JP2009026375A - Magnetic head manufacturing method and magnetic head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing a magnetic head preventing a main magnetic pole from being destroyed or peeled during manufacture even when a track width is reduced, and preventing reduction in the intensity of a recording magnetic field. <P>SOLUTION: A pseudo-main magnetic pole (41) is formed on a surface of a substrate. The pseudo-main magnetic pole extends along the substrate surface from a floating surface. A cross-section of the floating surface of the pseudo-main magnetic pole becomes wider from the substrate surface. Coating films (50, 53) are deposited to coat the pseudo-main magnetic pole. The surfaces of the coating films is flattened until the pseudo-main magnetic pole is exposed, and thereafter, the pseudo-main magnetic pole is removed. A first non-magnetic film (60) is deposited by covering an inner surface of a first concave portion (42) obtained by removing the pseudo-main magnetic pole and an upper surface of the coated films, to form a second concave portion (60a) reflecting the shape of the first concave portion at a surface thereof. A main magnetic pole film (62) is deposited to fill the second concave portion. The main magnetic pole film deposited on regions other than the second concave portion is removed, and a main magnetic pole (62) remains in the second concave portion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a magnetic head that performs magnetic recording on a magnetic recording medium, and a magnetic head.

  In a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus such as a hard disk drive (HDD), data is recorded and reproduced by a thin film magnetic head. Conventionally, a longitudinal magnetic recording system in which recording is performed by magnetizing a recording film of a disk medium in an in-plane direction is generally used. However, due to the remarkable increase in recording density in recent years, the increase in density by the longitudinal magnetic recording method is approaching the technical limit, and it is becoming difficult to further increase the density.

  As a technique replacing the longitudinal magnetic recording system, the perpendicular magnetic recording system has attracted attention. In this method, recording is performed by magnetizing the recording film of the disk in the vertical direction. In the perpendicular magnetic recording system, the magnetization of bits adjacent to each other in the disk medium does not oppose each other, and the magnetization of each other is strengthened. For this reason, in comparison with the longitudinal magnetic recording system in which the magnetizations of adjacent bits face each other, the HDD is theoretically suitable for higher density, and an HDD to which the perpendicular magnetic recording system has already been applied is commercially available.

  In order to increase the recording density, it is necessary to miniaturize the tip of the main writing pole of the perpendicular magnetic recording head. In addition, in order to suppress side erasure in which the side of the main pole protrudes from the recording target track and erases the data of the adjacent track when the skew angle occurs, the main recording on the magnetic recording medium facing surface (floating surface) is suppressed. The shape of the magnetic pole is an inverted trapezoid whose width increases from the leading edge side (slider inflow end side) toward the trailing edge side (slider outflow end side).

  The following Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose a method for producing a main pole having an inverted trapezoidal cross section. In the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, a main pole is formed by forming a groove having an inverted trapezoidal cross section in a resist film and embedding a magnetic material in the groove by plating. In the methods disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the main magnetic pole is formed by forming a hard mask on the magnetic material layer and etching the magnetic material layer by irradiating an ion beam from an oblique direction.

  Patent Document 4 below proposes a so-called side shield structure in which a magnetic shield member is disposed on the side of a main magnetic pole via a nonmagnetic gap. By adopting the side shield structure, leakage of the recording magnetic field to the adjacent track can be suppressed.

JP 2002-197610 A JP 2003-203111 A JP 2006-147023 A JP 2005-190518 A

  As the recording density increases and the track width decreases, the inverted trapezoidal cross-sectional shape of the main pole must also be reduced. If the bottom of the cross section of the main pole is shortened, it becomes difficult to make the main pole self-supported immediately after the formation of the main pole. In extreme cases, the main pole collapses or peels off.

  By reducing the height (pole length) of the main pole cross section, excessive narrowing of the bottom of the inverted trapezoid can be avoided. However, in this case, the cross-sectional area of the main pole on the air bearing surface is remarkably reduced, making it difficult to generate a sufficiently strong recording magnetic field. In particular, when a side shield structure is adopted, magnetic flux is absorbed by the side shield member, and it becomes increasingly difficult to secure a sufficiently strong recording magnetic field.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a magnetic head and a magnetic head capable of preventing the main magnetic pole from collapsing and peeling during the manufacture even when the track width is narrow, and suppressing a decrease in the strength of the recording magnetic field. Is to provide.

