JP3371089B2 - Thin film magnetic head - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic head including an inductive thin film magnetic head for writing, and in particular, an inductive thin film magnetic head for writing and a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head for reading. The present invention relates to a composite type thin film magnetic head supported by a substrate in a laminated state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as the areal recording density of hard disk devices has improved, there has been a demand for improved performance of composite thin film magnetic heads. As a composite type thin film magnetic head, an inductive type thin film magnetic head for writing,
A thin film magnetic head of a magnetoresistive effect intended for reading is proposed, which has a structure in which it is laminated on a base body.
It has been put to practical use. As a magnetoresistive element for reading, a normal anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR: Anisotropic Magneto
The one using the Resistive (Resistive) effect has been generally used in the past, but one using the Giant Magneto Resistive (GMR) effect in which the rate of change in resistance is several times larger than that has also been developed. In the present specification, these AMR element and GMR element are collectively referred to as a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head or simply an MR reproducing element.

By using the AMR element, an areal recording density of several gigabits / inch ² can be realized, and by using the GMR element, the areal recording density can be further increased. By increasing the areal recording density in this manner, it is possible to realize a large-capacity hard disk device of 10 Gbytes or more. One of the factors that determines the performance of a reproducing head composed of such a magnetoresistive reproducing element is the height of the magnetoresistive reproducing element (MR
Height: MR height). The MR height is the distance measured from the air bearing surface of the magnetoresistive reproducing element whose end surface is exposed to the air bearing surface. The desired MR height is obtained by controlling the amount.

On the other hand, as the performance of the reproducing head is improved, the performance of the recording head is also required to be improved. To increase the areal recording density, it is necessary to increase the track density in the magnetic recording medium. To this end, it is necessary to narrow the width of the write gap on the air bearing surface from several microns to the submicron order, and semiconductor processing technology is used to achieve this.

Throat height is one of the factors that determine the performance of a write thin film magnetic head.
: TH) This throat height TH is the distance of the magnetic pole portion from the air bearing surface to the edge on the air bearing surface side of the insulating layer that electrically separates the thin film coil. In order to improve the magnetic characteristics of the thin film magnetic head, this distance is used. Is desired to be as short as possible. The reduction of the throat height TH is also determined by the polishing amount from the air bearing surface. Therefore, in order to improve the performance of the composite type thin film magnetic head in which the inductive thin film magnetic head for writing and the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head for reading are stacked, the inductive thin film magnetic head for writing and It is important to form a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head for reading in a well-balanced manner.

1 to 9 show the manufacturing procedure of a conventional standard thin film magnetic head in the order of steps, wherein A is a sectional view of the entire thin film magnetic head and B is a sectional view of a magnetic pole portion.
10 to 12 are a sectional view of the entire conventional thin film magnetic head, a sectional view of a magnetic pole portion, and a plan view of the entire thin film magnetic head, respectively. In this example, the thin film magnetic head is an inductive type thin film magnetic head for writing and a thin film magnetic head for reading.
It is a composite type in which MR playback elements are stacked.

First of all, as shown in FIG. 1, for example, alumina (Al ₂
An insulating layer 2 of O ₃ ) is deposited to a thickness of about 5-10 μm. Next, as shown in FIG. 2, a first magnetic layer 3 constituting one magnetic shield for protecting the MR reproducing element of the reproducing head from the influence of an external magnetic field is formed with a thickness of 3 μm. After that, as shown in FIG. 3, alumina is sputter deposited to a thickness of 100 to 150 nm as the insulating layer 4,
The magnetoresistive layer 5 made of a material having a magnetoresistive effect that constitutes the MR reproducing element is formed to have a thickness of several tens nm, and is formed into a desired shape by highly accurate mask alignment. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4, the insulating layer 6 is formed again, and the magnetoresistive layer 5 is embedded in the insulating layers 4 and 6.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, a second magnetic layer 7 made of permalloy is formed to a film thickness of 3 μm. This second magnetic layer 7 not only has a function as the other shield that magnetically shields the MR reproducing element together with the above-mentioned first magnetic layer 3, but also functions as one pole of the write thin film magnetic head. Also has.

