JP3346902B2 - Thin-film magnetic head, magnetic recording system using the same, and hard disk drive - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thin film magnetic head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the density of magnetic recording has been increased, and VT
High recording density system that R in 500 Mb / inch ^2, the HDD 200 Mb / inch ² have been put into practical use, also higher density is required. With such a high recording density, narrowing the track is an essential issue. For example,
In the case of a 200 Mb / inch ² HDD, the track width was about 7 μm, the distance between tracks was about 2 μm, and the track width tolerance was about 2 μm. However, in order to cope with higher recording density, the track width must be 5 to 6 μm or less, and the tolerance must be 0.5 μm or less. In addition, 10Gb / inch ²
To achieve a higher recording density, it is expected that a track width of 1 μm or less and a tolerance of about 0.1 μm will be required.
To meet these needs, a significant improvement in the magnetic head is required.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show the structure of a conventional thin-film magnetic head. In these figures, 1 is Al ₂ O ₃
-Indicates a substrate made of TiC or the like. On this substrate 1, a first magnetic layer of permalloy or the like serving as a lower magnetic core 3 is formed via an insulating layer 2 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like. A magnetic gap 4 made of SiO ₂ or the like and an insulating layer 6 made of polyimide or the like in which a coil 5 made of Cu or the like is embedded are formed on the lower magnetic core 3. On the insulating layer 6, a second magnetic layer serving as the upper magnetic core 7 is formed. On the substrate 1 including the upper magnetic core 7, Al ₂ O ₃
A protective layer 8 is formed.

However, in a conventional thin-film magnetic head having the above-described lower magnetic core 3 and upper magnetic core 7, when the track width is reduced to, for example, about 4 μm, the axis of easy magnetization is shifted with respect to the track width direction. It has been pointed out that the magnetic head is easily oriented in the vertical direction, and the magnetic permeability is reduced, thereby deteriorating the head characteristics, especially the high-frequency response characteristics (Hiroshi Mitani et al., “Magnetic characteristics of narrow stripe Cr-Ta-Zr amorphous film”). Journal of the Japan Society of Applied Magnetics, 12, 255-258 (1988)).

The track width processing of the conventional thin film magnetic head as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is performed by selective plating of permalloy or the like. At this time, the accuracy of the track width is determined by the patterning accuracy of the resist in the PEP process (photo engraving process) before the selective plating. In the case of a thin film magnetic head,
The underlayer step h before the formation of the upper magnetic core 7 is about 10 μm. In order to cover this step sufficiently, the same resist thickness as the underlayer step is required.
A resist thickness of about μm is required at a minimum.

When exposure is performed by a contact method,
The distance between the photomask surface and the resist bottom surface should be at least 15
μm (underlying step 10 μm + resist thickness 5 μm). When the size of blur (range where light intensity changes from 100% to 50%) based on Fresnel diffraction in the case of using such contact exposure is calculated to be 3.5 μm, not only the track width accuracy in the distant future, but also the distance between tracks ( Guard band) ~
It cannot support 200Mb / inch ² which is about 2μm.

As a method for solving such a problem, a method of processing a track from a medium facing surface (ABS surface) has been proposed (IEEE TRANSACTION ON MAGNETICS, Vol. 24,
No. 6, November 1988, p.2841-2843). Similarly, FI
A method of performing track processing from the medium facing surface using B (focused ion beam) etching has also been proposed (see JP-A-3-296907). However, although these methods can ensure track width accuracy, they have a major problem in terms of mass productivity because they require single-unit processing for each head and the FIB itself has a very low throughput. ing.

As shown in FIG. 13, the upper magnetic core 7 is constituted by a front half 7a having a substantially fan shape and a rear half 7b extending to the rear gap.
There is also proposed a method of forming a workpiece by an ion beam milling method at an early stage of manufacturing having a relatively small base step so as to reduce processing tolerance (IEEE TRANSACTION ON MAGN-ET).
ICS, Vol.27, No.6, November 1991 p.4936-4938). However, as long as the tip half 7a of the upper magnetic core 7 is manufactured by the ion beam milling method, the difference between the size of the resist mask and the size of the final magnetic core becomes large, and the density of 10 Gb / inch ² is completely supported. Can not do it. Also, as long as it is manufactured by the ion beam milling method, its rate is several tens of nm.
/ min, so that productivity cannot be improved. Furthermore, when ion beam milling is performed by introducing a fluorine-based gas, various depositions occur inside the ion beam gun, and stable processing cannot be performed for a long time, so that productivity is extremely reduced.

On the other hand, the tip half 7a having a substantially fan shape is
Although there is a method of forming by a selective plating process, as long as selective plating is used, the thickness dimension of the resist mask and the step h ′ cannot be ignored, and at least the total thickness of the lower magnetic core and the upper magnetic core (about Since it is necessary to pattern a thick resist of about 6 μm), the patterning tolerance of the thick resist itself becomes large. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to selectively plate an alloy on a fine portion.

In any of the above methods,
Considering the alignment error between the upper and lower magnetic cores, the upper magnetic core must be about twice as small as the alignment error from the lower magnetic core. Therefore, even when there is no misalignment, a problem that side lighting is increased is caused.

[0011]

As described above, the conventional thin-film magnetic head structure and the track processing technique have a limit in narrowing the track interval, for example, 10 Gb / inch ^2.
Until then, we cannot respond. As described above, in the prior art, a thin-film magnetic head for a narrow track satisfying both the dimensional tolerance and the mass productivity has not been realized, and improvement of these is strongly demanded.

The present invention has been made to address such a problem, and enables a narrow track capable of supporting, for example, up to 10 Gb / inch ² to be formed while satisfying both dimensional tolerance and mass productivity. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thin-film magnetic head that has been manufactured.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the thin-film magnetic head of the present invention comprises a pair of magnetic core formed via a magnetic gap, provided between the pair of magnetic core, the pair < br /> in the thin film magnetic head comprising a coil which is insulated from the magnetic core, the insulating layer is provided on one of the front Ki磁 air core al
And a magnetic material embedded in the insulating layer.
A surface forming a plane continuously with the surface of the insulating layer;
A pole tip half having a medium facing surface intersecting with the surface of the magnetic pole, and a surface of the pole tip half and a surface of the insulating layer.
The magnetic pole tip half and an insulating layer are laminated and formed.
And the other magnetic core comprises a magnetic pole rear half.
The pole tip track width direction of the width of the lamination surface between the halves of the pole rear halves widely than the width in the track width direction of the pole tip halves, said pole rear halves before Symbol pole tip half of a body
From the rear end opposite to the medium facing surface, the medium facing
It has a curved or bent shape in a direction away from the magnetic gap on a side farther from the surface .

A second thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention is as described above.
In the first thin-film magnetic head, the end of the rear half of the magnetic pole facing the medium facing surface is further provided with a medium pair of the front half of the magnetic pole .
Are being located farther from the medium facing surface than the facing surfaces end.

The thin film magnetic head of the present invention, further the
In the second thin-film magnetic head, the projected image on the substrate is such that the magnetic pole rear half is 90 to 120 with respect to the magnetic pole front half.
It is characterized by having a convex shape connected with a connection angle within a range of degrees. A magnetic recording system or a hard disk drive according to the present invention includes a magnetic recording medium and the above-described thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention for recording magnetic information on the magnetic recording medium.

[0016] In a further thin film magnetic head of the present invention, the pole tip halves and the pole rear halves can use different magnetic material. That is, it is possible to improve the characteristics by using a magnetic material having a small anisotropic magnetic field for the magnetic pole tip half and a magnetic material having a large anisotropic magnetic field for the magnetic pole rear half.

Furthermore, the characteristics can be further improved by forming the tip half of the magnetic pole in a laminated structure in which a nonmagnetic layer is interposed between a plurality of magnetic layers.

In yet thin film magnetic head of the present invention, the pole tip halves, consist preformed insulating layer magnetic material filled in the trench of.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the above-mentioned magnetic material, which is chamfered at the outer peripheral portion of the bottom surface of the magnetic material embedded in the trench or the outer peripheral portion of the upper end of the side wall of the trench, is embedded by collimation sputtering. It is one of the features.

Furthermore, in the thin film magnetic head of the present invention, the pole tip halves forms a straight rectangular parallelepiped shape.