According to one aspect of the invention,
(A) a step of forming a pseudo main magnetic pole on the surface of the substrate, the pseudo main magnetic pole being made of a material having etching resistance different from that of the surface layer portion of the substrate, and an air bearing surface intersecting the surface of the substrate; Forming the pseudo main pole extending along the surface of the substrate from the surface, and the cross section of the surface of the pseudo main pole serving as the air bearing surface is widened away from the surface of the substrate;
(B) depositing a coating film made of a material different in etching resistance from the pseudo main magnetic pole on the surface of the substrate so as to cover the pseudo main magnetic pole;
(C) planarizing the surface of the coating film until the pseudo main pole is exposed;
(D) after planarizing the surface of the coating film, removing the pseudo main magnetic pole;
(E) A second recess that covers the inner surface of the first recess obtained by removing the pseudo main magnetic pole and the upper surface of the coating film and reflects the shape of the first recess is formed on the surface. Depositing a first non-magnetic film made of a non-magnetic material,
(F) depositing a main magnetic pole film made of a magnetic material on the first nonmagnetic film so as to fill the second recess;
(G) a step of removing the main magnetic pole film deposited on a region other than the second concave portion and leaving a main magnetic pole made of the main magnetic pole film in the second concave portion. A manufacturing method is provided.

According to another aspect of the invention,
A side shield member disposed on a non-magnetic surface perpendicular to the air bearing surface facing the magnetic recording medium and formed of a magnetic material;
A recess extending from the upper surface of the side shield member to the nonmagnetic surface and extending from the air bearing surface in a direction parallel to the nonmagnetic surface, and a pair of side walls facing each other are formed from the nonmagnetic surface. The recesses that are spaced upwards; and
A first nonmagnetic film covering the side wall of the recess and the nonmagnetic surface appearing on the bottom surface of the recess;
A main pole formed of a magnetic material, disposed on the first non-magnetic film so as to embed the concave portion;
A magnetic head having an excitation mechanism for exciting the main magnetic pole is provided.

  Since the pseudo main magnetic pole is finally removed, it is not necessary to form it with a magnetic material. For this reason, the freedom degree of selection of material increases and it becomes possible to select the material suitable for precise processing. The original shape and size of the main magnetic pole are determined not by the first recess formed by removing the pseudo main pole but by the second recess formed after the first nonmagnetic film is deposited. The bottom surface of the first recess has a width necessary for the pseudo main magnetic pole to be independent. By adjusting the film thickness of the first nonmagnetic film, the width of the bottom surface of the second recess can be reduced. Alternatively, the width of the bottom surface can be set to 0 and the cross section of the second recess can be made into an inverted triangle.

  Since the main magnetic pole is filled in the second recess, it is not necessary to make the main magnetic pole self-supporting. This prevents the main magnetic pole from collapsing and peeling.

  A method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1Zy.

As shown in FIG. 1A, a support substrate 1 made of Al ₂ O ₃ —TiC is prepared. An xyz orthogonal coordinate system in which the surface of the support substrate 1 is the yz plane and the normal direction is the x-axis direction is defined. The y direction and the z direction are defined so that a plane parallel to the xy plane becomes the air bearing surface. Note that, after the wafer process is completed, the magnetic heads are separated by cutting them in a plane parallel to the xy plane. FIGS. 1A to 1Zy are drawings corresponding to the processes before the separation into the individual magnetic heads. However, a portion that becomes one magnetic head after separation is shown as a representative. The left end in FIG. 1A corresponds to the air bearing surface.

On the support substrate 1, a reproducing element portion including a reproducing element lower shield film 2, a reproducing element 3, and a reproducing element upper shield film 4 is formed. The reproducing element lower shield film 2 and the reproducing element upper shield film 4 are made of, for example, Ni ₈₀ Fe ₂₀ and have a thickness of 1.5 μm. As the reproducing element 3, a giant magnetoresistive effect (GMR) element or a tunnel magnetoresistive effect (TMR) element is used. In the first embodiment, a TMR element having a track width of 80 nm is used as an example. In the reproducing element portion, a region where the reproducing element lower shield film 2, the reproducing element 3, and the reproducing element upper shield film 4 are not disposed is filled with a nonmagnetic member 5 made of alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ). Yes. A nonmagnetic film 6 made of alumina is disposed on the uppermost layer of the reproducing element portion. The reproducing element part can be manufactured by a known manufacturing method.

As shown in FIG. 1B, a base film 10a made of a magnetic material such as Ni ₈₀ Fe ₂₀ is deposited on the nonmagnetic film 6 by sputtering. A resist film 13 is disposed on the base film 10a, and an opening matching the return yoke is formed in the resist film 13. By electroless plating a magnetic material such as Ni ₈₀ Fe ₂₀ base film 10a as an electrode, depositing a plating film 10b in the region where the opening is formed. As shown in FIG. 1C, the resist film 13 is removed.

  As shown in FIG. 1D, the exposed base film 10a is removed by ion milling or the like. At this time, the surface layer portion of the plating film 10b is also thinly removed. Thereby, the return yoke 10 composed of the base film 10a and the plating film 10b is formed. The return yoke 10 has a thickness of 1.5 μm, for example. The return yoke 10 reaches a certain depth in the z-axis direction from the air bearing surface. In FIG. 1E and thereafter, the base film 10a and the plating film 10b are not distinguished from each other and are described as one layer.

