering, respectively, so that the light source can be driven. If the electrode pad 47 is electrically connected to the light source support substrate 230 as described above, the electrode pad 247 can control the potential of the light source support substrate 230 to, for example, the ground potential.

  The electrode pads 47, 48, and 49 (see FIG. 5) are formed, for example, through a foundation layer made of Ta, Ti, or the like having a thickness of about 10 nm, for example, and having a thickness of about 1 to 3 μm. Or a layer made of Au, Cu, or the like formed by sputtering or the like.

  FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an edge-emitting light emitting device 40 used in the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, the structure of the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is a general structure and is used for optical disk storage or the like. The structure includes, for example, an n-electrode 40a, n-GaAs substrate 40b, n-InGaAlP cladding layer 40c, first InGaAlP guide layer 40d, active layer 40e made of multiple quantum wells (InGaP / InGaAlP), etc., second InGaAlP guide layer 40f, p -InGaAlP cladding layer 40g, ^* n-GaAs current blocking layer 40h, p-GaAs contact layer 40i, and p-electrode 40j are sequentially stacked. Reflective films 50 and 51 made of SiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ or the like for exciting oscillation due to total reflection are formed before and after the cleavage planes of these multilayer structures, and the emitted light from which laser light is emitted At the end 400, an opening is provided at the position of the active layer 40e in one reflective film 50. The edge-emitting light emitting element 40 emits laser light from the light emitting end 400 when a voltage is applied in the film thickness direction.

The wavelength λ _L of the emitted laser light is, for example, about 600 to 650 nm. However, it should be noted that there is an appropriate excitation wavelength according to the metal material of the near-field light generating unit 36. For example, when Au is used as the near-field light generator 36, the wavelength λ _{L of the} laser light is preferably near 600 nm.

  The size of a general edge-emitting laser diode is, for example, about 200 to 350 μm in width (W40), 250 to 600 μm in length (depth, L40), and about 60 to 200 μm in thickness (T40).

  In driving the edge-emitting light emitting element 40, a power source in the hard disk device can be used. Actually, the hard disk device usually has a power supply of about 2 V, for example, and has a sufficient voltage for the laser oscillation operation. The power consumption of the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is, for example, about several tens of mW, and can be sufficiently covered by the power source in the hard disk device.

  Further, the facing surface 402 of the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is fixed to the electrode pad 47 with a solder layer 42 such as AuSn (see FIG. 5). Here, the light emitting end (light emitting surface) 400 of the edge emitting light emitting device 40 is downward (−Z direction) in FIG. 4, that is, the light emitting end 400 is parallel to the adhesive surface 2300. 40 is fixed to the light source support substrate 230, and the light exit end 400 can face the light incident surface 354 of the waveguide 35 of the slider 22. In actual fixing of the edge-emitting light-emitting element 40, for example, an AuSn alloy vapor deposition film having a thickness of about 0.7 to 1 μm is formed on the surface of the electrode pad 47, and the edge-emitting light-emitting element 40 is placed thereon. Then, it may be fixed by heating to about 200 to 300 ° C. with a hot plate or the like under a hot air blower.

  Further, the electrode pad 48 and the p-electrode 40j (that is, the facing surface 402) of the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 are electrically connected through the contact 48b and the electrode pad 49 in the via hole 48a.

  Here, when soldering with the above-described AuSn alloy, the light source unit is heated to a high temperature of about 300 ° C., for example. According to the present invention, the light source unit 23 is manufactured separately from the slider 22. Therefore, the magnetic head portion in the slider is not affected by the high temperature.

  Then, the back surface 2201 of the slider 22 and the adhesive surface 2300 of the light source unit 23 are adhered to each other by an adhesive layer 44 (see FIG. 4) such as a UV curable adhesive, for example. The 40 light exit ends 400 are arranged so as to face the light incident surface 354 of the waveguide 35.

Note that the configuration of the edge-emitting light-emitting element 40 and the electrode pad is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the edge-emitting light-emitting element 40 includes other semiconductor materials such as a GaAlAs system. Other configurations using may be used. Furthermore, it is possible to use other brazing materials for soldering the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 and the electrodes. Furthermore, the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 may be formed by epitaxially growing a semiconductor material directly on the unit substrate.
(Production method)
Next, a method for manufacturing the above-described heat-assisted magnetic head will be described.