Then, a write gap layer 8 made of a non-magnetic material such as alumina is formed on the second magnetic layer 7 in an amount of about 20.
After forming to a film thickness of 0 nm, for example, permalloy (Ni: 50wt
%, Fe: 50 wt%) or iron nitride (FeN), a magnetic layer made of a high saturation magnetic flux density material is formed, and the pole tip 9 is formed into a desired shape by highly accurate mask alignment.
The width W of the pole tip 9 defines the track width.
Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the width W of the pole tip 9 in order to achieve a high areal recording density. At this time, when the dummy pattern 9'for connecting the second magnetic layer 7 and the third magnetic layer forming the other pole is simultaneously formed, mechanical polishing or chemical mechanical polishing (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) is performed.
Through holes can be easily opened after Mechanical Polishing (CMP).

In order to prevent the effective write track width from spreading, that is, to prevent the magnetic flux from spreading in one pole at the time of writing data, the gap layer 8 around the pole chip 9 and the other The second magnetic layer 7 forming the poles is etched by ion beam etching such as ion milling. The state is shown in Fig. 5. This structure is called Trim, and this part is the second
Of the magnetic layer.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, after forming, for example, an alumina film 10 which is an insulating layer to a thickness of about 3 μm, the whole is flattened by, for example, CMP. After that, an electrically insulating photoresist layer 11 is formed into a predetermined pattern by highly accurate mask alignment, and then the first thin film coil 1 made of copper, for example, is formed on the photoresist layer 11.
Form 2.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7, the thin film coil 1
After the insulating photoresist layer 13 is formed on the surface 2 again by high-precision mask alignment, it is baked at a temperature of, for example, 250 to 300 ° C. to make the surface flat.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a second layer thin film coil 14 is formed on the flattened surface of the photoresist layer 13. Then, a photoresist layer 15 is formed on the second-layer thin-film coil 14 by high-precision mask alignment, and then baked at 250 ° C., for example, to flatten the surface again. As described above, the reason why the photoresist layers 11, 13 and 15 are formed by highly accurate mask alignment is that the throat height and the MR height are defined with the magnetic pole portion side edge of the photoresist layer as the reference position. Is.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the pole tip 9
And on the photoresist layers 11, 13 and 15,
The third magnetic layer 16 constituting the other pole is selectively formed by permalloy, for example, in a thickness of 3 μm in accordance with a desired pattern. The third magnetic layer 16 comes into contact with the second magnetic layer 7 through the dummy pattern 9 ′ at a rear position away from the magnetic pole portion, and the third magnetic layer 16 is formed by the second magnetic layer, the pole tip, and the third magnetic layer. The structure is such that the thin film coils 12 and 14 pass through the formed closed magnetic circuit. Further, an overcoat layer 17 made of alumina is deposited on the exposed surface of the third magnetic layer 16.

Finally, the side surface on which the magnetoresistive layer 5 and the gap layer 8 are formed is polished to form an air bearing surface (ABS) 18 facing the magnetic recording medium. In the process of forming the air bearing surface 18, the magnetoresistive layer 5 is also polished and the MR reproducing element 19 is obtained. In this way, the throat height TH and MR height described above are determined. This is shown in FIG. In an actual thin film magnetic head, pads for making electrical connection to the thin film coils 12 and 14 and the MR reproducing element 19 are formed, but they are omitted in the drawing. Note that FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the magnetic pole portion of the composite type thin film magnetic head thus formed, taken along a plane parallel to the air bearing surface 18.

As shown in FIG. 10, the thin film coil 12,
Photoresist layers 11, 13, 15 for insulating and separating 14
The angle θ (Apex Angle) formed by the line segment S connecting the corners of the side surface and the upper surface of the third magnetic layer 16 is also
Together with the throat height TH and MR height described above, they are important factors that determine the performance of the thin film magnetic head.

Further, as shown by a plane in FIG. 12, the width W of the pole tip 9 is narrowed, and this width defines the width of the track recorded on the magnetic recording medium.
In order to achieve a high areal recording density, it is necessary to make this width W as narrow as possible. Furthermore, this pole tip 9
Although the width of the magnetic pole portion of the third magnetic layer 16 connected to the pole tip 9 is also narrow, it is somewhat wider than the width of the pole tip 9. In this figure, in order to simplify the drawing,
The thin film coils 12 and 14 are shown as concentric circles.