  In the present specification, a method of forming a metal pattern by forming a base film, forming a resist pattern, electrolytic plating, removing the resist pattern, and removing the base film as in the method of forming the return yoke 10 is simply “ Electrolytic plating method ".

  As shown in FIG. 1E, a nonmagnetic film 15 made of alumina is deposited on the nonmagnetic film 6 and the return yoke 10 by sputtering.

  As shown in FIG. 1F, the surface is planarized by performing chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) until the surface of the return yoke 10 is exposed.

  As shown in FIG. 1G, a resist pattern 17 is formed on a partial region of the return yoke 10. The resist pattern 17 covers a region where a connection member for connecting the return yoke 10 and the main magnetic pole is disposed. An insulating film 18 made of alumina or the like is deposited on the entire surface. Alumina is a non-magnetic material and an insulating material. In this specification, in particular, when alumina is used as an insulating material, it is described as “insulating film”.

  As shown in FIG. 1H, the resist pattern 17 is removed together with the insulating film 18 deposited thereon. As a result, an opening 18 a that exposes a part of the surface of the return yoke 10 appears in the insulating film 18. A method of forming a patterned film by removing the film deposited on the resist pattern together with the resist pattern in this way is called a “lift-off method”.

  As shown in FIG. 1I, a spiral coil 20 is formed on the insulating film 18 by electrolytic plating. The coil 20 is formed of, for example, a Cu film having a thickness of 1.5 μm and makes four rounds around the opening 18a.

As shown in FIG. 1J, magnetic path connections made of a magnetic material such as Ni ₈₀ Fe ₂₀ are respectively provided on the return yoke 10 exposed on the bottom surface of the opening 18a and on the inner peripheral end of the coil 20. The member 23 and the coil drawing member 24 are formed. The magnetic path connecting member 23 uses Ni ₈₀ Fe ₂₀ as a magnetic material, and the coil drawing member 24 uses Ni ₈₀ Fe ₂₀ as a conductive material.

  As shown in FIG. 1K, an insulating film 25 made of alumina is deposited on the entire surface by sputtering, and the surface thereof is flattened by CMP. The insulating film 25 fills the gap of the coil 20 and covers the upper surface of the coil 20. Further, the magnetic path connecting member 23 and the coil drawing member 24 are exposed on the upper surface of the insulating film 25. When it is difficult to fill alumina in the gap between the coils 20 by sputtering, the gaps between the coil 20, the magnetic path connecting member 23, and the coil drawing member 24 are filled with resin in the state shown in FIG. 1J. You can leave it.

As shown in FIG. 1L, a 1.0 μm-thick main magnetic pole auxiliary layer 30 and a coil lead member 31 made of a magnetic material such as Ni ₈₀ Fe ₂₀ are formed on the insulating film 25 by electrolytic plating. The main magnetic pole auxiliary layer 30 extends from the position where the magnetic path connection member 23 is disposed to the air bearing surface to a position just before the position that becomes the air bearing surface. The coil lead member 31 is disposed on the first layer coil lead member 24.

  As shown in FIG. 1M, an insulating film 35 made of alumina is deposited on the insulating film 25 so as to cover the main magnetic pole auxiliary layer 30 and the coil lead member 31, and the surface thereof is planarized. The main magnetic pole auxiliary layer 30 and the coil lead member 31 are exposed on the upper surface of the insulating film 35.

  As shown in FIG. 1N, a first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38 and a second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 are deposited on the insulating film 35 by sputtering or the like. The thicknesses of the first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38 and the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 are, for example, 350 nm and 80 nm, respectively. The second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 may be thinner than 80 nm, but has a slight margin. For example, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or silicon oxynitride is used for the first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38. For the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40, for example, tantalum (Ta) is used.

As shown in FIGS. 1Oy and 1Oz, a resist pattern 45 corresponding to the planar shape of the main pole is formed on the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40, and the resist pattern 45 is used as an etching mask to form the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40. The main magnetic pole film 40 and the first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38 are etched. This etching can be performed by reactive ion etching using CF ₄ , CHF ₃ , SF ₆ or the like as an etching gas. In particular, when CHF ₃ is used, a high etching selectivity with respect to the resist pattern 45 can be obtained. Two layers of the patterned first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38 and second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 constitute a pseudo main magnetic pole 41.

  FIG. 1Ox shows a plan view after etching. The resist pattern 45 and the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 are a narrow region (tip) extending in the z direction from the position that becomes the air bearing surface (left side in the figure), and a taper that extends in the direction away from the air bearing surface. And a rectangular region continuous to the tapered region. The main magnetic pole auxiliary layer 30 formed in the previous step is aligned with a rectangular region and a part of the tapered region. The main magnetic pole auxiliary layer 30 is not disposed at the tip.

  The first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38 and the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 are made of a material that is easier to etch than a general magnetic material. For this reason, the shape of the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 can be controlled with higher accuracy than when the main magnetic pole is formed by directly etching the magnetic material film.