  First, the slider 22 is manufactured. Specifically, the slider substrate 220 is prepared, the MR effect element 33 and the inter-element shield layer 148 are formed using a known method, and the insulating layer 38 such as alumina is further formed as a base.

  Subsequently, the waveguide 35 and the near-field light generator 36 are formed. This process will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIGS. 12 and 13 are perspective views for explaining an embodiment of a method for forming the waveguide 35 and the near-field light generator 36.

First, as shown in FIG. 12A, first, Ta ₂ O ₅ having a refractive index higher than that of the insulating layer 38a, which is part of the waveguide 35, is formed on the insulating layer 38a such as Al ₂ O _3. A metal layer 36a such as Au is formed thereon, and a resist pattern 1002 having a recessed bottom for lift-off is formed thereon.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 12B, an unnecessary portion of the metal layer 36a is removed except for the portion immediately below the resist pattern 1002 by using an ion milling method or the like, thereby forming a lower portion on the dielectric film 35a. A pattern in which a wide trapezoidal metal layer 36a is laminated is formed.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 12C, after removing the resist pattern 1002, a part of each slope is removed from each slope side of the trapezoidal metal layer 36a by an ion milling method or the like. A triangular metal layer 36a is formed.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 12D, a dielectric film 35b made of the same material as the dielectric film 35a is formed on the dielectric film 35a so as to cover the metal layer 36a, and a future medium facing surface will be formed. A resist pattern 1003 for forming an end surface of the metal layer 36a is laminated on the side to be formed, and as shown in FIG. 13A, the metal layer 36a is formed on the side opposite to the side on which the medium facing surface is formed in the future. Then, the dielectric film 35b is removed by an ion milling method or the like, and then a dielectric film 35c is formed from the same material as the dielectric film 35b in the removed portion.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13B, a dielectric film 35d is further laminated on the dielectric films 35b and 35c with the same material as the dielectric film 35b, so that the dielectric material has a predetermined width. By patterning the films 35a, 35b, 35c, and 35d, the waveguide 35 is almost completed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13C, an insulating layer 38b is further formed from the same material as the insulating layer 38a so as to cover the waveguide 35, thereby completing the insulating layer 38 as a cladding layer. Then, as will be described later, the near-field light emitting section 36 and the medium facing surface S having a predetermined thickness are formed by lapping a predetermined distance from the side where the metal layer 36a is exposed.

  Through the above steps, the waveguide 35 including the near-field light generating unit 36 can be formed.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4, the electromagnetic coil element 34 is formed by a known method, then the insulating layer 38 made of alumina or the like is formed, the electrode pad 371 for connection is formed, and then the air bearing surface or The slider 22 is completed by lapping the back surface. Thereafter, the electromagnetic coil element 34 and the MR effect element 33 of the slider 22 are tested for each slider to select non-defective products.

  Subsequently, the light source unit 23 is manufactured. First, as shown in FIG. 4, a light source support substrate 230 made of Altic or the like is prepared, and a heat insulating layer 230a is formed on the surface thereof by a known method. 14A, an insulating layer 41, electrode pads 49 (Au layer 5 to 10 μm, Ti layer 20 nm), solder layer 42 (AuSn layer 1 to 2 μm), and mask are formed on the surface of the light source support substrate 230. After the layers 45a are laminated in this order, the electrode pad 49, the solder layer 42, and the mask layer 45a (eg, Cu layer 0.5 to 3 μm) are patterned by a known method.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 14B, a material similar to that of the insulating layer 41 is further formed over the mask layer 45a. The thickness of the film formation at this time is set smaller than the thickness of the light emitting element 40 and larger than the distance from the bonding surface (opposing surface) of the light emitting element 40 to the clad layer on the substrate side. For example, this thickness is 5 to 10 μm. Next, after the electrode pad 49 and the mask layer 45a are completely covered with the insulating layer 41, a laminated film of the electrode pad 47 (eg, Au layer) and the mask layer 45b, and the mask layer 45c and the mask are formed by a known method. Layer 45d is formed.