Now, in the conventional thin film magnetic head formation, what has been a particular problem is that after the thin film coil is formed,
This is a difficulty in finely forming a top pole formed along a coil convex portion covered with a photoresist insulating layer, particularly an inclined portion (Apex) thereof. That is, conventionally, when forming the third magnetic layer, a magnetic material such as permalloy is plated on the coil protrusion having a height of about 7 to 10 μm, and then a photoresist is applied to a thickness of 3 to 4 μm. After that, a predetermined pattern was formed by using the photolithography technique.

Assuming that the resist film thickness to be patterned with the resist on the convex portion of the mountain-shaped coil needs to be at least 3 μm, a photoresist having a thickness of about 8 to 10 μm is applied below the inclined portion. Will be. On the other hand, the top pole formed on the write gap layer formed on the surface of the coil convex portion and the flat surface having the height difference of about 10 μm is a photoresist insulating layer (for example, 11 and 13 in FIG. 7). Since it is necessary to form a narrow track of the recording head near the edge of, the top pole needs to be patterned to have a width of about 1 μm. Therefore, it is necessary to form a pattern having a width of 1 μm using a photoresist film having a thickness of 8 to 10 μm.

However, even if an attempt is made to form a pattern having a narrow width of about 1 μm with a photoresist film having a thickness of 8 to 10 μm, pattern collapse or the like due to reflected light of light occurs during exposure of photolithography, Since the resolution is lowered due to the thick resist film, it is extremely difficult to accurately pattern the narrow top pole for forming the narrow track. In order to improve such a problem, the top pole is divided into a pole tip 9 and a yoke portion (third magnetic layer 16) connected to the pole tip 9, as shown in FIGS. It has been proposed to reduce the width W of the chip 9 to reduce the width of the recording track.

[0021]

However, the thin film magnetic head formed as described above, particularly the recording head, still has the following problems. As described above, if there is an error in the alignment of the photolithography when forming the third magnetic layer 16 on the pole tip 9 having the narrow width W, as seen from the air bearing surface 18, the pole tip and the third tip are formed. Magnetic pole portion 2 of magnetic layer 16
There is a possibility that the center of 0 will shift. If the centers of the pole tip 9 and the magnetic pole portion 20 of the third magnetic layer 16 are deviated from each other in this way, the leakage of magnetic flux from the magnetic pole portion of the third magnetic layer becomes large, and data is written by this leakage magnetic flux. Therefore, there is a problem that the effective track width becomes wider.

Further, although the surface of the pole tip 9 and the surface of the third magnetic layer are connected, it is necessary to reduce the width W of the pole tip as described above and to improve the magnetic characteristics. To do this, the length of the pole tip is 1μ
Since it is necessary to make the length as short as m 2, the surface area of these connecting portions is small, and therefore saturation of the magnetic flux occurs in this portion, and there is also a problem that the write characteristics, particularly the magnetic flux rising characteristics, deteriorate.

In the conventional thin film magnetic head, the end surface of the pole tip 9 opposite to the air bearing surface 18 is set as the reference position for zero throat height, but the width W of the pole tip is narrow as described above. The edge of the tip pattern is likely to be rounded, and the position of the end surface of the pole tip may change. Although it is necessary to accurately set the throat height TH and the MR height with reference to the position of zero throat height, the conventional composite type thin film magnetic head cannot accurately set the reference position of zero throat height, so the desired design It was not possible to manufacture a thin film magnetic head having a throat height TH and an MR height as expected with a good yield.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a thin film magnetic head having good characteristics by increasing the contact area between the pole tip and the third magnetic layer to reduce the leakage of magnetic flux at this portion. To do.

[0025]

A thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention comprises a first magnetic layer having a magnetic pole portion and an air bearing surface facing the magnetic recording medium together with an end surface of the magnetic pole portion of the first magnetic layer. A second magnetic layer having a constituent magnetic pole portion and a connecting portion extending inward from the magnetic pole portion, and the second magnetic layer are in contact with the second magnetic layer on the side opposite to the first magnetic layer, and the air bearing is provided. First in the rear position away from the plane
A third magnetic layer magnetically coupled to the magnetic layer, a write gap layer interposed at least between the magnetic pole portion of the first magnetic layer and the magnetic pole portion of the second magnetic layer, and First
Thin-film coil having a portion supported between the magnetic layer and the second and third magnetic layers in an insulated state, and the first, second and third magnetic layers, the write gap layer and the thin film. A thin film magnetic head comprising a substrate supporting a coil, wherein the third magnetic layer is connected to a surface, a side surface and an end surface of the connecting portion of the second magnetic layer. is there.

The thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention further comprises a first magnetic layer having a magnetic pole portion, a magnetic pole portion forming an air bearing surface facing the magnetic recording medium together with an end surface of the magnetic pole portion of the first magnetic layer, and A second magnetic layer having a connecting portion extending inward from the magnetic pole portion;
A third magnetic layer that is in contact with the first magnetic layer on the side opposite to the first magnetic layer and is magnetically connected to the first magnetic layer at a rear position away from the air bearing surface, and at least the third magnetic layer. A write gap layer interposed between the magnetic pole portion of the first magnetic layer and the magnetic pole portion of the second magnetic layer, and an insulating separation between the first magnetic layer and the second and third magnetic layers. A thin film coil having a portion supported in a closed state;
A thin film magnetic head comprising a second and a third magnetic layer, a write gap layer and a substrate supporting a thin film coil, wherein the width of the connecting portion of the second magnetic layer becomes wider toward the rear. Thus, the third magnetic layer is connected to at least the surface and the side surface of the connecting portion of the second magnetic layer.

According to such a thin film magnetic head of the present invention, not only the surface of the connecting portion of the second magnetic layer constituting the pole tip but also its side surface is connected to the third magnetic layer. The contact area can be made large, and thus the leakage of magnetic flux at this portion can be suppressed. Furthermore, the contact area can be further increased by contacting the end face of the connecting portion of the second magnetic layer. Further, the contact area on the surface can be further widened by forming the width of the connecting portion of the second magnetic layer into a triangular shape that gradually widens toward the rear, and at the same time, the second magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer Alignment error with the magnetic layer 3 can be allowed to some extent.

In the thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, an insulating layer made of an inorganic insulating material such as alumina, silicon oxide or silicon nitride is provided between the first magnetic layer and the thin film coil. The throat height zero reference position should be defined at the edge on the air bearing surface side. By providing such an inorganic insulating layer, the reference position of throat height zero during the process does not change,
Therefore, it is possible to obtain a thin film magnetic head having a throat height as desired.

[0029]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of a thin film magnetic head and a method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In these drawings, where A and B are present, a sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the air bearing surface is shown by A, and a front view is shown by B. In this example, a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head for reading is formed on a substrate, and an inductive thin film magnetic head for writing is laminated on the thin film magnetic head.

FIG. 13 shows a state in which an insulating layer 22 made of alumina is formed in a thickness of about 3 to 5 μm on one surface of a base body 21 made of AlTiC (AlTiC). The base body 21 and the insulating layer 22 are referred to as a base or a wafer 23 in this specification. In addition, in the present specification, the insulating layer means a film having at least an electrical insulating property, and may or may not have a non-magnetic property. However, since a material such as alumina, which has both electric insulating properties and non-magnetic properties, is generally used, the insulating layer and the non-magnetic layer may be used interchangeably.

In actual manufacturing, a large number of composite type thin film magnetic heads are formed on a wafer by arranging them in a matrix, the wafer is cut into a plurality of bars, and the end faces of the bars are ground to polish the air bearings. Since the surface is formed and finally the bar is cut to obtain individual composite type thin film magnetic heads, the end surface does not appear at this stage, but this end surface is shown for convenience of explanation.

Next, the bottom shield layer 2 for the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head is formed on the insulating layer 22 of the substrate 23.
FIG. 14 shows how 4 was formed by permalloy to a film thickness of about 3 μm. The bottom shield layer 24 is formed according to a predetermined pattern by a plating method using a photoresist as a mask.

Next, as shown in FIG. 15, a shield gap layer 2 made of alumina is formed on the bottom shield layer 24.
The GMR layer 26 embedded in the No. 5 is formed. The film thickness of the shield gap layer 25 can be set to 0.2 μm. Further, on the shield gap layer 25 in which the GMR layer 26 is embedded, the first magnetic layer 27 which constitutes the top shield for the GMR layer and the bottom pole of the inductive thin film magnetic head is 3-4 .mu.m by permalloy.
To a film thickness of. Further, in order to insulate the first magnetic layer 27 from a thin film coil to be formed later and to prevent leakage of magnetic flux, an insulating layer 28 made of alumina having a thickness of 0.5 to 2 μm is formed on the first magnetic layer. To form on. Although silicon oxide is used as the material of the insulating layer 28 in this example, an inorganic insulating material such as alumina or silicon nitride can also be used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 16, the inorganic insulating layer 2
After forming a first-layer thin-film coil 30 which is supported in a state of being insulated and separated by an insulating layer 29 made of a photoresist, a write gap layer 31 made of alumina is exposed. Is formed on the surface of the magnetic layer 27 and the surfaces of the insulating layers 28 and 29 according to a predetermined pattern with a film thickness of 0.1 to 0.3 μm.