  After patterning the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 and the first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38, the resist pattern 45 is removed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1Py and 1Pz, the side surface of the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 is irradiated with an ion beam such as Ar from an oblique direction. The incident angle of the ion beam (tilt angle from the substrate normal direction (z direction)) was about 60 °. Ta that forms the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 is less likely to be milled by an ion beam than silicon oxide or the like that forms the first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38. Therefore, the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 functions as a hard mask for ion milling, and the first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38 is shaped into a shape in which the cross section parallel to the xy plane widens away from the substrate surface. Is done.

  Since the planar shapes of the first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38 and the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 have already been patterned into the shape of the pseudo main magnetic pole in the steps of FIGS. Compared to the case where ion milling is performed in a state where the first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38 and the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 are arranged, the processing accuracy of the cross-sectional shape of the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 can be increased.

  In addition, from the state shown in FIGS. 1Oy, 1Oz, and 1Ox, it is isotropic under the condition that the etching rate of the first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38 is higher than the etching rate of the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40. It is also possible to shape the first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38 into the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 1Pz by performing reactive ion etching.

As shown in FIGS. 1Qy, 1Qz, and 1Qx, a first coating film 50 made of a magnetic material such as Ni ₅₀ Fe ₅₀ is formed on the tip of the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 and the insulating film 35 on both sides thereof. Is deposited by electrolytic plating. The thickness of the first coating film 50 is such that the upper surface of the first coating film 50 is higher than the upper surface of the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 in the region where the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 is not disposed. To do. The first coating film 50 may have a size that covers not only the thin tip portion of the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 but also a portion of the tapered portion of the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 on the air bearing surface side.

  As shown in FIGS. 1Ry and 1Rz, a second coating film 53 made of a nonmagnetic material such as alumina is deposited on the first coating film 50, the main magnetic pole 41, and the insulating film 35. The thickness of the second coating film 53 is such that the upper surface of the second coating film 53 is the second pseudo main magnetic pole in a region where neither the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 nor the first coating film 50 is disposed. The height is higher than the upper surface of the film 40.

  As shown in FIGS. 1Sy and 1Sz, the second coating film 53 and the first coating film 50 are polished until the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 is exposed. Thereby, the surface is planarized. The second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 is made of a material having a lower polishing rate than the first coating film 50 made of a magnetic material, and is reproduced when the second pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 is exposed. Polishing can be stopped with good performance.

  The first coating film 50 made of a magnetic material remaining on both sides of the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 functions as a side shield for the main magnetic pole.

As shown in FIGS. 1Ty and 1Tz, the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 is removed. The pseudo main magnetic pole 41 can be removed by reactive ion etching using CF ₄ , CHF ₃ , SF ₆ or the like. A recess 42 is formed in the region where the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 is disposed. The cross section parallel to the xy plane of the recess 42 in the region corresponding to the tip of the main pole has a shape that widens as the distance from the substrate surface increases. That is, the distance between the pair of side walls facing each other in the portion corresponding to the tip of the main pole of the recess 42 is widened away from the substrate surface.

  As shown in FIGS. 1Uy and 1Uz, the first made of a nonmagnetic material such as alumina so as to cover the inner surface of the recess 42, the upper surface of the first coating film 50, and the upper surface of the second coating film 53. The nonmagnetic film 60 is deposited by CVD. A recess 60 a reflecting the shape of the recess 42 is formed on the upper surface of the first nonmagnetic film 60. The film thickness of the first nonmagnetic film 60 is, for example, 80 nm. The angle formed between the side surface of the recess 60a and the yz plane is, for example, 80 °.

  By adjusting the film thickness of the first nonmagnetic film 60, the side surfaces on both sides are continuous at the bottom of the recess 60a, and the cross-sectional shape parallel to the xy plane can be made into an approximately triangular shape. For example, in the case where the first nonmagnetic film 60 is formed under the condition of isotropic growth, the thickness of the first nonmagnetic film 60 is set to a value corresponding to that of the concave portion 42 corresponding to the main magnetic pole tip. By setting it to 1/2 or more of the width of the bottom surface in the y direction, the cross section of the recess 60a can be formed into an approximately triangular shape. The first nonmagnetic film 60 is preferably formed by CVD having excellent coverage.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1Uy, an opening 60b penetrating the first nonmagnetic film 60 is formed above the magnetic path connecting member 23 by ion milling or the like. It is also possible to form the opening 60b by a lift-off method.

As shown in FIGS. 1Vy and 1Vz, a main magnetic pole film 62 made of a magnetic material such as Fe ₇₀ Co ₃₀ is formed on the first nonmagnetic film 60 by an electrolytic plating method so as to fill the recess 60a. Deposit. The thickness of the main magnetic pole film 62 is set to a thickness sufficient to fill the recess 60a, for example, 400 nm.