Here, the laminated film of the electrode pad 47 and the mask layer 45b is patterned so as not to be formed above the laminated film of the electrode pad 49, the solder layer 42, and the mask layer 45a. The mask layer 45d is separated by a predetermined distance, and is patterned so that a laminated film of the electrode pad 49, the solder layer 42, and the mask layer 45a is located below the separation region. Furthermore, the distance W47 between the electrode pad 47 and the mask layer 45c is made larger than the width W40 of the edge-emitting light emitting element 40. The insulating layer 41 can be made of an insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ or SiO ₂ , and the mask layers 45a, 45b, 45c, and 45d can be made of a metal such as Cu, Fe, Co, or Ni. Can be used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 14 (C), the previous step formed mask layer 45b, 45 c, as a mask 45d, etched by reactive ion etching (RIE) method using a CH ₄ gas or the like as the etching gas To expose the mask layer 45a in an unmasked region. In this process, the material of the insulating layer 41 is several times (eg, 5 to 10 times) higher in etching rate than the material of the mask layers 45a, 45b, 45c, and 45d, so that etching is performed until the mask layer 45a is exposed. Even after the process is performed, the mask layers 45b, 45c, and 45d become thinner, but do not disappear. At this time, the film thickness after deposition of the mask layer 45a is greater than the film thickness immediately after deposition of the mask layers 45b, 45c, and 45d so that the film thicknesses of the mask layers 45a, 45b, 45c, and 45d are approximately the same. Is also thinned. Note that wet etching using an alkaline solution or the like may be performed instead of etching by RIE.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 14D, portions of the mask layers 45a, 45b, 45c, and 45d exposed on the surface are removed by a milling process.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 15A, the region other than the rightmost region in the drawing in the region where the solder layer 42 is exposed is covered with a resist 43, and metals 48 and 48b such as Au are formed. Thereafter, when the resist 43 is removed, via holes 48a, contacts 48b, and electrode pads 48 are formed as shown in FIG. If necessary, an Au layer (e.g., a thickness of 1 to 2 μm) may be formed on the electrode pad 47, and the electrode pad 47 may be formed after the RIE etching. The electrode pad 47 itself may be made of an Au layer having a thickness of 1 to 2 μm.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 15C, the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is arranged such that the element side surface 403 is adjacent to the main surface 411 and the facing surface 402 is in contact with the solder layer 42 on the deep surface 412. Secure to.

  Thereby, the light source unit 23 is completed. For the light source unit 23 thus obtained, the characteristics of the edge-emitting light-emitting element, particularly the driving current profile obtained by the high-temperature continuous energization test are observed, and those that are considered to have a sufficiently long life are selected.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 16A, a UV curable adhesive 44a is applied to either or both of the bonding surface 2300 of the light source unit 23, which is a non-defective product, and the back surface 2201 of the slider 22, which is a non-defective product. Examples of the UV curable adhesive include a UV curable epoxy resin and a UV curable acrylic resin.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 16B, after the adhesive surface 2300 of the light source unit 23 and the back surface 2201 of the slider 22 are overlapped, a voltage is applied between the electrode pads 47 and 48 to produce an edge-emitting light emitting element. 40 is caused to emit light, and the light detector DT is disposed opposite to the light emitting surface 353 of the waveguide 35, and the light source unit 23 and the slider 22 are relatively moved in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The position where the output of the device DT becomes high is found, and at that position, the UV curable adhesive 44a is cured by irradiating the UV curable adhesive from the outside to thereby cure the optical axis of the laser diode and the waveguide 35. The light source unit 23 and the slider 22 can be bonded in a state where the optical axes are aligned.

  Next, the operation of the heat-assisted magnetic head 21 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  During the writing or reading operation, the thermally-assisted magnetic head 21 floats on the surface of the rotating magnetic disk (medium) 10 with a predetermined flying height hydrodynamically. At this time, the end on the medium facing surface S side of the MR effect element 33 and the electromagnetic coil element 34 faces the magnetic disk 10 through a minute spacing, thereby reading by sensing the data signal magnetic field and applying the data signal magnetic field. Is written by.

  Here, when the data signal is written, the laser light propagating from the light source unit 23 through the core 35 reaches the near-field light generation unit 36, and near-field light is generated from the near-field light generation unit 36. This near-field light enables heat-assisted magnetic recording.