[0021] Furthermore, in the thin film magnetic head of the present invention comprises at least the pole tip are both buried in the trench of the previously formed insulating layer magnetic of the lower magnetic core and the upper magnetic core, A chamfer is applied to a magnetic pole tip of the lower magnetic core at an outer peripheral portion of a bottom surface of the magnetic material embedded in the trench, and a chamfer is applied to a magnetic pole tip portion of the upper magnetic core at an outer peripheral portion of a sidewall upper end of the trench. Is one of the features.

More specifically, the thin-film magnetic head of the present invention comprises:
For example, it is manufactured by the following process.

First, a first insulating layer, an etching stopper layer, a second insulating layer, a polishing stopper layer, an etching mask, and a third insulating layer are sequentially formed on a substrate, and are used for embedding a magnetic pole body of a lower magnetic core. After forming a resist mask on the third insulating layer except for a region where a trench is to be formed, a third insulating layer, an etching mask, a polishing stopper layer, a second insulating layer, an etching stopper layer, and a first insulating layer are formed. The trench for embedding the magnetic pole body is formed by etching in order, and a magnetic material is deposited in the trench for embedding the magnetic pole body by collimation sputtering.

Next, excess magnetic material is removed by polishing and / or etch-back so that the third insulating layer other than the trench, the etching mask and the magnetic layer are flush with the polishing stopper layer.

Further, on the surface including the magnetic layer, a magnetic gap layer, a fourth insulating layer, a second polishing stopper layer,
A fifth insulating layer is formed in order, and a second region is
After the formation of the resist mask described above, the fifth insulating layer, the second polishing stopper layer, and the fourth insulating layer are sequentially etched and removed, and the burying trench of the pole tip half of the upper magnetic core and the lower side are removed. A burying trench for the magnetic pole rear auxiliary half of the magnetic core is formed, and a magnetic material is deposited on the burying trench of the magnetic pole tip half and the burying trench of the magnetic pole rear auxiliary half by collimation sputtering. Subsequently, excess magnetic material is removed by polishing and / or etch back so that the fifth insulating layer and the magnetic layer other than the trenches are flush with the second polishing stopper layer, and the pole tip half is removed. The body and the pole rear auxiliary half are formed.

Thereafter, an insulating layer in which a coil is embedded is formed on the surface including the magnetic pole rear auxiliary half, and an upper magnetic core is formed on a part of the magnetic pole tip half surface and the insulating layer in which the coil is embedded. Forming a magnetic layer to be the rear half of the magnetic pole,
Finally, a protective layer is formed on the surface including the magnetic layer to be the rear half of the magnetic pole, and the thin-film magnetic head of the present invention is manufactured.

[0027]

In the thin-film magnetic head of the present invention, at least one of the lower magnetic core and the upper magnetic core is constituted by a magnetic pole tip half and a magnetic pole rear half which contacts the magnetic pole tip half in one plane. Therefore, a magnetic head having a relatively small magnetic resistance at these contact portions, a uniform magnetic flux density in the magnetic gap, and uniform characteristics can be easily manufactured with good reproducibility. Further, as described above, one of the lower magnetic core and the upper magnetic core, which is constituted by the magnetic pole tip half and the magnetic pole rear half, and at least the other of the lower magnetic core and the upper magnetic core. Since the portions are provided on the same plane, it is possible to deposit a magnetic material and form them simultaneously, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process. Further, in the thin film magnetic head of the present invention,
First, it is possible to form a trench that is a portion for forming a magnetic pole tip half with high precision without any step, and a substantially rectangular parallelepiped magnetic material is formed in such a trench, for example, by using an orifice-shaped collimator. Since the magnetic pole tip half is formed by embedding with a collimation sputtering or the like, the positional accuracy of the magnetic pole tip half can be greatly improved. In addition, the pole tip half can be made of good quality without voids. By these,
Narrow track processing with high accuracy and very small tolerance is possible.

Further, according to the present invention, the magnetic pole tip half and the magnetic pole rear half can be formed of different magnetic materials. For example, as the magnetic recording density increases, the track width becomes 1
When the track is narrowed to about μm and it becomes difficult to orient the easy axis of magnetization of the magnetic pole tip in the track width direction, for example, a low Hk material having small induced magnetic anisotropy is used for the tip half, The recording efficiency is improved by using a material having a high Hk and a high Hk, preferably a high resistance, having a higher high-frequency magnetic permeability for the rear half. This is particularly effective when the tip half is created by embedding as in the present invention. It is considered that the reason for this is that the deterioration of the magnetic properties due to the disorder of the crystal orientation at the time of embedding is small in the case of a low Hk material.

On the other hand, when it is easy to orient the axis of easy magnetization of the magnetic pole tip half in the track width direction and perform a certain amount of track processing, the magnetic pole tip half is made of a material having a high saturation magnetic flux density or more induction. A material having a large magnetic anisotropy may be used.

Further, by arranging the rear half of the magnetic pole to retreat from the medium facing surface, the magnetic pole near the joining point between the half of the magnetic pole tip and the rear half of the magnetic pole has a structure in which the magnetic path is bent at a substantially right angle. Leakage of the magnetic flux is suppressed from occurring on the medium facing surface, so that recording and reproduction by the leaked magnetic flux can be prevented. Furthermore, by forming the rear half of the magnetic pole so as to make surface contact with the half of the front end of the magnetic pole and the rear end thereof, even if the formation position of the rear half of the pole slightly shifts in the direction of the head depth, the efficiency of the head is improved. It is possible to prevent the influence of noise such as fluctuation and wiggle. In addition, a polyimide organic insulating material with poor patterning accuracy is used for the insulating layer for the coil, etc.
Since it can be used in place of the resist material, it is possible to use a magnetic material having a high saturation magnetic flux density that needs annealing at about 350 ° C.

[0031] In the thin film magnetic head of the present invention,
As shown in FIG. 15, the projection surface of at least one of the lower magnetic core and the upper magnetic core with respect to the substrate has an angle in the range of 90 to 120 degrees (in the figure, θ in FIG. 15). Shown) to form a convex shape with the rear half r of the magnetic pole connected .
Thus, even if the track is narrowed, the axis of easy magnetization can be stably made parallel to the track width direction.

That is, in the magnetic core having the shape as shown in FIG. 15, the magnetic moment in the rear half r of the magnetic pole tends to be directed in the direction along each side as indicated by arrows X. Moreover, the easy magnetization axis in the narrow track have been pole tip halves t during magnetic moments (figure formed by lamination on the magnetic tip halves t in pole rear half r region, by a broken-line arrow X ₁ Shown).

[0033] In the thin film magnetic head of the present invention will now connection angle θ of the magnetic pole tip halves t and the pole rear half r 90
Defined range of 120 degrees, since the magnetic moment X ₁ affects part easy axis of the pole tip halves t in pole rear half r easily oriented in the track width direction,
The axis of easy magnetization (indicated by the arrow Y in the figure) of the pole tip half t having a narrow track can be directed in the track width direction. Therefore, it is possible to easily obtain a thin-film magnetic head having excellent head characteristics, particularly excellent high-frequency response characteristics, with good reproducibility. On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
In a conventional magnetic core in which the rear end r 'of the magnetic pole spreads from the front end t' of the magnetic pole in a fan shape, since θ> 120 degrees, the magnetic part of the rear end r 'of the magnetic pole directly connected to the front end t' of the magnetic pole is usually used. Under the influence of the moment, the magnetic moment at the tip end t 'of the magnetic pole tends to be perpendicular to the projecting direction and the track width direction as shown by the arrow y in the drawing. As a result, the axis of easy magnetization of the pole tip t 'is perpendicular to the track width direction.

Further, as in the present invention, when at least one magnetic core is formed by laminating a magnetic pole tip half and a magnetic pole rear half, a projection surface on the substrate has a similar substantially convex shape (90 mm). .Ltoreq..theta..ltoreq.120), but this effect is more remarkable than a magnetic core in which the magnetic pole tip t 'and the magnetic pole rear r' are arranged on the same plane and directly connected. The principle will be described below.

Usually, since the magnetization in the soft magnetic material reduces self energy, the magnetization in the peripheral portion is parallel to the surrounding surface as shown in FIG. 17 and has a width of 50 μm × 50 μm length × 2.
In the case of a thickness of about μm, a return magnetic domain structure is adopted as shown in FIG. In this case, the axis of easy magnetization is in the track width direction.

However, 2 μm width × 5
When the length is about 2 μm and the thickness is about 2 μm, a clear magnetic domain structure is not formed, and curling of magnetization occurs, for example, as shown in FIG. However, in order to reduce the self-demagnetizing field energy, the magnetization in the peripheral portion is also parallel to the peripheral surface as shown in FIG.

