JP5147467B2 - Manufacturing method of thin film magnetic head - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head.

  When manufacturing thin film magnetic heads, a large number of thin film magnetic head elements are arranged in a lattice pattern on a wafer made of a ceramic structure, and then the raw bar is taken out from the wafer and the removed row bar is bonded. An adhesive or the like is used to adhere to the jig, and the medium facing surface is polished so as to obtain desired head characteristics. In the polishing, the medium facing surface is polished while bringing the medium facing surface of the row bar into contact with the surface plate in which the abrasive grains are embedded and applying pressure. After polishing, a protective film forming process such as DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) is applied to the medium facing surface, and a geometrical shape applying process for adjusting the flying characteristics, etc. Individual thin film magnetic heads after the completion of these processes Take out.

  For thin-film magnetic heads, constant research and development efforts have been made to keep up with high-density recording of hard disks (HDDs), which are rapidly progressing with the times. In the technical field of this thin film magnetic head, the recording density of magnetic recording media such as hard disks has been dramatically improved, and further improvement in performance has been demanded. Transitioning. In this perpendicular recording system, a high linear recording density can be obtained, and an advantage that a recorded recording medium is hardly affected by thermal fluctuations can be obtained.

  A perpendicular recording thin film magnetic head includes a recording element that magnetizes a magnetic recording layer of a magnetic recording medium in a perpendicular direction, and a reproducing element that reads magnetic recording information recorded on the magnetic recording medium. As a reproducing element, an SV element using a spin valve film and a TMR element using a ferromagnetic tunnel junction film are known.

  Even in the above-described perpendicular recording type thin film magnetic head, the manufacturing process described above is basically adopted as the process of taking out the individual thin film magnetic head from the wafer. However, unlike a longitudinal recording type recording element, a perpendicular recording type thin film magnetic head has a main magnetic pole neck height (also called a throat height) as short as possible in order to obtain a large recording magnetic field. There is a need to. However, if the height is too short, the writing of the recording is blurred. If the height is too long, erasure after recording due to residual magnetization occurs.

  On the other hand, the height of the reproducing element is not different from that in the in-plane recording method even in the perpendicular recording method, and high dimensional accuracy is required, and this accuracy must be satisfied at the same time.

  The adjustment of the neck height of the main pole and the height of the reproducing element described above is performed in the polishing step described above, but the dimensions of the neck height of the main pole of the recording element are (1) several in the film formation direction. Recording element and reproducing element separated by μm, alignment accuracy of exposure at the time of forming both elements, (2) perpendicularity of the air bearing surface to the film surface during row bar cutting and air bearing surface lapping in the slider process, and (3) reproducing element height The neck height varies greatly due to factors such as variations in the processing height of the reproducing element when the air bearing surface is processed on the basis.

  As means for solving the above-mentioned problem, Patent Document 1 discloses that a wafer on which a plurality of magnetic head elements each having a recording element laminated thereon is separated for each slider, and then the flying surface of the slider is read. The magnetic head element side is tilted so as to remove a relatively large amount with respect to the side, and the recording element is polished (first polishing step) until it remains slightly more than the target value (design value), and then the reproduction is performed. The height of each of the recording element and the recording element is measured, the slider tilt angle for correcting the positional deviation is calculated from the deviation from the design value, and both the reproducing element and the recording element are desired based on the calculated tilt angle. A manufacturing method is disclosed in which polishing (second polishing step) is performed while changing the inclination angle so that the height is as high as possible.

  However, in Patent Document 1, since the first polishing step and the second polishing step are executed after the separation for each slider, the processing and production efficiency does not increase.

  Moreover, in the first polishing step, the slider is polished by tilting the air bearing surface so that the magnetic head element side is relatively removed with respect to the leading side, so that the slider is composed of the air bearing surface and the side surface on the leading side. The leading side edge angle becomes smaller than 90 degrees. That is, it becomes an acute angle.

  On the other hand, in the second polishing process following the first polishing process, the magnetic head element is polished from the leading side toward the magnetic head element side for the purpose of protecting the magnetic head element from the impact of the polishing process. However, if it becomes an acute angle, when it is polished in the second polishing step, it will be caught at the leading edge, and the slider will bite into the polishing layer, thereby causing chipping of the slider, damage to the polishing layer, and further operation stop of the polishing apparatus, etc. There is a risk of causing.