Next, a magnetic material having a high saturation magnetic flux density is deposited to a film thickness of 3 to 4 μm to form the second magnetic layer 32 forming a pole tip which defines the width of the recording track. As the magnetic material having this high saturation magnetic flux density, NiFe (50%, 50%), FeN or Fe-Co-Zr amorphous can be used. In addition, the second which constitutes the pole tip
The magnetic layer 32 can be formed into a predetermined pattern by a plating method, or can be formed into a predetermined pattern by dry etching after sputtering.

At the same time as forming the second magnetic layer 32, the connecting magnetic layer 33 connected to the first magnetic layer 27 through the opening 31a formed in the write gap layer 31 is formed.

As shown in the plan view of FIG. 18, the second magnetic layer 32 forming the pole tip has a magnetic pole portion 32a.
A connecting portion 32b that extends to above the insulating layer 29 that supports the first-layer thin-film coil 30 is provided, and the width of this connecting portion is gradually widened toward the rear. The shape is, for example, the triangular shape or the five shape shown in FIG.
It can have a rectangular shape. Since the width W of the magnetic pole portion 32a of the second magnetic layer 32 determines the width of the recording track, the width is narrowed to 0.5 to 1.2 μm. Note that in FIG. 18, a third magnetic layer to be formed later is shown by an imaginary line for the sake of clarity.

Next, using the magnetic pole portion 32a constituting the pole tip of the second magnetic layer 32 as a mask, a Freon-based gas such as CF ₄ or SF ₆ or a chlorine-based gas such as Cl ₂ or BCl ₂ is used. After performing the active ion etching to selectively remove the write gap layer 31 around the magnetic pole portion 32a to expose the lower first magnetic layer 27, the second magnetic layer 27 is exposed.
Of the magnetic layer 32 and the inorganic insulating layer 28 are used as a mask to perform ion beam etching using argon gas so that the surface of the first magnetic layer 27 is about 0.5 μm.
To remove the depth to form the trim structure.

In this example, since the insulating layer 28 is formed of an inorganic insulating material, the position of the edge of the insulating layer is receded or peeled off by the reactive ion etching for obtaining the trim structure and the subsequent ion beam etching process. There is nothing to do. Therefore, manufacturing yield and durability can be improved.

Next, on the insulating layer 29 that supports the first-layer thin-film coil 30 in an isolated state, the second-layer thin-film coil 35 supported in a separated state by the photoresist 34. FIG. 19 shows a state in which the ridges are formed. In this example, between the end surface of the coupling portion 32b of the second magnetic layer 32 and the side surface of the insulating layer 34 on the air bearing surface side, 2 to 3 μm is provided.
Allow m voids to form.

Then, as shown in FIG. 20, the tip on the air bearing surface side is connected to the connecting portion 32b of the second magnetic layer 32, and the end on the side opposite to the air bearing surface is connected to the connecting magnetic layer 33. Then, a third magnetic layer 36 connected to the first magnetic layer 27 is formed to a thickness of 3 to 4 μm according to a predetermined pattern. In the present invention, the third magnetic layer 36 is formed so as to contact not only the surface of the coupling portion 32a of the second magnetic layer 32 but also the end face thereof, which is shown in FIG. In this way, the second magnetic layer 32
The contact area between the third magnetic layer 36 and the third magnetic layer 36 can be increased, and thus the leakage of magnetic flux at the contact portion can be suppressed. Such an effect is extremely effective especially when the width of the second magnetic layer 32 forming the pole tip is reduced to, for example, 1 μm or less.

FIG. 22 shows a state in which an overcoat layer 37 made of alumina is formed on the entire surface to a thickness of 20 to 30 μm. As described above, when the thin film magnetic head is actually mass-produced, after cutting the wafer into bars, the side surfaces of the bars are polished to form the air bearing surface. In this example, the air bearing of the inorganic insulating layer 28 is used. The position of the edge on the surface side is used as a reference for the position of zero throat height, and since this position does not change during the process, it is possible to easily obtain the throat height according to the desired design value.