A rear half of the magnetic pole as shown in FIG. 17 is laminated on the half of the front end of the magnetic pole as shown in FIG. It is oriented substantially in the track width direction due to the magnetization of the half body. Furthermore, since the magnetization of the other part of the magnetic pole tip half is exchange-coupled with the magnetization of the magnetic pole tip half, it is also directed substantially in the track width direction. As a result, the magnetization of the magnetic pole tip half becomes macroscopic. All of them can be directed substantially in the track width direction. At this time, the larger the ratio (L2 / L1) occupied by the laminated portion, the greater the effect. When the connection angle θ between the magnetic pole tip half and the magnetic pole rear half is in the range of about 90 to 120 °, such an effect is obtained. Can be obtained. In other words, by laminating the magnetic pole tip half and the magnetic pole rear half, the magnetization of the magnetic pole tip can be reduced compared to the case where the projection surface on the substrate has the same substantially convex shape and no laminated portion at all. The easy axis can be easily oriented in the track width direction.

Further, in the thin-film magnetic head of the present invention, the magnetic material is buried by, for example, collimation sputtering using an orifice-shaped collimator in a trench which is to form a tip portion and a rear portion of the magnetic pole. A magnetic core having a tip and a pole rear is formed. Therefore, the positional accuracy of the magnetic pole tip half having a narrow track can be greatly improved, and the magnetic core having the above-mentioned shape can be made of good quality without voids or the like. Further, the magnetic core can be formed without any step. As a result, narrow track processing with high accuracy and very small tolerance can be performed, and a magnetic head having uniform magnetic flux density in the gap and uniform characteristics can be easily formed with good reproducibility.

In the thin-film magnetic head of the present invention, at least a half of the magnetic pole tip portion is embedded in a trench formed in advance in a part of the insulating layer by collimation sputtering using an orifice-shaped collimator or the like. In the case where is formed, it is preferable to give a chamfer to the outer peripheral portion of the upper end of the side wall of the trench or the outer peripheral portion of the bottom surface of the embedded magnetic body. At this time, the trench has a shape having substantially two or more steps of tapered sidewalls, and the above-described chamfering gives the trench a taper angle near the bottom of the sidewall of the trench or near the upper end of the sidewall. It is set smaller than the taper angle. As a result, cavities generated when the magnetic material is embedded by collimation sputtering can be completely eliminated, and the magnetic anisotropy can be maintained in the track width direction, so that the high-frequency magnetic permeability can be improved. The trench having these two-stage tapered side walls is formed by forming the insulating layer in which the trench is formed from two or more laminated films having different etching grades, and only etching the laminated film by chemical etching or RIE. It can be easily formed.

At this time, the upper magnetic core is chamfered at the outer periphery of the upper end portion of the trench where the magnetic pole tip is formed, and the taper angle near the bottom of the side wall of the trench is set to be larger than the taper angle near the upper end of the trench. If the lower magnetic core is chamfered to the outer periphery of the bottom surface of the magnetic body at the tip of the magnetic pole and the taper angle near the upper end of the side wall of the trench is set to be larger than the taper angle of the side wall near the bottom of the trench, a more accurate track can be obtained. Processing can be achieved.

Further, for the magnetic pole tip half of the upper magnetic core, the taper angle near the bottom of the sidewall of the trench is set to be larger than the taper angle of the sidewall near the top of the trench, so that the magnetic pole tip half and the magnetic pole rear half can be separated. It is also possible to form a magnetic path having a large magnetic junction area and a small magnetic resistance.

[0042]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIGS. 1 and 2 are views respectively showing the structure of the main part of a thin-film magnetic head according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. Perspective view, FIG. 2
Is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.

In these figures, reference numeral 11 denotes Al ₂ O ₃ .Ti
This is a substrate made of C or the like. On this substrate 11, Al ₂ O
A magnetic pole main body 14a of a lower magnetic core 14 made of a laminated magnetic material using CoZrNb or the like is formed via an insulating layer 12 made of ₃ or the like and an etching stopper layer 13. A magnetic gap 15 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like also serving as an etching stopper layer is formed on the magnetic pole body 14a.

On the magnetic gap 15, a magnetic pole tip half 16 a of an upper magnetic core 16 made of a laminated magnetic material using CoZrNb or the like is provided on the medium facing surface side. The magnetic pole tip half 16a has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Behind the magnetic pole tip half 16a, a rear auxiliary half 14b of the lower magnetic core 14 magnetically separated by the insulating layer 17 is provided. Are formed. On these, a coil 19 made of Cu or the like embedded in an insulating layer 18 of polyimide or the like is formed.

On the insulating layer 18, a magnetic pole rear half 16b of the upper magnetic core 16 whose part is brought into plane contact with the magnetic pole tip half 16a is formed. Then, on the magnetic pole tip half 16a and the magnetic pole rear half 16b,
A protective layer 20 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like is formed to constitute an electromagnetic conversion section of the thin-film magnetic head.

The magnetic pole body 14a of the lower magnetic core 14
The rear auxiliary half 14b, and the magnetic pole tip half 16a and the magnetic pole rear half 16b of the upper magnetic core 16 are each made of Co with a nonmagnetic layer 21 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like.
It has a laminated structure of a magnetic layer 22 such as ZrNb. Around the magnetic pole body 14a, SiO
_An insulating layer 23 made of ₂ or the like is provided, and a coil lead wire 24 made of the same material is provided behind the rear auxiliary half 14b. Further, the insulating layers 17 and 23
A polishing stopper layer 25 is provided on each of them.

Next, a manufacturing process of the thin film magnetic head having the above structure will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, an insulating layer 12 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like having a thickness of about 5 μm is formed on a substrate 11.
Etching stopper layer 13 of about 0.1 μm, thickness 3
Insulating layer 23 of about ₂ μm of SiO ₂ etc., thickness 0.1 μm
Polishing stopper layer 2 made of Al ₂ O ₃ etc.
5. An etching mask 26 having a thickness of about 0.2 μm and an insulating layer 27 made of SiO _{2 having a} thickness of about 0.5 μm are sequentially formed. In this case, the insulating layer 27 serves as a shaving margin in a polishing process in a later process.

The etching stopper layer 13 and the etching mask 26 are made of Al ₂ O ₃ , C, Al, Ti, which have a low etching rate with respect to a fluorine-based reactive gas.
It is preferable to use Cr, W, Nb, Si, or the like. Further, as the polishing stopper layer 25, it is preferable to use Al ₂ O ₃ or the like which is hardly polished.

Next, after forming a resist mask on a smooth insulating layer 27 (not shown), an insulating layer 27 is etched by the etching gas such as CF _4, then O ₂ is CF ₄ or the like
Policing stopper layer 25 by gas etching mask 26 by gas added, which was further added with argon such as CF ₄ or the like, finally insulated by gas such as CF ₄ in layer 2
3 is etched by means such as RIE (reactive ion etching). Thereafter, the resist mask is removed, and as shown in FIG.
Is obtained. When C is used as the etching mask 26, the etching mask 26 can be etched only with O ₂ gas.

At this time, since the etching mask 26 is formed, the side wall of the trench 28 can be processed vertically by changing the selection ratio between the mask material and the insulating layer material. It can also be processed into a shape. In addition, since the etching stopper layer 13 is provided, not only can the depth of the burying trench 28 be accurately controlled, but also an appropriate over-etch can be performed, so that the bottom edge shape of the trench 28 can be controlled. Can be. For example, the radius of the bottom edge of the trench 28 can be formed by merely controlling the time of the overetch, or the bottom edge can be processed substantially vertically.

Next, as shown in FIG.
The magnetic layer 22 made of CoZrNb or the like and the nonmagnetic layer _{2 made} of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like
1 are sequentially applied by collimation sputtering or the like. Thereafter, unnecessary portions are removed by performing polishing or etchback to form the magnetic pole main body 14a. At this time, by forming a radius at the bottom edge of the trench 28 in the previous step, the magnetic characteristics at the edge portion of the magnetic layer 22 to be buried can be easily controlled. Further, a polishing stopper layer 25 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like, which is hardly polished, is provided on the pole body 14a.
The polishing stopper layer 25 is disposed on both sides of the upper surface of the polishing stopper layer 25 even if polishing is slightly inclined in the polishing process.
Functions as a stopper, can correct the inclination, and can control the thickness of the magnetic pole main body 14a.