By adopting a heat-assisted magnetic recording system, writing is performed on a high coercivity magnetic disk using a thin film magnetic head for perpendicular magnetic recording, and the recording bits are made extremely fine, for example, 1 Tbits / in class ² It may also be possible to achieve recording density.

  In this embodiment, by using the light source unit 23, laser light propagating in a direction parallel to the layer surface of the core 35 can be incident on the light incident surface (end surface) 354 of the core 35 of the slider 22. That is, in the thermally-assisted magnetic head 21 having a configuration in which the integration surface 2202 and the medium facing surface S are perpendicular to each other, laser light having an appropriate size and direction can be reliably supplied. As a result, heat-assisted magnetic recording with high heating efficiency of the recording layer of the magnetic disk can be realized.

  According to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the magnetic head portion 32 is fixed to the slider substrate 220, and the edge-emitting light emitting elements 40 that are light sources are separately fixed to the light source support substrate 230. Therefore, after the electromagnetic coil element 34 fixed to the slider substrate 220 and the end surface light emitting element 40 fixed to the light source support substrate 230 are independently tested, the non-defective slider 22 and the non-defective light source. By fixing the units 23 to each other, a good heat-assisted magnetic head 21 can be manufactured with a high yield.

  Further, since the magnetic head portion 32 is provided on the side surface of the slider substrate 220, the electromagnetic coil element 34, the MR effect element 33, etc. of the magnetic head portion 32 can be easily formed by using a conventional thin film magnetic head manufacturing method. .

  Furthermore, since the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is located away from the medium facing surface S and in the vicinity of the slider 22, the electromagnetic coil element 34, the MR effect element 33, and the like due to heat generated from the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 are provided. And the possibility of contact between the laser diode 40 and the magnetic disk 10 is suppressed, and since optical fibers, lenses, mirrors, and the like are not essential, light propagation loss can be reduced. The structure can be simplified.

  In the present embodiment, since the heat insulating layer 230 a is formed on the back surface of the light source support substrate 230, heat generated from the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 is further less likely to be conducted to the slider 22.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the board | substrate made from the same Altick is employ | adopted for the slider board | substrate 220 and the light source support board | substrate 230, it is also possible to use the board | substrate of a different material. Even in this case, if the thermal conductivity of the slider substrate 220 is λs and the thermal conductivity of the light source support substrate 230 is λ1, it is preferable to satisfy λs ≦ λl. This facilitates the release of heat generated by the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 to the outside through the light source support substrate 230 while preventing the heat from being transmitted to the slider substrate 220 as much as possible.

  The sizes of the slider 22 and the light source unit 23 are arbitrary. For example, the slider 22 may be a so-called femto slider having a width in the track width direction of 700 μm × length (depth) 850 μm × thickness 230 μm. In this case, the light source unit 23 can have substantially the same width and length. Actually, for example, a typical size of a laser diode that is usually used is about 250 μm wide × 350 μm long (depth) × 65 μm thick. It is sufficiently possible to install the edge-emitting light emitting element 40. It is also possible to provide a groove on the bottom surface of the light source support substrate 230 and provide the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 in the groove.

  Further, in the spot of the far-field image (far field pattern) of the laser light reaching the light incident surface 354 of the waveguide 35, the diameter in the track width direction is set to about 0.5 to 1.0 μm, for example, and orthogonal to this diameter. The diameter to be made can be, for example, about 1 to 5 μm. Correspondingly, the thickness T35 of the waveguide 35 that receives the laser light is, for example, about 2 to 10 μm, which is larger than the spot, and the width (W35) of the waveguide 35 in the track width direction is, for example, about 1 to 200 μm. It is preferable to do.

  Further, the electromagnetic coil element 34 may be used for longitudinal magnetic recording. In this case, instead of the main magnetic pole layer 340 and the auxiliary magnetic pole layer 344, a lower magnetic pole layer and an upper magnetic pole layer are provided, and further, the writing held between the ends of the lower magnetic pole layer and the upper magnetic pole layer on the medium facing surface S side. A gap layer is provided. Writing is performed by a leakage magnetic field from the position of the write gap layer.