  The main magnetic pole film 62 and the first nonmagnetic film 60 are polished until the first coating film 50 and the second coating film 53 are exposed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1Wy and 1Wz, the main magnetic pole 62 remains in the recess 60a. The shape of the cross section of the main magnetic pole 62 parallel to the xy plane at the tip is an inverted triangle that spreads away from the substrate surface. The main magnetic pole 62 is connected to the main magnetic pole auxiliary layer 30 through the opening 60b. At this stage, the dimension (pole length) in the x direction of the main magnetic pole 62 is 280 nm, and the dimension (track width) in the uppermost y direction is 100 nm.

  As shown in FIG. 1Xy, an opening 53a for exposing the upper surface of the coil lead member 31 is formed in the second coating film 53. Etching of the second coating film 53 is performed, for example, by ion milling.

  As shown in FIG. 1Yy, a coil lead-out wiring 65 is formed on the second coating film 53 by electrolytic plating. The coil lead-out wiring 65 is made of Cu, for example, and is connected to the coil lead-out member 31.

  As shown in FIG. 1Zy, the entire surface of the substrate is covered with a protective film 68 such as alumina. Thereafter, the substrate 1 is cut at a position to be the air bearing surface and separated for each magnetic head. Further, the air bearing surface is polished to finely adjust its position.

  The main magnetic pole 62, the main magnetic pole auxiliary layer 30, the magnetic path connecting member 23, and the return yoke 10 define a magnetic path for the recording magnetic field. By supplying a current to the coil 20 that is linked to the magnetic path, a recording magnetic field can be generated in the magnetic path.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a hard disk drive using the magnetic head according to the first embodiment. A slider 72 is attached to the tip of the suspension arm 73 supported by the rotary actuator 74 with a support called a gimbal. A magnetic head 71 is attached to the end of the slider 72. As the magnetic head 71, the magnetic head according to the first embodiment is used.

  The magnetic head 71 floats from the surface of the magnetic disk 70 by a minute height. A large number of concentric tracks 75 are defined on the surface of the magnetic disk 70. By rotating the suspension arm 73 by driving the rotary actuator 74, the magnetic head 71 can be moved to different positions in the radial direction on the magnetic disk 70.

  As shown in FIG. 1Vz, the main magnetic pole 45 of the magnetic head manufactured by the method according to the first embodiment has an inverted triangular shape spreading from the leading edge to the trailing edge on the air bearing surface. For this reason, even if the magnetic head 71 shown in FIG. 2 moves in the radial direction and a skew angle is generated, the influence on the adjacent track can be suppressed.

  Further, in the first embodiment, a state in which the main magnetic pole 62 itself has to be self-supporting does not occur during the manufacturing stage. At the stage shown in FIG. 1Pz, the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 is self-supporting, but the width of the bottom surface in the y direction is wider than the width of the lower end of the main magnetic pole 62. For this reason, collapse and peeling of the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 can be suppressed. Furthermore, since the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 is formed of a material that is easy to process as compared with a magnetic material, the pseudo main magnetic pole 41 is unlikely to collapse or peel off during processing.

  In order to increase the cross-sectional area without increasing the size in the track width direction (y-axis direction) of the main magnetic pole 62 on the air bearing surface, the cross-sectional shape of the main magnetic pole 62 is made an inverted triangle rather than an inverted trapezoid. preferable. In the conventional method, it is necessary to make the main pole self-supporting in the middle of manufacturing, and thus the cross-sectional shape thereof cannot be an inverted triangle. In the first embodiment, since the cross-sectional shape of the main magnetic pole 62 can be an inverted triangle, the cross-sectional area can be increased without increasing the size in the track width direction. In order to obtain a sufficient effect of increasing the cross-sectional area, it is preferable that the pole length (the height in the x-axis direction) at the tip end portion of the main magnetic pole 62 is set to be twice or more the dimension in the track width direction.

  The cross-sectional shape of the tip of the main pole 62 on the air bearing surface is not necessarily an inverted triangle, and may be an inverted trapezoid. In this case as well, it is possible to make the shorter base of the inverted trapezoid shorter, closer to the inverted triangle, as compared with the conventional method. For this reason, the effect that the cross-sectional area of the main pole 62 can be increased is not lost.

  Since the first coating film (side shield member) 50 made of a magnetic material is disposed on the side of the front end portion of the main magnetic pole 62, it is possible to prevent the recording magnetic flux from protruding to the adjacent track. Since the cross-sectional area of the tip of the main magnetic pole 62 can be increased, a sufficiently large recording magnetic field strength can be ensured even when the side shield member 50 is disposed.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the shape of the first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38 processed in the steps shown in FIGS. 1Py and 1Pz, and the first non-deposited in the steps shown in FIGS. 1Uy and 1Uz. The shape of the main magnetic pole 62 is determined by the thickness of the magnetic film 60. Since the first pseudo main magnetic pole film 38 is made of silicon oxide or the like that can be easily processed with high accuracy, the shape of the main magnetic pole 62 can be controlled with high accuracy.