FIG. 23 is a sectional view showing the structure of the second embodiment of the thin film magnetic head according to the present invention. In this example, the same parts as those in the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the first embodiment, the thin film coil has a two-layer structure, but in this embodiment, it has a one-layer structure.
An insulating layer having a large film thickness is provided thereon. That is, after forming a single-layer thin-film coil 30 supported in a state of being insulated and separated by an insulating layer 29, forming a write gap layer 31 thereon, and further forming a second magnetic layer 32 thereon. , An insulating layer 41 having a thickness of 2 to 3 μm is formed. In this example, the side surface of the insulating layer 41 on the air bearing surface side is formed so as to be in contact with the end surface of the connecting portion 32b of the second magnetic layer 32. Therefore, the surface and side surface of the connecting portion 32b of the second magnetic layer are formed. And the third magnetic layer 36 are connected.

FIG. 24 shows another example of the pattern of the inorganic insulating layer 28 of the thin film magnetic head according to the present invention.
For clarity of the drawing, the write gap layer and the thin film coil are omitted, and the third magnetic layer 36 is shown by an imaginary line. In this example, a cut 28a is provided on the side edge of the inorganic insulating layer 28 on the air bearing surface side, and the inner edge of this cut is set as a reference position for zero throat height, and the depth of the cut is made longer than the desired throat height. . The magnetic pole portion 32a of the second magnetic layer 32 is located in the cut 28a, and the connecting portion 3
2b is located above the inorganic insulating layer 28.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but various modifications and variations are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the read magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head is provided on the substrate, and the write inductive thin film magnetic head is stacked on the read magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head.
The stacking order of these thin film magnetic heads can be reversed. In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the magnetoresistive element is a GM.
Although it is an R element, it may be an AMR element. Further, in the present invention, the thin film magnetic head for reading is thus of the magnetoresistive type, but other thin film magnetic heads for reading can be used. Further, it is not always necessary to provide the thin film magnetic head for reading, and only the inductive type thin film magnetic head can be provided.

[0046]

According to the above-described thin film magnetic head of the present invention, the second magnetic layer forming the pole tip is formed of a material having a high saturation magnetic flux density, and the third magnetic layer magnetically coupled to the second magnetic layer is formed. The tip surface of the layer is retracted from the air bearing surface, and not only the surface of the connecting portion of the second magnetic layer,
Since the side surface is also brought into contact with the third magnetic layer, even when the size of the second magnetic layer is reduced, leakage of magnetic flux from the tip end surface of the third magnetic layer is suppressed and the second magnetic layer is prevented from leaking. Leakage of magnetic flux at the contact portion between the magnetic layer and the third magnetic layer can be suppressed, and data can be efficiently recorded on a recording track having an extremely narrow width. in this case,
The contact area between the second magnetic layer and the third magnetic layer is further increased by forming the connecting portion of the second magnetic layer into a triangular shape whose width increases as the distance from the air bearing surface increases. And the second magnetic layer and the third
Even if there is an alignment error with the magnetic layer, the generation of leakage magnetic flux can be suppressed.

Further, since the inorganic insulating layer whose edge on the air bearing surface side defines the reference position of the throat height of zero is provided, during the etching process for forming the trim structure on the first magnetic layer, the inorganic insulating layer is formed. Since there is no receding of the edge, the insulating layer portion below the second magnetic layer forming the top pole is not damaged and peeled off, or the position is displaced, so that the characteristics of the thin film magnetic head are deteriorated. Can be suppressed. In addition, since there is no peeling of the insulating layer,
No oil or polishing liquid accumulates there, which improves yield and durability.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are cross-sectional views showing a first step of a method of manufacturing a conventional composite type thin film magnetic head.

2A and 2B are cross-sectional views showing the next step.

3A and 3B are cross-sectional views showing the next step.

4A and 4B are cross-sectional views showing the next step.

5A and 5B are cross-sectional views showing the next step.

6A and 6B are cross-sectional views showing the next step.

7A and 7B are cross-sectional views showing the next step.

8A and 8B are cross-sectional views showing the next step.

9A and 9B are cross-sectional views showing the next step.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a finally obtained composite type thin film magnetic head.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the magnetic pole portion.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a state in which a third magnetic layer is formed.