Furthermore, since the angle of the leading edge is an acute angle, in the second polishing step, polishing starts from the leading edge, and after the polishing has progressed to some extent, the trailing side with the reproducing element and recording element is polished. . Since the detection and monitoring of the polishing amount is usually detected as a change in the resistance value of the resistance pattern provided along with the reproducing element and the recording element, the polishing of the reproducing element and the recording element is started even when the polishing is started. Until then, the polishing amount cannot be detected.
JP 2006-331562 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head with high processing and production efficiency.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head capable of avoiding the biting phenomenon of the row bar, chipping of the row bar, damage to the polishing plate, etc. in the polishing process.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head capable of reliably detecting the polishing amount from the start of polishing.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, a wafer in which a plurality of thin film magnetic head elements are aligned on one surface in the thickness direction Z is cut along the thickness direction Z to -Remove. The row bar has a plurality of the thin film magnetic head elements arranged in a line along a width direction X orthogonal to the thickness direction Z on one surface of the thickness direction Z. Each of the thin film magnetic head elements has a reproducing element and a recording element, and the reproducing element and the recording element have a reproducing end portion and a recording end portion that are perpendicular to the thickness direction Z and the width direction X. It appears on one side of the vertical direction Y.

  In the row bar, the one surface in the height direction Y is ground and angled in a direction in which the height gradually decreases from one end in the thickness direction Z of the reproducing element and the recording element toward the other end side. The inclined surface is formed. Next, a polishing process is performed on the inclined surface from the other end side to the one end side to correct a relative positional deviation between the reproducing element and the recording element.

  As described above, according to the present invention, grinding and polishing are performed on a row bar having a plurality of thin film magnetic head elements arranged in a line, not individualized sliders, thereby improving processing productivity. .

  In addition, in the row bar, one surface in the height direction Y is ground, and the inclination is angled in a direction in which the height gradually decreases from one end of the reproducing element and the recording element in the thickness direction Z toward the other end side. After the surface is formed, this inclined surface is polished to correct the relative positional deviation between the reproducing element and the recording element. According to this process, even when it is necessary to incline the row bar in a direction that reduces the angle of the inclined surface with respect to the polishing plate in correcting the relative positional deviation between the reproducing element and the recording element, the inclination angle is increased. As long as is within the angle range of the inclined surface, the other end side (leading side) of the row bar remains on the polishing layer even if polishing is performed from the other end side (leading side) to one end side (trailing side). There is no bite. For this reason, it is possible to avoid chipping of the row bar due to the biting of the row bar into the polishing plate, damage to the polishing plate, and stoppage of the operation of the polishing apparatus.

  When the inclination direction of the row bar is a direction in which the angle of the inclined surface with respect to the surface of the polishing plate is increased, naturally, the row bar does not bite into the polishing layer.

  Further, in the row bar, one surface in the height direction Y is ground, and the inclination is angled in a direction in which the height gradually decreases from one end in the thickness direction Z of the reproducing element and the recording element toward the other end side. Since the surface is formed, polishing is started from one end side in the thickness direction Z of the reproducing element and the recording element. For this reason, the polishing amount can be immediately detected as a change in the resistance value of the resistance pattern provided along with the reproducing element and the recording element from the start of polishing.

  Other objects, configurations, and effects of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are merely examples.

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a manufacturing process of a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 18 are views showing each process of a manufacturing method of a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention. In the following description, the directions of the three-axis orthogonal axes X, Y, and Z are expressed as “width direction”, “height direction”, and “thickness”, respectively. In addition, in the Y direction, the side closer to and far from the cut surface used as the air bearing surface may be referred to as “front” and “rear”, respectively.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, a wafer is manufactured in which a large number (n rows and m columns) of thin film magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm are arranged in a lattice pattern on one surface 402 facing the bottom surface 401 of the substrate 1. The thin film magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm are usually formed on the wafer 1 so that the formation region thereof is a quadrangular shape. However, in order to maximize the number of thin-film magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm that can be obtained from one wafer, it is common to take other arrangements based on n rows and m columns and additionally arranged.