  Although a method of forming the recess 42 as shown in FIG. 1Tz after forming a film made of a magnetic material is conceivable, in general, forming a recess in a film made of a magnetic material by reactive ion etching or the like It is not easy, and it is difficult to increase the selectivity with the resist. For this reason, it is difficult to control the shape of the recess with high accuracy. In the first embodiment, the main magnetic pole can be formed without processing a film made of a magnetic material with high accuracy.

  Next, the result of comparing the method according to the first embodiment with a comparative example in which the main magnetic pole itself is shaped by ion milling will be described. First, a method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to a comparative example will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3F. 3A to 3F correspond to cross sections at the position of the air bearing surface.

As shown in FIG. 3A, a base film 101 for plating is formed on a substrate 100 on which a main magnetic pole auxiliary layer and the like are formed. The base film 101 is made of Fe ₇₀ Co ₃₀ and has a thickness of 40 nm. A resist film 102 is formed on the base film 101, and a groove 102 a for accommodating the main magnetic pole is formed in the resist film 102. The groove 102a has a cross-sectional shape whose width becomes narrower as it becomes deeper. The main magnetic pole 105 is formed by electroplating Fe ₇₀ Co ₃₀ using the base film 101 as an electrode. The height of the main magnetic pole 105 is 200 nm.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the resist film 102 is removed. As shown in FIG. 3C, the main magnetic pole 105 is narrowed by irradiating the main magnetic pole 105 with an ion beam from an oblique direction. In this state, the dimension of the main magnetic pole 105 in the track width direction and the inclination angle of the inclined surface are the same as those in the first embodiment. The incident angle of the ion beam (angle formed by the substrate normal and the traveling direction of the ion beam) is 60 °. As a result, the exposed base film 101 and the surface layer portion of the substrate 100 are removed. At this point, since the main magnetic pole 105 needs to be self-supporting, a certain amount of width must be secured on the bottom surface of the tip portion of the main magnetic pole 105.

As shown in FIG. 3D, the upper surface and side surfaces of the main magnetic pole 105 and the surface of the substrate 100 are covered with a nonmagnetic film 108 made of alumina and having a thickness of 80 nm. As shown in FIG. 3E, a magnetic film 110 made of Ni ₅₀ Fe ₅₀ is formed on the nonmagnetic film 108 by an electrolytic plating method. The thickness of the plating base film is 40 nm, and the thickness of the plating film is 500 nm.

  As shown in FIG. 3F, the magnetic film 110 and the nonmagnetic film 108 are polished until the main magnetic pole 105 is exposed. The height (pole length) of the main magnetic pole 105 after polishing was 240 nm. The track width and side tilt angle of the main magnetic pole 105 were the same as the track width and side tilt angle of the main magnetic pole 62 manufactured by the method according to the first embodiment. Subsequent processes are the same as those after the stage shown in FIGS. 1Wy and 1Wz of the manufacturing method according to the first embodiment.

  The air bearing surface of the magnetic head produced by the method according to the first embodiment and the magnetic head produced by the method according to the comparative example was observed with a scanning electron microscope. The number of samples was 500 each. None of the magnetic heads produced by the method according to the first embodiment had the main pole collapsed or peeled off. In contrast, in the magnetic head manufactured by the method according to the comparative example, the main magnetic pole collapsed or peeled off in 28 samples. From this evaluation, it was confirmed that the method according to the first example was effective in suppressing the collapse and separation of the main magnetic pole.

  In the first embodiment, the opening 60b is formed in the first nonmagnetic film 60 in the step shown in FIG. 1Uy. The opening 60b brings the main magnetic pole 62 and the main magnetic pole auxiliary layer 30 into direct contact. Thereby, the magnetic resistance of the magnetic path can be reduced. The main magnetic pole 62 and the main magnetic pole auxiliary layer 30 may be opposed to each other via the first nonmagnetic film 60 without forming the opening 60 b in the first nonmagnetic film 60. In this case, although there is a concern that the magnetic resistance of the magnetic path is slightly increased, as shown in FIG. 1Qx, the main magnetic pole 62 having substantially the same planar shape as the pseudo main magnetic pole 41, the main magnetic pole auxiliary layer 30, and Since the area of the overlapping region is large, the increase in magnetoresistance is slight.

  Next, a method for manufacturing a magnetic head according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4D. The following description will be made focusing on differences from the magnetic head manufacturing method according to the first embodiment. The processes up to the stage shown in FIGS. 1Ty and 1Tz are common to the first and second embodiments. In the first embodiment, the first nonmagnetic film 60 was then deposited by the steps shown in FIGS. 1Uy and 1Uz. In the second embodiment, the first nonmagnetic film 60 has a two-layer structure.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, a nonmagnetic film 60A made of a nonmagnetic material such as alumina is deposited by CVD so as to cover the inner surface of the recess 42 and the upper surface of the first coating film 50. Further thereon, a polishing stopper layer 60B made of a nonmagnetic material is deposited by sputtering, for example. For the polishing stopper layer 60B, a material that is harder to polish than the main magnetic pole film 62 deposited thereon, for example, a nonmagnetic material containing Ta, Ti, or Ru is used. The nonmagnetic film 60A and the polishing stopper layer 60B constitute a first nonmagnetic film 60.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, a main magnetic pole film 62 is deposited on the first nonmagnetic film 60. As shown in FIG. 4C, the main magnetic pole film 62 is polished until the polishing stopper layer 60B is exposed. This polishing is performed under the condition that the polishing rate of the main magnetic pole film 62 is higher than the polishing rate of the polishing stopper layer 60B. Thus, polishing can be stopped with good reproducibility when the polishing stopper layer 60B is exposed.