Next, as shown in FIG.
a, a magnetic gap 15 having a thickness of about 0.1 μm and a thickness 3
An insulating layer 17 having a thickness of about 0.1 μm, a polishing stopper layer 25 having a thickness of about 0.1 μm, and an insulating layer 27 having a thickness of about 0.5 μm are formed in this order. The constituent material of each layer is the same as the process shown in FIG. 3A. Then, after forming a resist mask, the insulating layer 27 for shaving, the polishing stopper layer 25, and the insulating layer 17 are etched in the same manner as in the above-described steps. By this etching, as shown in FIG. 4B, a filling trench 29a of the pole tip half 16a and a filling trench 29b of the rear auxiliary half 14b are obtained. In forming these trenches 29, the trench walls can be processed into a desired shape, as in the above-described steps.

Here, the magnetic gap 15 also serves as an etching stopper layer at the time of the etching.
The etching rate is slow for fluorine-based reactive gas,
And a material that functions as a magnetic gap, for example, Al ₂ O
₃ , It is preferable to form with Si or the like. Since the magnetic gap 15 also serves as an etching stopper layer, the gap length does not change even when the magnetic pole tip half 16a is slightly etched, so that the yield can be improved. it can. In this case, an etching stopper such as C may be formed on the magnetic gap 15, and after the trench 29 is formed, the etching stopper such as C may be removed by O ₂ plasma or the like to expose the magnetic gap 15.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, a two-layer laminated magnetic material (22) is formed in each of the trenches 29a and 29b.
/ 21/22) is applied by collimation sputtering, unnecessary portions are removed by polishing or etch back, and the substantially rectangular parallelepiped magnetic pole tip half 16 is removed.
a and the rear auxiliary half 14b are buried and formed. In this embodiment, the coil lead wire 24 is also buried at the same time. As described above, since the magnetic pole tip half 16a and the rear auxiliary half 14b and the coil lead wire 24 provided on the same plane are buried at the same time, the number of man-hours can be significantly reduced.

Then, an insulating layer 18 made of polyimide resin or the like in which a coil 19 made of Cu or the like is embedded is formed on the magnetic pole tip half 16a and the rear auxiliary half 14b.
Further, by forming a laminated magnetic material having a two-layer structure to be the magnetic pole rear half 16b and a protective layer 20 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like, the electromagnetic conversion part of the thin film magnetic head of the present invention is completed. In the above-described process, the magnetic gap 15 may be formed by collimation sputtering or the like before forming the laminated magnetic body to be the pole tip half 16a and the rear auxiliary half 14b by collimation sputtering.

According to the structure and manufacturing method of the thin-film magnetic head of the embodiment described above, the pole tip half 16 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape is used.
is formed by embedding the constituent material of the laminated magnetic material in the trench 29a formed by the insulating layer 17 or the like by collimation sputtering, a narrow track having a width of 1 μm or less is formed with a tolerance (3σ) of ± 0.1 μm or less. It was possible to obtain with high precision and high reproducibility. That is, since the trench 29a at the position where the magnetic pole tip half 16a is to be formed is processed without any step, the positional accuracy can be greatly improved. The magnetic material is buried in the trench 29a by collimation sputtering to form the magnetic pole tip half 16a having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.
a can be obtained in a state where it is aligned with high precision.

Further, the magnetic pole tip is formed entirely of an inorganic material having good heat resistance, and the entire magnetic pole tip is formed before forming the insulating layer 18 and the like in which the coil 19 is embedded. High temperature heat treatment of about ℃ is possible. Therefore, uniaxial anisotropy with small anisotropic dispersion can be imparted to a magnetic material having a high saturation magnetic flux density. further,
The thin-film magnetic head uses a two-layer laminated magnetic body in which the lower magnetic core 14 and the upper magnetic core 16 have a non-magnetic layer 21 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like interposed therebetween, so that the track is narrow. Also in this case, the thickness of the magnetic layer 22 can be reduced, and the axis of easy magnetization can be made parallel to the track width. In addition, the effect is more exhibited when the number of layers is three or more.

Further, in the thin-film magnetic head of this embodiment, the tapered rising portion of the insulating layer 18 in which the coil 19 is embedded is set rearward from the rear end of the magnetic pole tip half 16a, and the magnetic pole rear half is formed. The body 16b is brought into plane contact with the rear end of the magnetic pole tip half 16a in one plane, and the magnetic pole rear half 16b is curved behind the rear end of the magnetic pole tip half 16a. Thereby, even if the bending point is slightly shifted, the contact surface between the magnetic pole tip half 16a and the magnetic pole rear half 16b can be sufficiently ensured, and a head with high efficiency and uniform characteristics can be obtained. . Further, generation of noise such as wiggle can be suppressed. These also make it possible to use a polyimide-based organic insulating material with poor patterning accuracy as the insulating material as a resist material, and to use a magnetic material having a high saturation magnetic flux density that needs to be annealed at about 350 ° C. Material can be used.

On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG.
The tapered rising portion of the insulating layer 18 is fixed to the magnetic pole tip half 16a.
When the position is set closer to the medium facing surface than the rear end, the contact surface between the magnetic pole tip half 16a and the magnetic pole rear half 16b becomes small, which not only reduces the efficiency, but also greatly changes the efficiency due to misalignment. In addition, quality variations are likely to occur.

Further, in the thin film magnetic head of this embodiment, since the tip of the rear half 16b of the magnetic pole is set back from the medium facing surface (indicated by A in the drawing), the magnetic material is discontinuous. Pole tip half body 16a having a structure bent to
Flux leakage near the junction between the magnetic pole rear half 16b and the magnetic pole rear half 16b can be prevented from occurring on the medium facing surface. Therefore, it is possible to remove the adverse effects of recording and reproduction due to the leakage magnetic flux. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the end of the magnetic pole rear half 16b is extended to the medium facing surface, as shown in FIG. 6B, the leakage magnetic flux (indicated by B in the figure) at the medium facing surface is increased. The occurrence is remarkable, and data may be recorded not only between tracks but also on adjacent tracks. At the time of reproduction, crosstalk noise increases. On the other hand, in the present invention, these adverse effects can be eliminated by retracting the magnetic pole rear half 16b from the medium facing surface.

In the configuration of the present invention described above, when the contact surface between the magnetic pole rear half 16b and the magnetic pole tip half 16a is not flat, for example, when the contact surface is constituted by an uneven surface, the joining surface The undulation of the magnetic flux occurs, and the magnetic flux becomes difficult to flow, and it becomes difficult to obtain the magnetic flux necessary for the saturation recording in the magnetic gap 15. In the above embodiment, the magnetic material is formed by embedding the magnetic material by sputtering in the SiO ₂ trench formed by RIE. However, after the magnetic material is formed as usual, ion milling or R
The magnetic body may be processed by the IE, and then an insulating film may be applied to perform polishing back. However, in this case, the track width accuracy is slightly deteriorated.

Embodiment 2 Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 shows a magnetic pole tip half 31a having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped lower magnetic core 31 and a magnetic pole tip half 31a.
5 shows a thin-film magnetic head composed of a magnetic pole rear half 31b and a flat surface contact. That is, the magnetic pole rear half 31 b of the lower magnetic core 31 and the coil 1 are placed in the insulating layer 12.
An insulating layer 18 in which 9 is embedded is embedded. Above these, a pole tip half 31a of the lower magnetic core 31, a rear auxiliary half 32b of the upper magnetic core 32 magnetically separated by the insulating layer 17, and a coil lead wire 24 are on the same plane. Is provided. On top of these, the upper magnetic core 3 is placed via a magnetic gap 15.
Two magnetic pole main bodies 32a are formed, and a protective layer 20 is further formed on the magnetic pole main body 32a to constitute a main part of an electromagnetic conversion unit of the thin-film magnetic head.

In the thin-film magnetic head of this embodiment,
Similarly to the above-described embodiment, a trench for burying the magnetic pole tip half 31a is formed by the insulating layer 17, a magnetic material is buried in the trench by collimation sputtering, and unnecessary portions are removed by polishing or the like. , A magnetic pole tip half 31a having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape is formed. Although the polishing stopper layer, the etching stopper layer, and the like are omitted in FIG. 7, they are formed as necessary, as in the above-described embodiment. Although each magnetic core is described as a single layer for convenience, it can be formed of a laminated magnetic body as in the above-described embodiment. This is the same for the following embodiments.