Substrate 1 is a main part of the wafer, for example, it is constituted by a ceramic structure such as AlTiC (Al ₂ O ₃ · TiC, thin-film magnetic head element Q11~Qnm is an insulating film such as Al ₂ O ₃ Thus, it is formed on one surface side of the substrate 1.

  Next, the bottom surface 401 of the substrate 1 is polished to adjust the initial thickness Z0 of the substrate 1 to the thickness Z1 required for the slider, and then, by a cutting process, as shown in FIG. A rectangular wafer 1 is obtained.

  Next, the single row row bar 71 shown in FIG. 4 is taken out from the rectangular wafer 1 by cutting. In FIG. 4, surfaces 403 and 404 facing each other in the height direction Y of the single row row bar 71 are cut surfaces, and the cut surface 404 is used as an air bearing surface. On the cut surface 404, the recording end and the reproducing end of the recording elements and reproducing elements provided in the thin film magnetic head elements Qn1 to Qnm are located.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a part of the row bar 71 shown in FIG. The row bar 71 is provided with an extraction electrode E for the reproducing element 100 </ b> A and the recording element 100 </ b> B on the one surface 402 side in the thickness direction Z.

  As is well known, the thin film magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm are formed by a high-precision pattern forming technique mainly using photolithography similar to the IC manufacturing technology.

  FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a thin film electromagnetic conversion element portion included in the thin film magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of the thin film electromagnetic conversion element portion shown in FIG. The thin film magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm are obtained by laminating an insulating layer 2, a reproducing element 100A, a separation layer 9, a recording element 100B, and an overcoat layer 21 in this order on a substrate 1.

  In the reproducing element 100A, a lower read shield layer 3, a shield gap film 4, and an upper read shield layer 30 are laminated in this order, and an MR element 8 is embedded in the shield gap film 4.

  The upper read shield layer 30 is formed by, for example, laminating two upper read shield layer portions 5 and 7 with the nonmagnetic layer 6 interposed therebetween.

  The MR element 8 utilizes a giant magneto-resistive effect (GMR) or a tunneling magneto-resistive effect (TMR).

  The recording element 100B is a perpendicular magnetic recording element. The magnetic pole layer 50 is surrounded by a nonmagnetic layer, the gap layer 16 is provided with a back gap 16BG, and the thin film coil 18 is embedded with an insulating layer 19. And a magnetic layer 60.

  The pole layer 50 is formed by laminating the auxiliary pole layer 10, the nonmagnetic layer, and the main pole layer 40 in this order. The auxiliary magnetic pole layer 10 is a main magnetic flux accommodating portion, and is disposed on the leading side with respect to the main magnetic pole layer 40, for example, and has a rectangular planar shape (width W2) as shown in FIG. have.

  The main magnetic pole layer 40 is a main magnetic flux emitting portion, and has, for example, a substantially battledore type planar shape as a whole as shown in FIG. A rear end portion 40B connected to the rear of the front end portion 40A.

  The tip portion 40A is a portion that is used as a substantial magnetic flux release portion, and has a constant width W1 that defines the recording track width. The rear end portion 40B is a portion that supplies magnetic flux to the front end portion 40A, and has a width W2 that is larger than the width W1. The width W2 of the rear end portion 40B is constant at the rear, and gradually decreases toward the front end portion 40A at the front. The position where the width of the main magnetic pole layer 40 starts to expand from W1 to W2 is a so-called flare point FP. The height from the cut surface 404 to the flare point FP is the neck height NH0 seen with the row bar.

  The main magnetic pole layer 40 includes a seed layer 13 and a plating layer 14 formed on the seed layer 13. The seed layer 13 is used for growing the plating layer 14 in the manufacturing process of the thin film magnetic head.

  The gap layer 16 is a gap for magnetically separating the pole layer 50 and the magnetic layer 60 and is made of, for example, a nonmagnetic insulating material such as alumina or a nonmagnetic conductive material such as ruthenium. The thickness of the gap layer 16 is about 0.03 μm to 0.1 μm.