  As shown in FIG. 4D, the polishing stopper layer 60B and the nonmagnetic film 60A remaining on the side shield member 50 are polished to expose the side shield member 50. Note that reactive ion etching, ion milling, or the like may be used instead of polishing. The subsequent steps are the same as the steps after FIG. 1Wz of the magnetic head manufacturing method according to the first embodiment.

  In the second embodiment, the first nonmagnetic film 60 is composed of two layers, a nonmagnetic film 60A and a polishing stopper layer 60B. The nonmagnetic film 60A mainly has a function of defining the shape of the recess 60a, and the polishing stopper layer 60B has a function of stopping polishing at an optimal position. Thereby, the dimension (pole length) of the main magnetic pole 62 in the x direction can be controlled with high accuracy.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 5y and 5z, a method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to the third embodiment will be described. The following description will be made focusing on differences from the magnetic head manufacturing method according to the first embodiment. The processes up to the stage shown in FIGS. 1Wy and 1Wz are common to the first and third embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 5y and 5z, a nonmagnetic film 63 made of a nonmagnetic material such as alumina is formed on the main magnetic pole 62, the side shield member 50, and the second coating film 53 by sputtering. A trailing shield member 64 made of a magnetic material such as Ni ₅₀ Fe ₅₀ is formed on the surface of the nonmagnetic film 63 on the region above the tip of the main magnetic pole 62 and its peripheral region by electrolytic plating. . Subsequent steps are the same as the steps after FIG. 1Xy of the first embodiment.

  As in the third embodiment, not only the side shield member 50 but also the trailing shield member can be arranged on the trailing edge side of the main magnetic pole 62.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, improvements, combinations, and the like can be made.

(1A) to (1D) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in an intermediate stage of the magnetic head manufacturing method according to the first embodiment. (1E) to (1H) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the method of manufacturing the magnetic head according to the first embodiment. (1I) to (1L) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the method of manufacturing the magnetic head according to the first embodiment. (1MK) and (1N) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the method of manufacturing the magnetic head according to the first embodiment. (1Oy) and (1Oz) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the manufacturing method of the magnetic head according to the first embodiment, and (1Ox) is a plan view. (1Py) and (1Pz) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in an intermediate stage of the magnetic head manufacturing method according to the first embodiment. (1Qy) and (1Qz) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the manufacturing method of the magnetic head according to the first embodiment, and (1Qx) is a plan view. (1Ry) and (1Rz) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the magnetic head manufacturing method according to the first embodiment. (1Sy) and (1Sz) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the magnetic head manufacturing method according to the first embodiment. (1Ty) and (1Tz) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the method of manufacturing the magnetic head according to the first embodiment. (1Uy) and (1Uz) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the method of manufacturing the magnetic head according to the first embodiment. (1Vy) and (1Vz) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the method of manufacturing the magnetic head according to the first embodiment. (1Wy) and (1Wz) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the method of manufacturing the magnetic head according to the first embodiment. (1Xy) to (1Zy) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in an intermediate stage of the magnetic head manufacturing method according to the first embodiment. 1 is a schematic view of a hard disk drive equipped with a magnetic head manufactured by a magnetic head manufacturing method according to a first embodiment. FIG. (3A) to (3C) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in an intermediate stage of the magnetic head manufacturing method according to the comparative example. (3D) to (3F) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in an intermediate stage of the magnetic head manufacturing method according to the comparative example. (4A) and (4B) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the method of manufacturing the magnetic head according to the second embodiment. (4C) and (4D) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the method of manufacturing the magnetic head according to the second embodiment. (5y) and (5z) are cross-sectional views of the magnetic head in the middle of the magnetic head manufacturing method according to the third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Support substrate 2 Reproducing element lower shield film 3 Reproducing element 4 Reproducing element upper shield film 5 Nonmagnetic member 6 Nonmagnetic film 10 Return yoke 13 Resist film 15 Nonmagnetic film 17 Resist pattern 18 Insulating film 18a Opening 20 Coil 23 Magnetism Road connecting member 24 Coil lead member 25 Insulating film 30 Main magnetic pole auxiliary layer 31 Coil lead member 35 Insulating film 38 First pseudo main magnetic pole film 40 Second pseudo main magnetic pole film 41 Pseudo main magnetic pole 42 Recess 45 Resist pattern 50 First Coating film (side shield member)
53 Second coating film 53a Opening 60 First nonmagnetic film 60a Recess 60b Opening 60A Nonmagnetic film 60B Polishing stop layer 62 Main magnetic pole film (main magnetic pole)
65 Coil lead wiring 68 Protective film 70 Magnetic disk 71 Magnetic head 72 Slider 73 Suspension arm 74 Rotary actuator 75 Track 100 Substrate 101 Underlayer film 102 Resist film 102a Groove 105 Main magnetic pole 108 Nonmagnetic film 110 Magnetic shield film