  Further, the shape of the proximity light generating unit is not limited to the above-described one, and for example, it is possible to implement a trapezoidal shape in which the apex 36c is flat instead of a triangle, and a triangular or trapezoidal plate is used as the apex. A so-called “bow tie type” structure in which a pair of short sides or a short side are opposed to each other with a predetermined distance is also possible.

  FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the near-field light generator 36 having a “bow tie type” structure. A pair of near-field light generators 36 are arranged to face each other along the X axis, and the apexes 36c are abutted with each other at a predetermined interval. In this “bow tie type” structure, a very strong electric field concentration occurs at the center between the apexes 36c, and near-field light is generated.

  Moreover, although the coil layer 342 is one layer in FIG. 4 etc., two or more layers or a helical coil may be sufficient.

  As another embodiment, the near-field light generator 36 may be provided with a small opening smaller than the wavelength of light on the medium facing surface S side of the core 35.

  FIG. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a method for manufacturing the light source unit 23 according to another embodiment.

  The light emitting element 40 may be fixed to the light source support substrate 230 as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 18, first, the insulating layer 41X, the electrode pad 49, and the solder layer 42 are laminated in this order on the surface of the light source support substrate 230, and then the electrode pad 49 and the solder layer 42 are patterned by a known method. (FIG. 18 (A)). Note that photolithography can be used for patterning. Subsequently, an insulator (insulating block) 41Y is mounted on the surface of the light source support substrate 230 at a position where it does not contact the electrode pad 49 and the solder layer 42 (FIG. 18B). This mounting can be performed by fixing the insulator (insulating block) 41Y on the insulating layer 41X using a conductive paste or an insulating adhesive. An Au-Au junction can be performed by using an Au layer at both of these interfaces during mounting. The thickness of the insulator 41Y is smaller than the thickness of the light emitting element 40 and larger than the distance from the opposing surface 402 of the light emitting element 40 to the clad layer 40c (see FIG. 11) that is the maximum distance. As the thickness of the insulator 41Y, 5 to 100 μm can be adopted. The electrode pad 49 is formed by stacking an Au layer of 5 to 10 μm and a Ti layer of 20 nm, and the solder layer 42 is formed of an AuSn layer of 1 to 2 μm.

  Here, the insulating layer 41X and the insulator 41Y are fixed to each other to form the insulating layer 41. Next, an electrode pad 47 is formed on the surface of the insulator 41Y (FIG. 18C). As a material of the electrode pad 47, Au having a thickness of 1 to 2 μm can be used. The element side surface 403 of the light emitting element 40 and the main surface 411 of the insulating layer 41 are bonded and fixed via the solder layer 42a, and the opposing surface 402 of the light emitting element 40 and the deep surface 412 of the insulating layer 41 are soldered. The light emitting element 40 is fixed to the insulating layer 41 so as to be bonded and fixed via the layer 42 and the electrode pad 49 (FIG. 18D). Here, the electrode pad 49 also functions as the electrode pad 48 in the above embodiment. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the light emitting element 40 is fixed to the light source support substrate 230, unlike the fixing method in the above-described embodiment, there is an advantage that etching processing by RIE or milling processing becomes unnecessary. .

  FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of the heat-assisted magnetic head 21 of another form shown in FIG.

  This cross-sectional view shows a case where the XY cross-sectional shape of the light emitting element 40 is a rhombus. The normal NM of the element side surface 403 of the light emitting element 40 is inclined with respect to the facing surface 402, and this normal has a component extending in the negative direction of the X axis. The facing surface 402, the deep surface 412 and the main surface 411 are parallel to each other.

  Therefore, the light emitting element 40 has a region projected onto the main surface 411 along the X-axis direction, and the main surface 411 and the element side surface 403 form an acute angle. Thus, when the gap formed by both surfaces is tapered, the first electrode 42a made of solder easily enters the gap during the formation. Further, since there is a region that can be projected on the light emitting element 40, the distance in the X-axis direction between the light emitting element 40 and the main surface 411 can be brought close to each other and can be easily connected by the first electrode 42a.

  Further, the heat insulating layer 230a (see FIG. 4) may be formed on the back surface 2201 of the slider substrate 220, and may be implemented without being provided at all.

  Alternatively, an adhesive other than a UV curable adhesive, for example, a solder layer such as AuSn used for bonding the edge-emitting light emitting element 40 and the electrode pad 47 may be used for bonding the light source unit 23 and the slider 22. Implementation is possible.