  The thin film coil 18 generates magnetic flux and is made of, for example, a highly conductive material such as copper (Cu). The thin film coil 18 has a spiral structure wound around the back gap 16BG. The insulating layer 19 electrically isolates the thin film coil 18 from the periphery.

  The magnetic layer 60 increases the gradient of the vertical magnetic field by taking in the spreading component of the magnetic flux emitted from the pole layer 50 and takes in the magnetic flux returning to the thin film magnetic head. The end surface of the magnetic layer 60 on the side close to the cut surface 404 has a rectangular shape having a width W3 larger than the width W1, as shown in FIG. The magnetic layer 60 includes, for example, the write shield layer 17 and the return yoke layer 20 that are separate from each other.

  The write shield layer 17 mainly serves to increase the vertical magnetic field gradient. The write shield layer 17 extends rearward from the cut surface 404 while being adjacent to the gap layer 16, and is adjacent to the insulating layer 19 at the rear end thereof.

  The overcoat layer 21 protects the thin film magnetic head and is made of, for example, a nonmagnetic insulating material such as alumina.

  The row bar having the thin film magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm described above defines the basis of the air bearing surface by polishing the cut surface 404. In the polishing process, basically, the cut surface 404 is polished by ΔNH1 so that the neck height NH0 as viewed by the row bar becomes a predetermined neck height NH1.

  Unlike a longitudinal recording type recording element, a perpendicular recording type thin film magnetic head needs to make the neck height NH1 of the main magnetic pole 40 of the perpendicular magnetic recording head as short as possible in order to obtain a large recording magnetic field. However, if the neck height NH1 is too short, recording writing blurs, and if the neck height NH1 is too long, erasure after recording due to residual magnetization occurs.

  On the other hand, the height of the MR element 8 is the same as that in the in-plane recording method even in the vertical recording method, and high dimensional accuracy is required, and that accuracy must be satisfied at the same time. Therefore, in the polishing process of the row bar having the thin film magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm, which are perpendicular recording elements, the polishing must be performed so as to satisfy the above-described requirements.

  In the thin film magnetic head elements Q11 to Qnm, if the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B are in a predetermined relative positional relationship, the neck height NH0 viewed with the row bar is adjusted to the neck height NH1 required by the slider. However, the polishing amount ΔNH1 may be polished over the entire width Z1 of the cut surface 404.

  However, since the wafer manufacturing process includes a step of laminating the recording element 100B after forming the reproducing element 100A, it is inevitable that a relative displacement occurs between the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B. . There are two types of relative positional deviations that occur between the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B. The model is shown in FIGS. 8 and FIG. 9, the same reference numerals are given to the portions corresponding to the constituent portions appearing in FIG. 6 and FIG.

  First, FIG. 8 shows a case where the recording element 100B is formed in front of the reproducing element 100A. Referring to FIG. 8, the flare point FP1 is shifted forward from the flare point FP0 that should be originally positioned with respect to the reproducing element 100A by a positional deviation amount ΔY1. When such a positional deviation occurs, the polishing amount for the recording element 100B must be made smaller than the polishing amount for the reproducing element 100B to ensure a predetermined neck height NH1. Accordingly, the final polishing position P01 is an inclined surface in which the polishing amount increases from the trailing toward the leading side in consideration of the positional deviation amount ΔY1 and the height required for the reproducing element 100A.

  Next, FIG. 9 shows a case where the recording element 100B is formed behind the reproducing element 100A. Referring to FIG. 9, the flare point FP1 is shifted backward from the flare point FP0 that should be originally positioned with respect to the reproducing element 100A with a positional deviation amount ΔY1. When such a positional deviation occurs, the polishing amount for the recording element 100B must be made larger than the polishing amount for the reproducing element 100B to ensure a predetermined neck height NH1. Therefore, the final polishing position P01 is an inclined surface in which the polishing amount decreases from the trailing toward the leading side in consideration of the positional deviation amount ΔY1 and the height required for the reproducing element 100A.