Claims (6)

(A) a step of forming a pseudo main magnetic pole on the surface of the substrate, the pseudo main magnetic pole being made of a material having etching resistance different from that of the surface layer portion of the substrate, and an air bearing surface intersecting the surface of the substrate; Forming the pseudo main pole extending along the surface of the substrate from the surface, and the cross section of the surface of the pseudo main pole serving as the air bearing surface is widened away from the surface of the substrate;
(B) depositing a coating film made of a material different in etching resistance from the pseudo main magnetic pole on the surface of the substrate so as to cover the pseudo main magnetic pole;
(C) planarizing the surface of the coating film until the pseudo main pole is exposed;
(D) after planarizing the surface of the coating film, removing the pseudo main magnetic pole;
(E) A second recess that covers the inner surface of the first recess obtained by removing the pseudo main magnetic pole and the upper surface of the coating film and reflects the shape of the first recess is formed on the surface. Depositing a first non-magnetic film made of a non-magnetic material,
(F) depositing a main magnetic pole film made of a magnetic material on the first nonmagnetic film so as to fill the second recess;
(G) a step of removing the main magnetic pole film deposited on a region other than the second concave portion and leaving a main magnetic pole made of the main magnetic pole film in the second concave portion. Production method. The step (b)
A step of depositing a first coating film made of a magnetic material so as to cover a front end portion of the pseudo main magnetic pole that is in contact with the surface to be the air bearing surface and the substrate surface on both sides of the front end portion;
Depositing a second coating film made of a nonmagnetic material on the substrate so as to cover the pseudo main magnetic pole and the first coating film, and the first and second coated films. The method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein a covering film constitutes the covering film. The step (a)
Forming a first pseudo main magnetic pole film on the surface of the substrate;
Forming a second main magnetic pole film on the first pseudo main magnetic pole film;
The first pseudo main magnetic pole film and the second pseudo main magnetic pole film are formed by reactive ion etching under the condition that the etching rate of the first pseudo main magnetic pole film is higher than the etching rate of the second pseudo main magnetic pole film. 3. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to claim 2, comprising: etching the film to form the pseudo main magnetic pole having a cross-sectional shape that widens in a direction away from the substrate surface. The second pseudo main magnetic pole film is formed of a material that is less likely to be ion milled than the first main magnetic pole film;
The step (a)
Forming a first pseudo main magnetic pole film on the surface of the substrate;
Forming a second pseudo main magnetic pole film on the first pseudo main magnetic pole film;
Patterning the first pseudo main magnetic pole film and the second pseudo main magnetic pole film to have a planar shape of the pseudo main magnetic pole;
An ion beam is incident on the side surface of the patterned first pseudo main magnetic pole film from an oblique direction to perform ion milling, whereby a cross section of the first main magnetic pole film on the surface to be the air bearing surface is obtained. The method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to claim 2, further comprising a step of shaping into a shape that widens in a direction away from the surface. A side shield member disposed on a non-magnetic surface perpendicular to the air bearing surface facing the magnetic recording medium and formed of a magnetic material;
A recess extending from the upper surface of the side shield member to the nonmagnetic surface and extending from the air bearing surface in a direction parallel to the nonmagnetic surface, and a pair of side walls facing each other are formed from the nonmagnetic surface. The recesses that are spaced upwards; and
A first nonmagnetic film covering the side wall of the recess and the nonmagnetic surface appearing on the bottom surface of the recess;
A main pole formed of a magnetic material, disposed on the first non-magnetic film so as to embed the concave portion;
A magnetic head having an excitation mechanism for exciting the main magnetic pole; A side shield member disposed on a non-magnetic surface perpendicular to the air bearing surface facing the magnetic recording medium and formed of a magnetic material;
A recess extending from the upper surface of the side shield member to the nonmagnetic surface and extending from the air bearing surface in a direction parallel to the nonmagnetic surface, and a pair of side walls facing each other are formed from the nonmagnetic surface. The recesses that are spaced upwards; and
A first nonmagnetic film covering the side wall of the recess and the nonmagnetic surface appearing on the bottom surface of the recess;
A main pole formed of a magnetic material, disposed on the first non-magnetic film so as to embed the concave portion;
A magnetic head having an excitation mechanism for exciting the main magnetic pole;

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