In the thin-film magnetic head of the above-described embodiment, the substantially rectangular parallelepiped pole tip half 31 a is also
Since the magnetic material is formed by embedding the magnetic material in the trench formed by the step 7 or the like by collimation sputtering, each part can be processed in a state without a step, thereby forming a narrow track having a very small tolerance with high precision. It is possible to obtain it with good reproducibility. The same applies to other effects. Further, in the manufacturing process, the magnetic pole tip half 3
1a, rear auxiliary half 32b, and coil lead wire 2
4 are formed in the same embedding step, so that the number of man-hours can be greatly reduced.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 8 shows that both the lower magnetic core 33 and the upper magnetic core 34 are magnetic pole tip halves 33a, 34 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.
a, and the magnetic pole rear halves 33b and 34b which are in plane contact with the magnetic pole front halves 33a and 34a. That is, the magnetic pole rear half 33 b of the lower magnetic core 33 is formed on the insulating layer 12, and the magnetic pole tip half 33 a of the lower magnetic core 33 and the rear half of the lower magnetic core 33 are formed thereon. An auxiliary half 33c is formed. Further, on the magnetic pole tip half 33a and the rear auxiliary half 33c, the magnetic pole tip half 34a of the upper magnetic core 34, the rear auxiliary half 34c of the upper magnetic core 34 and the coil Leader 2
4 are provided. Then, the insulating layer 1 having the coil 19 embedded therein is formed thereon, similarly to the first embodiment.
8, the magnetic pole rear half body 34b of the upper magnetic core 34 provided so as to cover the upper magnetic core 34, and the protective layer 20 are formed to constitute a main part of the electromagnetic conversion unit of the thin-film magnetic head.

The thin film magnetic head having the above structure is manufactured, for example, as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 9A, the insulating layer 35 is formed on the magnetic pole rear half 33b provided on the insulating layer 12, and RIE processing or the like is performed on the insulating layer 35 to form the trench 36. At the time of this trench processing, the trench wall is processed into a vertical or slightly reverse tapered shape, and an appropriate overetch is performed to form the trench 3.
6. Make the bottom edge of 6 approximately right angle.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the direction of the sputtered particles flying by the collimator is made substantially parallel to the side wall of the trench 36, and the magnetic material constituting the lower magnetic core 33 is formed in the same trench 36. Material, magnetic gap 15
And the magnetic material constituting the upper magnetic core 34 are continuously sputtered. Then, polishing back is performed to form upper and lower magnetic pole tip halves 33a, 34a and rear auxiliary halves 33c, 34c as shown in FIG. 9C.

As described above, the lower magnetic core 33 and the upper magnetic core 34 both have the magnetic pole tip halves 33a, 34a, and the upper and lower magnetic pole tip halves 33a,
By continuously producing the magnetic poles 34a in one embedding process, it is possible to completely prevent misalignment of the upper and lower magnetic pole tip half bodies 33a, 34a. Accordingly, a head having the same upper and lower magnetic pole widths and no deviation can be obtained. As a result, side lighting due to side fringing can be minimized, and the track pitch can be further reduced.

Further, regarding the manufacturing process of the above embodiment,
Upper and lower magnetic pole tip halves 33a, 34a, rear auxiliary half 3
Since the 3c, 34c, the magnetic gap 15, and the coil lead 24 are simultaneously manufactured in the same embedding step, the number of manufacturing steps can be significantly reduced.

Embodiment 4 FIG. 10 shows that the coil 19 is made of the same material as the pole tip half 16a of the upper magnetic core 16 at the same time in the same embedding step, and the coil lead wire 24 is This is an example in which the same material and the same embedding process are used to manufacture simultaneously, thereby greatly reducing man-hours. In this case, there is no problem as long as it is used as a recording-only head.
μΩ · cm. Also, the coil can be made of the same material as the lower magnetic pole tip half and at the same time in the same embedding step.

Fifth Embodiment FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view showing a partial cross section of the structure of a main part of a thin-film magnetic head according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

In this figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a substrate made of Al ₂ O ₃ .TiC or the like. An insulating layer 12 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like and an etching stopper layer 13
Through the lower magnetic core 14 made of a magnetic material such as CoZrNb.
Is formed. This magnetic pole body 14
“a” has a substantially convex shape, and is composed of a magnetic pole main body tip portion having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape corresponding to a protruding projection, and a magnetic pole main body rear portion. The magnetic pole main body tip and the magnetic pole main body rear are continuously formed on the same plane.
A magnetic gap 15 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like also serving as an etching stopper layer is formed on such a magnetic pole main body 14a.

A magnetic pole tip half 16a of an upper magnetic core 16 made of a magnetic material such as CoZrNb is provided on the magnetic gap 15 on the medium facing surface side. The pole tip half 16a has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Behind the pole tip half 16a, the rear auxiliary half 14b of the lower magnetic core 14 magnetically separated by the insulating layer 17
Is formed. On these, a coil 19 made of Cu or the like embedded in an insulating layer 18 of polyimide or the like is formed.

On the insulating layer 18, the magnetic pole tip half 16a
The rear half 16b of the magnetic pole of the upper magnetic core 16 which is brought into surface contact in one plane is provided. The magnetic pole tip half 16a and the magnetic pole rear half 16b have a connection angle θ of 90 degrees with respect to the magnetic pole tip half 16a, which is a protruding projection when viewed in a plan view, similarly to the magnetic pole body 14a. The magnetic pole rear half 16b is connected in the range of up to 120 degrees, in other words, the projection surface on the substrate 11 is substantially convex. Then, the magnetic pole tip half 16a and the magnetic pole rear half 16b
A protective layer made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like (not shown) is formed on the upper portion to constitute a main part of an electromagnetic conversion section of the thin-film magnetic head.

An insulating layer 23 made of SiO ₂ or the like is provided around the magnetic pole main body 14a to define a position where the magnetic pole main body 14a is formed, and a coil lead made of the same material is provided behind the rear auxiliary half 14b. A line 24 is provided.

Here, the connection angle θ between the magnetic pole main body 14a of the lower magnetic core and the magnetic pole tip and the magnetic pole rear part in the upper magnetic core 16 is such that even when the track is narrowed, the magnetization easy axis of the magnetic pole tip is small. Is specified in the range of 90 to 120 degrees in order to stably be parallel to the track width direction. That is, when the connection angle θ exceeds 120 degrees, the easy axis of magnetization at the tip of the magnetic pole tends to be perpendicular to the track width direction as shown in FIG. 16, which is the case when the track width is 3 μm or less. Will be particularly noticeable. More preferably, the connection angle θ is in the range of 90 to 100 degrees. However, in order to converge the magnetic flux at the rear end of the magnetic pole to the front end of the magnetic pole, it is preferable to increase the value of the connection angle θ to some extent. Therefore, in consideration of the provision of the easy axis and the convergence of the magnetic flux, the connection angle θ Is preferably set. In order to converge magnetic flux, for example, as shown in FIG. 20, both ends C of the side of the rear portion of the magnetic pole connected to the front end of the magnetic pole,
Preferably, C is curved. This makes it possible to converge the magnetic flux while making the connection angle θ close to 90 degrees.

Next, the steps of manufacturing the thin film magnetic head having the above structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 21A, 21B and 21C and FIGS. 22A, 22B, 22C and 22D.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 21A, an insulating layer 1 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like having a thickness of about 5 μm is formed on a substrate 11.
2. an etching stopper layer 13 having a thickness of about 0.1 μm;
An insulating layer 23 made of SiO ₂ or the like having a thickness of about 3.5 μm is sequentially formed. Note that the insulating layer 23 is formed to have a thickness including a shaving margin in a polishing step in a later step. Alternatively, the insulating layer 23 may be formed to a predetermined thickness in advance, and a SiO ₂ layer for shaving may be formed via a polishing stopper layer or an etching mask.

Next, after forming a resist mask (not shown) on the smooth insulating layer 23, the insulating layer 23 is etched with an etching gas such as CF ₄ or the like, and as shown in FIG. A substantially convex trench 28 corresponding to the formation portion 14a is formed. At this time, it is preferable to set an appropriate etching condition and process the side wall of the trench 28 vertically.

Next, as shown in FIG.
A magnetic body serving as the magnetic pole main body 14a is deposited in 8 by collimation sputtering using an orifice-shaped collimator.
Unnecessary portions are removed by polishing or the like, and a magnetic pole body 14a composed of a protruding magnetic pole tip and a magnetic pole rear is formed.
To form

Here, it is preferable that the collimation sputtering of the magnetic material to be the magnetic pole body 14a is performed using an orifice-shaped collimator 41 as shown in FIG. The orifice-shaped collimator 41 suppresses the sputtered particles from flying in the width direction. By using such an orifice-shaped collimator 41, for example, FIG.
As compared with the case where a general collimator 42 as shown in FIG. 4 is used, the sputtering speed can be made three times or more.
In the drawing, reference numeral 43 denotes a sputter target, and 44 denotes a substrate to be adhered.