  In the above example, a linear waveguide is used as the shape of the core 35. However, this is a parabolic waveguide whose outer shape in the YZ plane draws a parabola, and a near-field light generating unit is disposed at the focal position. Alternatively, the outer shape in the YZ plane may be an elliptical shape. Note that in the HGA and hard disk drive provided with the heat-assisted magnetic head, variation in characteristics between products can be reduced.

  All the embodiments described above are illustrative of the present invention and are not intended to be limiting, and the present invention can be implemented in other various modifications and changes. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is defined only by the claims and their equivalents.

1 is a perspective view of a hard disk device according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view of HGA17. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of a heat-assisted magnetic head 21 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow IV-IV of the thermally assisted magnetic head 21 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a VV arrow cross-sectional view of the thermally-assisted magnetic head 21 shown in FIG. 4. 3 is a circuit diagram of a heat-assisted magnetic head 21. FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the main part of the magnetic head viewed from the medium facing surface side. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a near-field light generating unit (plasmon probe) 36 as viewed from the medium facing surface S. It is a graph which shows the relationship between wavelength (lambda) (nm) of the incident light to the near-field light generation part 36, and near-field light intensity I (au). It is a graph which shows the relationship between wavelength (lambda) (nm) of the incident light to the near-field light generation part 36, and near-field light intensity I (au). It is a perspective view of an end surface light emitting element. It is a perspective view explaining one Embodiment of the formation method of the waveguide 35 and the near-field light generation part 36. FIG. It is a perspective view explaining one Embodiment of the formation method of the waveguide 35 and the near-field light generation part 36. FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing method of the light source unit 23 which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing method of the light source unit 23 which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the manufacturing method of a heat-assisted magnetic head. It is a perspective view of the near field light generation part 36 of a "bow tie type" structure. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing method of the light source unit 23 which concerns on another embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the VV arrow of the heat-assisted magnetic head 21 of another form shown in FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hard disk apparatus, 10 ... Magnetic disk (recording medium), 17 ... Head gimbal assembly (HGA), 20 ... Suspension, 21 ... Thermally assisted magnetic head, 22 ... Slider, 220 ... Slider substrate, 2202 ... Integration surface, 23 ... Light source unit, 230 ... light source support substrate, 32 ... magnetic head, 33 ... MR effect element (magnetic detection element), 34 ... electromagnetic coil element (magnetic recording element), 35 ... waveguide, 354 ... light incident surface (end face) , 36 ... near-field light generating part, 40 ... laser diode (light source), 400 ... light emitting end, 401 ... exposed surface, 402 ... second opposing surface, 403 ... element side surface, 411 ... main surface, 412 ... deep surface, S ... medium facing surface.

Claims (4)

A slider substrate having a medium facing surface, a first surface located on the opposite side of the medium facing surface, and a side surface located between the medium facing surface and the first surface;
A light emitting surface having a near-field light generating portion formed on the medium facing surface side; and a magnetic recording element proximate to the near-field light generating portion, and fixed to one of the side surfaces of the slider substrate. A magnetic head,
A light source support substrate fixed to the first surface;
A light emitting element fixed to one side of the light source support substrate so as to provide light emitted from the light emitting surface;
With
The one side surface of the light source support substrate is:
The main surface,
Deep surface,
A step is formed between the main surface and the deep surface, and a direction from the main surface toward the deep surface is a stacking direction of the light emitting elements,
The light emitting element is
A facing surface facing the deep surface;
An element side surface located on a side of the facing surface;
Have
A heat-assisted magnetic head, wherein a first electrode and a second electrode are interposed between the main surface and the element side surface, and the deep surface and the facing surface, respectively.   The magnetic head unit further includes a planar waveguide core including the light emitting surface and a light incident surface formed on the first surface side, and the light emitting element faces the light incident surface. The heat-assisted magnetic head according to claim 1. A thermally assisted magnetic head according to claim 1;
A suspension supporting the thermally-assisted magnetic head;
Head gimbal assembly with A head gimbal assembly according to claim 3;
A magnetic recording medium provided at a position facing the medium facing surface;
Hard disk device with

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