  As a conventional technique corresponding to the above-described positional deviation, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known, but as described above, there are various problems. Among the problems pointed out above, main ones will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 10, the row bar 71 supported by the jig 72 is pressed against the polishing plate 81 of the polishing apparatus 8 and polished. In polishing, the polishing apparatus 8 is rotated in the direction of the arrow F 1, and the row bar 71 is pressed against the surface of the polishing plate 81. Diamond slurry is supplied to the surface of the polishing plate 81 as an abrasive. The polishing is performed on the cut surface 404 where the reproducing end of the reproducing element 100A and the recording end of the recording element 100B provided in the thin film magnetic head elements Q11 to Qlm are located.

  In the polishing process, it is necessary to protect the thin film magnetic head elements Q11 to Qlm from an impact caused by the process. Therefore, as indicated by the arrow F1, the polishing is performed from the one surface 401 on the leading side toward the one surface 402 on the trailing side where the thin film magnetic head elements Q11 to Qlm are located.

  In this polishing step, as shown in FIG. 8, when the recording element 100B is displaced forward relative to the reproducing element 100A, the surface of the polishing plate 81 is shown in FIG. Then, the angle between the row side 71 and the leading side surface of the row bar 71 is set to be smaller than 90 degrees, and the polishing must be performed to the final polishing position P01.

  However, when the angle formed between the surface of the polishing plate 81 and the one surface 401 positioned on the leading side of the row bar 71 becomes an acute angle smaller than 90 degrees, the leading side edge P1 is caught and the row bar 71 with respect to the polishing plate 81 is caught. There is a risk of biting, chipping of the row bar 71, damage to the polishing plate 81, and further stop of the operation of the polishing apparatus 8.

  Further, since the angle of the leading edge P1 is an acute angle, the polishing starts from the leading edge P1, and after the polishing has progressed to some extent, the trailing side where the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B are present is polished. The The detection and monitoring of the polishing amount is normally detected as a change in the resistance value of the resistance pattern provided along with the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B. Therefore, even when polishing is started, the polishing of the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B is performed. The polishing amount cannot be detected until is started.

  In the case of Patent Document 1, in the first polishing process, the air bearing surface of the slider is polished while being inclined so as to remove a relatively large amount of the magnetic head element side with respect to the leading side, so the situation becomes more serious.

  According to the present invention, these problems can be solved. Next, a specific description will be given with reference to FIGS.

  First, in the present invention, a grinding process is performed as a pretreatment of a polishing process for defining the neck height NH1. In this grinding step, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a cutting surface 404, which is one surface of the row bar in the height direction Y, is ground by the grinding amount ΔY0 over the entire width X1 of the row bar, and the reproducing element 100A and the recording element An inclined surface that is angled at an angle θ1 in a direction in which the height Y gradually decreases from one surface 402 (one surface on the trailing side) 100B in the thickness direction Z to one other surface 401 (one surface on the leading side). 405 is formed. The angle θ1 is a value measured from the cut surface 404. The grinding process may be a mechanical grinding process, or may be performed using a polishing apparatus similar to the polishing process described below.

  In grinding, one surface 403 of the height direction Y of the row bar is bonded to a grinding jig. Therefore, the angle caused by adhesion (backing) is measured, and the measured value is reflected in the setting of the target grinding angle θ1 and grinding amount ΔY0.

  By the above-described grinding process, the row bar having the width X1, the height Y0, and the thickness Z1 before the processing becomes the leading side height Y1 with the width X1 and the thickness Z1 after the processing. The height on the trailing side may be the height Y0 before processing.

  The angle θ1 is preferably set to an angle larger than the angle θ0 necessary for eliminating the expected positional deviation amount (virtual maximum deviation amount) ΔYm. The virtual maximum deviation amount ΔYm can be determined empirically. In FIG. 12, the virtual inclination for eliminating the virtual maximum deviation amount ΔYm is expressed by P00, and the virtual final polishing position necessary for obtaining the predetermined neck height NH1 is expressed by P0m correspondingly. The virtual inclination P00 and the virtual final polishing position P0m are parallel, and the inclination angle with respect to the cut surface 404 is θ0 (<θ1).