13A and 13B are a sectional view and a front view showing the first step in the first embodiment of the method of manufacturing a composite type thin film magnetic head according to the present invention.

14A and 14B are a sectional view and a front view showing the next step.

15A and 15B are a sectional view and a front view showing the next step.

16A and 16B are a cross-sectional view and a front view showing the next step.

17A and 17B are a sectional view and a front view showing the next step.

FIG. 18 is a plan view at that time.

19A and 19B are a cross-sectional view and a front view showing the next step.

20A and 20B are a cross-sectional view and a front view showing the next step.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view at that time.

22A and 22B are a sectional view and a front view showing the next step.

FIG. 23 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a plan view showing the configuration of another example of the inorganic insulating layer in the thin film magnetic head according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 base body, 22 insulating layer, 23 base, 2
4 lower shield layer, 25 shield gap layer, 2
6 GMR layer, 27 1st magnetic layer, 28 inorganic insulating layer, 28a notch, 29 insulating layer, 30 thin film coil, 31 write gap layer, 32 2nd magnetic layer, 32a magnetic pole part, 32b connecting part, 3
4 Insulating Layer, 35 Thin Film Coil, 36 Third Magnetic Layer, 37 Overcoat Layer, 41 Inorganic Insulating Layer

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first magnetic layer having a magnetic pole portion, a magnetic pole portion forming an air bearing surface facing the magnetic recording medium together with an end surface of the magnetic pole portion of the first magnetic layer, and inward from the magnetic pole portion. Second having a connecting portion extending
And a third magnetic layer that is in contact with the second magnetic layer on the opposite side of the first magnetic layer and is magnetically coupled to the first magnetic layer at a rear position away from the air bearing surface. Magnetic layer, a write gap layer interposed at least between the magnetic pole portion of the first magnetic layer and the magnetic pole portion of the second magnetic layer, the first magnetic layer and the second and third magnetic layers. A thin film coil having a portion supported in a state of being insulated and separated from a magnetic layer; and a substrate supporting the first, second and third magnetic layers, the write gap layer and the thin film coil. A thin film magnetic head, wherein the third magnetic layer is connected to a surface, a side surface and an end surface of the connecting portion of the second magnetic layer. 2. A first magnetic layer having a magnetic pole portion, a magnetic pole portion constituting an air bearing surface facing the magnetic recording medium together with an end surface of the magnetic pole portion of the first magnetic layer, and inward from the magnetic pole portion. Second having a connecting portion extending
And a third magnetic layer that is in contact with the second magnetic layer on the opposite side of the first magnetic layer and is magnetically coupled to the first magnetic layer at a rear position away from the air bearing surface. Magnetic layer, a write gap layer interposed at least between the magnetic pole portion of the first magnetic layer and the magnetic pole portion of the second magnetic layer, the first magnetic layer and the second and third magnetic layers. A thin film coil having a portion supported in a state of being insulated and separated from a magnetic layer; and a substrate supporting the first, second and third magnetic layers, the write gap layer and the thin film coil. A thin film magnetic head, wherein a width of a connecting portion of the second magnetic layer is formed so as to widen toward a rear side, and the third magnetic layer is formed into a second magnetic layer.
A thin film magnetic head, wherein the thin film magnetic head is connected to at least a surface and a side surface of the connecting portion of the magnetic layer. 3. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 2, wherein the third magnetic layer is connected to a surface, a side surface and an end surface of the connecting portion of the second magnetic layer. 4. The connecting portion of the second magnetic layer is extended to above a write gap layer that covers a side surface of an insulating layer that supports the thin-film coil in a state of being insulated and separated. 4. The thin film magnetic head according to any one of 1 to 3. 5. An inorganic insulating layer is provided between the first magnetic layer and the thin film coil.
5. The thin film magnetic head described in any one of 1. 6. A trim structure is formed by selectively reducing a film thickness of a portion of the first magnetic layer adjacent to a portion of the first magnetic layer facing the magnetic pole portion of the second magnetic layer with a write gap layer interposed therebetween. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the thin film magnetic head is formed. 7. The thin film according to claim 1, wherein the second magnetic layer is formed of a magnetic material having a saturation magnetic flux density higher than those of the first and third magnetic layers. Magnetic head. 8. A composite type in which a shield layer and a magnetoresistive element embedded in a shield gap layer are provided between the base and the first magnetic layer.
7. The thin-film magnetic head as described in any of 1 to 7.