The above-mentioned orifice-shaped collimator 41
Indicates that the longitudinal direction is the track width direction of the magnetic core (in the figure,
(Indicated by an arrow Z), it is preferable to arrange the magnetic pole at a substantially right angle. The projection direction of the magnetic pole tip is the direction in which the sputtered particles fly. , And can be satisfactorily embedded without generation of voids and the like. The shape of the magnetic pole body 14a also influences the embedding of the magnetic pole tip. That is, as shown in FIG. 16, in the shape in which the magnetic pole rear portion is connected in a fan shape at an angle exceeding 120 degrees from the magnetic pole tip portion, even if the orifice-shaped collimator 41 as described above is used, Since the sputtered particles grow in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, voids (nests) are likely to be generated particularly at the root portion of the tip of the magnetic pole. In this manner, the pole body 14a is
By using a structure in which the rear part of the magnetic pole is connected at an angle in the range of up to 120 degrees, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of voids, especially at the front end of the magnetic pole. In addition, as the angle between the longitudinal direction of the orifice-shaped collimator 41 and the track width direction deviates from substantially a right angle, holes are likely to be formed similarly to the magnetic core of the conventional shape, so that the orifice-shaped collimator 41 is, as described above, It is preferable to arrange them so that the longitudinal direction is substantially perpendicular to the track width direction.

Next, as shown in FIG.
A magnetic gap 15 having a thickness of about 0.1 μm and an insulating layer 17 having a thickness of about 3.5 μm are sequentially formed on 4a. The insulating layer 17 is formed to have a thickness including a shaving in a polishing step in a later step. However, similarly to the step shown in FIG. 21A, a polishing stopper layer and an etching A mask, a SiO ₂ layer for shaving, etc. may be formed. Then, after forming a resist mask, the insulating layer 17 is etched in the same manner as in the above-described process. By this etching, as shown in FIG. 22B, the filling trench 2 of the magnetic pole tip half 16a is formed.
9a and the trench 29b for filling the rear auxiliary half 14b are obtained.

Here, the magnetic gap 15 also serves as an etching stopper layer at the time of the etching.
A material that has a low etching rate and functions as a magnetic gap with respect to a fluorine-based reactive gas, such as Al
It is preferably formed of ₂ O ₃ , Si or the like. in this way,
Since the magnetic gap 15 also serves as an etching stopper layer, the size of the gap does not change even if the magnetic pole tip half 16a is slightly etched, so that the yield can be improved.

Next, as shown in FIG. 22C, each of the trenches 29a,
After the magnetic material is deposited in the 29b by collimation sputtering using an orifice-shaped collimator, unnecessary portions are removed by polishing or the like, and the substantially rectangular parallelepiped magnetic pole tip half 16a and the rear auxiliary half 14b are embedded and formed. In this embodiment, the coil lead wire 24 is also buried at the same time.

Then, an insulating layer 18 made of polyimide resin or the like in which a coil 19 made of Cu or the like is embedded is formed on the magnetic pole tip half 16a and the rear auxiliary half 14b.
Further, a magnetic material to be the rear half 16 b of the magnetic pole, and Al ₂
By forming the protective layer 20 made of O ₃ or the like, the electromagnetic conversion portion of the thin-film magnetic head of the present invention is completed. In the above-described steps, the magnetic gap 15 may be formed by collimation sputtering before forming the magnetic material to be the magnetic pole tip half 16a and the rear auxiliary half 14b by collimation sputtering.

According to the structure and the manufacturing method of the thin-film magnetic head of the embodiment described above, the lower magnetic core 14 of the narrow track whose easy axis of the magnetic pole tip is parallel to the track width direction is provided.
And the upper magnetic core 16 can be obtained stably and efficiently, that is, satisfying mass productivity. Here, FIG. 25 shows the result of measuring the MH loop of the magnetic pole tip when the contact angle θ between the magnetic pole tip and the magnetic pole rear was changed for the lower magnetic core 14 and the upper magnetic core 16. The measurement results were obtained when the track width was 2 μm, and the applied magnetic field was applied in the depth direction (the direction of excitation of the tip of the magnetic pole). First, FIG. 25 is a characteristic diagram showing measurement results of the lower magnetic core. When the connection angle θ is 90 to 120 degrees, FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, it can be seen that the axis of easy magnetization at the tip of the magnetic material is oriented in the track width direction. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 25C, when the connection angle θ exceeds 120 degrees, the axis of easy magnetization is oriented perpendicular to the track width direction.

FIG. 26 is a characteristic diagram showing the measurement results of the upper magnetic core.
The MH loop at 90 and 135 degrees was almost the same as that of the lower magnetic core, but when θ was 120 degrees, unlike the lower magnetic core, as shown in FIG. Sex has been obtained. From this, it was confirmed that partially laminating the magnetic pole tip and the magnetic pole rear was effective in making the easy axis of the magnetic pole tip in the track width direction.

The lower magnetic core also has a magnetic core.
In the case of a laminated structure in which a non-magnetic layer made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like is interposed between two magnetic layers made of CoZrNb or the like, an MH loop as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, it was found that the anisotropy of the axis of easy magnetization can be further increased by forming the magnetic core with the laminated magnetic material. That is, by using a laminated magnetic body having a two-layer structure with a non-magnetic layer such as Al ₂ O ₃ interposed in the magnetic core,
Even in the case of a narrow track, the thickness of the magnetic layer can be reduced, and the axis of easy magnetization can be more easily oriented parallel to the track width.

In the above embodiment, the lower magnetic core 14
Since the magnetic pole body 14a and the magnetic pole tip half 16a of the upper magnetic core 16 are formed by embedding the magnetic material by collimation sputtering in trenches 28 and 29a formed in advance in the insulating layers 23 and 17, etc., the width is 1 μm. In the following, the tip of the pole, which has been narrowed to a narrow track, has a tolerance (3σ) of ± 0.
When it is 1 μm or less, it can be obtained with high accuracy and good reproducibility. In particular, the pole tip half 16a of the upper magnetic core 16
As for the magnetic pole tip half 16a,
Since the trench 29a serving as the formation portion of the trench is processed, the positional accuracy can be greatly improved. Since the magnetic pole tip half 16a is formed by embedding a magnetic substance in the trench 29a by collimation sputtering, the magnetic pole tip half 16a having no holes or the like is aligned with high precision. Obtainable.

Further, the magnetic pole main body 14a and the magnetic pole tip half 16a are all formed of an inorganic material having good heat resistance, and are all formed before forming the insulating layer 18 in which the coil 19 is embedded. Therefore, high-temperature heat treatment at about 500 ° C. is possible. Therefore, uniaxial anisotropy with small anisotropic dispersion can be imparted to a magnetic material having a high saturation magnetic flux density.

In the thin-film magnetic head of the above-described embodiment, the upper magnetic core 16 is the same as the pole tip half 16.
a and the magnetic pole rear half 16b may be formed of different magnetic materials. For example, by using a material having a higher saturation magnetic flux density for the pole tip half 16a, recording on a magnetic recording medium having a high coercive force is facilitated,
The thickness of the magnetic layer at the tip can be reduced. Thereby, the amount of side fringing can be reduced. Further, the anisotropic magnetic field Hk of the magnetic pole tip half 16a is set large, and the anisotropic magnetic field Hk of the magnetic pole rear half 16b is set.
Is set to be small, the magnetic resistance of the magnetic circuit of the magnetic head at low frequencies is reduced, and the head efficiency can be increased. Conversely, by setting the Hk of the magnetic pole tip half 16a to be small and setting the Hk of the magnetic pole rear half 16b to be large, the magnetic resistance of the magnetic head at high frequencies is reduced, and the head efficiency at high frequencies can be improved. it can. This is particularly effective when the track becomes narrower and it becomes difficult to direct the magnetic moment at the tip of the magnetic pole in the track width direction, or under a high frequency exceeding 50 MHz.

In the above embodiment, the magnetic material is formed by embedding a magnetic material by sputtering in the trench formed by RIE. However, after forming the magnetic material as usual, the magnetic material is formed by ion milling or RIE. After processing, an insulating layer may be formed and polishing back may be performed. However,
In this case, the track width accuracy is slightly deteriorated.

Embodiment 6 The thin-film magnetic head of Embodiment 6 is different from the thin-film magnetic head having the buried magnetic pole shown in FIG. 1 and the like in that the trench in which the magnetic pole is buried has a tapered side wall of two or more steps. It is characterized by the following. First, FIG. 27A,
Description will be made based on an example of the manufacturing process shown in FIGS.

[0097] First, as shown in FIG. 27A, on the substrate 11, Al ₂ O ₃ or the like of the insulating film 12, Al ₂ O ₃ or the etching stopper layer 13 such as C, SiO ₂ or the like of the insulating layer 23a, Si
O ₂ sputtered film of an insulating layer 23b, Al ₂ O ₃ or the like of the polishing stopper layer 25, the etching mask 26, such as C or Si, further Si O ₂ or the like of the insulating layer 27 is formed. In this case, the insulating layer 27 serves as a shaving margin in a later polishing step.

[0098] Then, as shown in FIG. 27B, after forming a resist mask (not shown), a gas such as CF _4, etching the insulating layer 27, O to gas such as CF ₄ to the next
_An etching mask 26 with a gas containing ₂ or the like, a polishing stopper layer 25 with a gas with a gas such as CF ₄ to which Ar is added, and finally an insulating layer 23 with a gas such as CF _4.
a and 23b are etched by means such as RIE. Thereafter, the resist mask is removed and trench 28 is formed. At this time, since there is an etching mask 26,
The upper portion of the trench side wall can be processed vertically, and by controlling the etching conditions such as the substrate temperature, it is possible to process the tapered shape slightly or reversely. Further, since the etching stopper layer 13 is provided, an appropriate overetch can be applied. Further, the insulating layer 2
Gas type and additive gas are appropriately selected such that the etching rate of 3a is lower than the etching rate of insulating layer 23b,
The taper angle near the bottom of the side wall of the trench 28 can be made smaller than the taper angle of the side wall other than near the bottom, and a trench having a substantially two-stage tapered side wall is formed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 27C, after depositing the laminated magnetic material having a two-layer structure by collimation sputtering or the like, unnecessary portions are removed by polishing, and the magnetic pole main body 14a of the lower magnetic core is embedded and formed. At this time, by leaving the radius at the bottom edge of the trench in the previous step, the magnetic characteristics at the edge of the buried magnetic film could be easily controlled.

FIGS. 28 and 29 schematically show how the magnetic material is buried in the trench 28 in this embodiment. FIG. 28 shows a normal one-stage taper, and FIG.
Indicates the degree of embedding in the case of a two-stage taper.

As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the magnetic material 31 is buried in the trench 28 having the two-step tapered side wall, so that the cavity generated at the time of collimation sputtering can be completely eliminated.

Next, after forming a magnetic gap in the magnetic pole main body 14a, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, except that a trench having a two-step tapered side wall is formed, the magnetic pole tip half of the upper magnetic core and the lower magnetic core are formed. The rear auxiliary half is embedded and formed. That is, two insulating layers, a polishing stopper layer, and an insulating layer for shaving off are formed on the magnetic gap. Subsequently, after forming a resist mask, the insulating layer, the polishing stopper layer, and the insulating layer are etched in this order to form a resist. The mask is removed, and the trench is completed.

Further, after depositing the laminated magnetic material having a two-layer structure in the trench by collimation sputtering or the like, unnecessary portions are removed by polishing, and the pole tip half of the upper magnetic core and the rear auxiliary half of the lower magnetic core are removed. It is buried and formed.

Further, the insulating layer in which the coil is embedded, the rear half of the magnetic pole of the upper magnetic core, and the protective layer are formed to complete the electromagnetic conversion portion of the thin-film magnetic head of the present invention.

Here, according to the above-described structure and manufacturing method, a trench having a taper angle near the bottom of the side wall of the trench smaller than the taper angle of the side wall other than near the bottom and having substantially two-step tapered side walls is formed. The burrs generated when embedding the film by collimation sputtering or the like could be completely eliminated.

As shown in FIG. 29, the dimensions of the two-stage taper are as follows: the trench width is A, the depth is B, the thickness of the lower insulating layer 23a is t1, and the thickness of the upper insulating layer 23b is t.
2. Assuming that the lower taper angle is φ and the upper taper angle is θ, the effect was recognized when 0 ° <φ <88 ° and φ <θ regardless of other dimensions. Also, t1> 0.01x
At t2, two-stage taper or round shape could be easily applied. Further, if B / A = α, t1>
Further effects were observed in the case of α ² × 0.01 × t2.

FIG. 30 is a model diagram showing an application example of the present invention when a magnetic film is embedded in a three-stage tapered trench by collimation sputtering. In this case, since the film has the third-stage taper 0.1, the film thickness is 0.1 W / cm ² during the film formation.
It was possible to increase the taper length L of the C portion of the film with the progress of the film formation only by applying a slight substrate bias.
This makes it possible to maintain the film formation rate on the bottom surface of the trench 28 even when the film formation progresses, thereby further facilitating the prevention of the occurrence of cavities.

Further, since the substrate bias required for preventing the occurrence of nests can be reduced, damage to the film due to ion bombardment can be reduced. In particular, it is effective when embedding an amorphous film which is easy to crystallize, and since burrs can be prevented by applying a low substrate bias, the amorphous state of the embedded magnetic film can be maintained. For example, Co: Z in CoZrNb
When the ratio of r: Nb is 88: 5: 8 at%, the deposition rate is about 2
At 00 A / min., With a substrate bias of about 0.2 W / cm ² , partial crystallization occurred, and the coercive force of the film increased to about 0.5 Oersted. 0.2 W with substrate bias of about W / cm ² or less
An effect equivalent to a substrate bias of / cm ² or more could be obtained, and crystallization of the film could be completely prevented. The effect was recognized when the thickness t3 of the uppermost insulating layer 23c was 0.05 μm or more.

Here, such a three-step tapered trench is subjected to CDE (chemical dry etching) at the beginning of the trench etching, and thereafter RIE is performed in the same manner as described above.
Can be easily formed. In addition, by using Si ₃ N ₄ or the like for the uppermost insulating layer 23c for providing the third-stage taper angle ψ, the taper can be more easily provided.

Embodiment 7 In this embodiment, a magnetic body is embedded in a trench such as SiO ₂ by embedding a magnetic pole tip half of an upper magnetic core by collimation sputtering or the like, and thereafter, is subjected to polishing or etching back. In the head, the taper angle near the upper end of the side wall of the trench is set smaller than the taper angle of the side wall other than near the upper end of the side wall.

That is, in this example, the pole tip portions of the upper magnetic core and the lower magnetic core are both buried in a trench having substantially two-step tapered side walls, and the lower magnetic core has a side wall of the trench. The taper angle near the bottom is smaller than the sidewall taper angle other than near the bottom of the trench sidewall, and the upper magnetic core is set such that the taper angle near the upper end of the sidewall of the trench is smaller than the taper angle of the sidewall other than near the upper end of the trench. It is.

A method for manufacturing the thin-film magnetic head of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 31A, 31B, 31C, 31D and 31E.

First, an insulating layer 12 such as Al ₂ O _{3 and} an insulating layer 23 such as a sputtered SiO ₂ film are formed on a substrate 11. Subsequently, after forming a resist mask (not shown), the insulating layer 23 is etched with a gas such as CF ₄ , and further, the substrate temperature is lowered to about 273 K and the taper angle near the bottom of the side wall of the trench is reduced to the vicinity of the bottom. Other than the side wall taper angle.

Next, after depositing the magnetic material in the trench by collimation sputtering, unnecessary portions are removed by polishing, and the magnetic pole body 14a of the lower magnetic core 14 is buried as shown in FIG. 31A. At this time, as in Example 6, no burrs or the like were generated during collimation sputtering, and the filling of the magnetic substance in the trench having the two-step tapered side walls was good as shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 31B, a magnetic gap 15 and an insulating layer 17 are formed. After forming a resist mask (not shown), the insulating layer 17 is etched to form a trench. In this case, the beginning of the etching
Isotropic etching is performed using a gas such as CF ₄ and then vertical etching is performed by RIE. Further, after depositing the magnetic material in the trench by collimation sputtering, unnecessary portions are removed by polishing, and the pole tip half 16a of the upper magnetic core 16 and the rear auxiliary half 14b of the lower magnetic core 14 are buried.

As shown in FIGS. 31C, 31D and 31E, an insulating layer 18 in which a coil 19 is embedded, a rear half 16b of a magnetic pole of an upper magnetic core, and a protective layer 20 are formed. Is completed.

Here, as shown in FIG. 32A, the dimensions of the two-stage taper are as follows: the trench width is A, the depth is B, the thickness of the lower insulating layer 23a is t1, and the thickness of the upper insulating layer 23b is At t2, when the taper angle at the upper stage is φ, the effect of eliminating nests was great when t1 / A was less than 2, regardless of other dimensions. The effect was also obtained at 0 ° <φ <45 °.

FIG. 32B shows a two-stage tapered trench showing another application example of the present invention. The overhang from the portion C in the drawing is suppressed, and the embedding condition is further improved. FIG. 33 shows the dependence of the relative magnetic permeability on the trench width for a stripe-shaped magnetic film having a thickness B = 2 μm and a length of 8.5 mm embedded in the two-stage tapered trench shown in FIG. 32A. As shown in the figure, the relative magnetic permeability increases as φ decreases, and the relative permeability decreases when the width A is reduced and the track is narrowed as φ increases.

FIG. 34 shows the write efficiency of such a thin film magnetic head when φ is changed. As shown, the writing efficiency increased as φ became smaller. At this time, the depth of the magnetic pole tip half of the upper magnetic core was 3 μm, and the track width was 2 μm.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the thin-film magnetic head of the present invention is used alone has been described. For example, a thin-film magnetic head of the present invention is used as a recording-only head, and a reproducing head such as an MR element is separately formed ( For example, a laminated structure may be employed.

[0121]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to obtain a thin-film magnetic head capable of stably directing the axis of easy magnetization at the tip of the magnetic pole in the track width direction and capable of narrow track processing satisfying both dimensional tolerance and mass productivity. Therefore, it is possible to provide a high-performance narrow track thin film magnetic head capable of handling up to, for example, 10 Gb / inch ² with good reproducibility and efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a thin-film magnetic head according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the thin-film magnetic head according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C are longitudinal sectional views showing a part of a manufacturing process of the thin-film magnetic head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are longitudinal cross-sectional views showing steps subsequent to the steps of manufacturing the thin-film magnetic head shown in FIGS.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of another thin-film magnetic head described in comparison with the thin-film magnetic head of Example 1 shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6A is a longitudinal sectional view of another thin-film magnetic head described in comparison with the thin-film magnetic head of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2; B is a diagram for explaining the flow of the magnetic flux.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of a thin-film magnetic head according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of a thin-film magnetic head according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C are longitudinal sectional views illustrating a main part manufacturing process of a thin-film magnetic head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a configuration of a thin-film magnetic head according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a partially sectional perspective view showing the configuration of a conventional thin film magnetic head.

12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the conventional thin film magnetic head shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another configuration of a conventional thin film magnetic head.

FIG. 14 is a partially sectional perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a thin-film magnetic head according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining an easy axis of magnetization of a pole tip half in the thin-film magnetic head according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a view for explaining an axis of easy magnetization at the tip of a magnetic pole in a conventional thin-film magnetic head.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the direction of magnetization of the rear half of the magnetic pole.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining the direction of magnetization of the magnetic pole tip half.

FIG. 19 is a view for explaining an axis of easy magnetization at the tip of the magnetic pole of the magnetic core in the thin-film magnetic head of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a view showing another example of the shape of the magnetic core in the thin-film magnetic head according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 14;

FIGS. 21A, 21B and 21C are cross-sectional views illustrating a main part manufacturing process of a thin-film magnetic head according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIGS. 22A, 22B, 22C and 22D are cross-sectional views illustrating main steps of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention after FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating collimation sputtering used in the thin-film magnetic head manufacturing process of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating general collimation sputtering.

FIGS. 25A, 25B and 25C are characteristic diagrams showing the measurement results of the MH loop at the tip of the magnetic pole of the lower magnetic core in the thin-film magnetic head according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a characteristic diagram showing a measurement result of an MH loop at a tip of a magnetic pole of an upper magnetic core in a thin-film magnetic head according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIGS. 27A, 27B and 27C are vertical cross-sectional views illustrating a main part manufacturing process of a thin-film magnetic head according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory view schematically showing how a magnetic substance is buried in a trench having a normal one-step tapered side wall.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory view schematically showing how a magnetic substance is buried in a trench having a two-step tapered side wall according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing how a magnetic material is buried in a trench having a three-stage tapered side wall according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 shows A, B, C, D, and E of Example 7 of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining a main part manufacturing process of the thin-film magnetic head according to the first embodiment.

FIGS. 32A and 32B are explanatory views schematically showing how a magnetic material is buried in a trench having a two-step tapered side wall according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a graph showing the taper angle dependence of the relative magnetic permeability in a striped magnetic film according to Example 7 of the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a graph showing taper angle dependence of head efficiency according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Substrate 12, 17, 18, 23 ... Insulating layer 14 ... Lower magnetic core 15 ... Magnetic gap 16 ... Upper magnetic core 19 ... Coil

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Atsuhito Sawabe 1 Toshiba, Komukai Toshiba-cho, Saisaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Toshiba Research and Development Center Co., Ltd. JP-A-63-34711 (JP, A) JP-A-1-184611 (JP, A) JP-A-4-195809 (JP, A) JP-A-4-163708 (JP, A) JP-A-64-42011 (JP) JP, A) JP-A-3-49008 (JP, A) JP-A-7-65320 (JP, A) JP-A-7-225917 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , (DB name) G11B 5/31

Claims (13)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pair of <br/> magnetic core formed via a magnetic gap, provided between the pair of magnetic core, the one
In the thin film magnetic head is a pair of magnetic cores and a coil which is insulated, an insulating layer is provided on one of the front Ki磁 air core, the insulating layer
And a magnetic material embedded in the insulating layer.
A surface that forms a plane continuous with the surface and intersects this surface
A pole tip half having a medium facing surface, and the magnetic pole on the surface of the pole tip half and the surface of the insulating layer.
A tip half and a magnetic pole rear half laminated on an insulating layer;
The the other of said magnetic core comprising, the pole tip portion in the track width direction of the width of the lamination surface between the halves of the pole rear halves widely than the track width direction of the width of the pole tip halves, wherein the medium from the rear end portion opposite to the magnetic pole rear halves and the medium facing surface of the front Symbol pole tip halves
A thin-film magnetic head having a curved or bent shape in a direction away from the magnetic gap on a side remote from the opposing surface . 2. A bearing surface side end portion of the front Symbol pole rear halves, the medium from the medium-facing surface side end portion of the pole tip halves
Claim: It is located on the side far from the body facing surface.
2. The thin-film magnetic head according to 1 . 3. The rear half of the magnetic pole is connected to the front half of the magnetic pole with a connection angle within a range of 90 to 120 degrees with respect to the half of the front end of the magnetic pole. 3. The thin-film magnetic head according to claim 2, wherein the tip half has a projected image projected on the substrate. 4. The thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic pole tip half has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Wherein said magnetic pole tip halves claim 1 or claim 2 thin film magnetic head according to characterized in that it consists of magnetic material embedded in the trench of the insulating layer. 6. The thin-film magnetic head according to claim 5, wherein a chamfer is provided at an outer peripheral portion of a bottom surface of the magnetic material embedded in the trench or an outer peripheral portion of an upper end of a side wall of the trench. 7. The thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic pole tip half has a laminated structure in which a nonmagnetic layer is interposed between a plurality of magnetic layers. 8. The magnetic pole tip half body is formed on the same plane as the magnetic pole rear auxiliary half of the other magnetic core having a magnetic pole main body and a magnetic pole rear auxiliary half. 3. The thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1 or 2. 9. The thin-film magnetic head according to claim 5, wherein the trench has a shape in which the taper angle at the bottom of the sidewall is larger than the taper angle at the upper end of the sidewall. 10. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the insulating layer comprises
Claim 1 in which the bottom Bute supermarkets angle of the side wall in contact is characterized and Turkey which have a larger shape than the upper Bute over path <br/> over angle of the side wall
A thin-film magnetic head according to claim 2. 11. The thin-film magnetic field according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic pole tip half has a larger lamination surface with the magnetic pole rear half than a surface facing the magnetic gap. head. 12. A magnetic recording medium and a magnetic recording system wherein the recording magnetic information on a magnetic recording medium, comprising a thin film magnetic head according to any one of claims 1 to 11 . 13. A magnetic recording medium, for recording magnetic information on the magnetic recording medium, a hard disk drive, characterized by comprising a thin film magnetic head according to any one of claims 1 to 11.