  The row bar is then subjected to a polishing process. 13 and 14 show specific examples of the polishing process. In the figure, a row bar 71 is affixed to a polishing jig 72 held by a holder 73 and pressed against a polishing plate 81 of the polishing apparatus 8.

The polishing apparatus 8 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow F1 by a motor or the like (not shown). The polishing apparatus 8 rotates the surface in the direction of the arrow F 1 and presses the lower surface of the row bar 71 against the surface of the polishing plate 81. The rotation direction (movement direction) F1 of the polishing apparatus 8 is such that the one surface 401 on the leading side faces the rotation direction F1 with respect to the row bar 71, that is, the one surface 401 on the leading side of the row bar 71 is in front. Determined.
Diamond slurry is supplied to the surface of the polishing plate 81 as an abrasive.

  When the recording element 100B is formed in front of the reproducing element 100A (FIG. 8), the recording element 100B has a reproducing element 100A that has a relative positional deviation between the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B. It has already been mentioned that there are two aspects of the case where it is formed rearward (FIG. 9). FIGS. 13 and 14 show the polishing in the case where the recording element 100B is formed in front of the reproducing element 100A (FIG. 8).

  When the recording element 100B is formed in front of the reproducing element 100A, the polishing amount for the recording element 100B must be smaller than the polishing amount for the reproducing element 100B. Considering the amount of deviation ΔY1 and the height required for the reproducing element 100A, the inclined surface has to be polished so that the amount of polishing increases from the trailing toward the leading side, resulting in the problem shown in FIG. .

  On the other hand, in the present invention, in the row bar 71, the cut surface 404 on one surface in the height direction Y is ground, and the opposite surface from the one surface 402 in the thickness direction Z where the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B exist. After forming an inclined surface 405 that is angled at an angle θ1 in the direction of one surface 401 and in a direction in which the height Y gradually decreases, the inclined surface 405 is polished, and the reproducing element 100A and the recording element Correct the relative displacement of 100B. Specifically, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 14, the polishing jig 72 is inclined by an angle θ01 so that the final polishing position P01 is parallel to the surface of the polishing plate 81. The angle θ01 is an angle based on the line segment O1 that is perpendicular to the surface of the polishing plate 81. This inclination angle θ01 is smaller than the angle θ1 of the inclined surface 405 (see FIG. 12).

  Through the above polishing process, as shown in FIG. 15, the inclined surface 405 is opposite to the one surface 402 in the thickness direction Z of the row bar 71 located in the trailing where the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B are located. The polishing surface 406 is inclined to the middle of the inclined surface 405 toward the one surface 401.

  According to the polishing process described above, even when it is necessary to incline and polish the row bar 71 in correcting the relative positional deviation between the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B, the inclination angle θ01 is the angle of the inclined surface 405. As long as it is within the range of θ1, polishing may be performed in the direction of arrow F1 from one surface 401 in the height direction Z on the leading side to another surface 402 in the height direction Z on the trailing side. The leading edge P 1 of the row bar 71 does not bite into the polishing plate 81. Therefore, chipping of the row bar 71 due to the biting of the row bar 71 with respect to the polishing plate 81, damage to the polishing plate 81, and stoppage of the operation of the polishing apparatus can be avoided.

Further, in the row bar 71, one surface 404 in the height direction Y is ground, and the height gradually decreases from one surface 402 in the thickness direction Z of the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B toward the other surface 401. In addition, since the inclined surface 405 is formed at an angle θ1, the polishing is started from one surface 402 of the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B in the thickness direction Z. Therefore, the polishing amount can be immediately detected as a change in the resistance value of the resistance pattern (not shown) provided together with the reproducing element 100A and the recording element 100B from the start of polishing. Next, the recording element 100B The case where it is formed behind the reproducing element 100A will be described with reference to FIGS. First, referring to FIG. 16, the recording element 100B is formed behind the reproducing element 100A by a positional deviation amount ΔY2. In order to correct this positional deviation amount ΔY2 and secure a predetermined neck height, the polishing amount for the recording element 100B must be larger than the polishing amount for the reproducing element 100A. Therefore, the final polishing position P02 is set so that the recording element 100B is polished by the positional deviation amount ΔY2, and the reproducing element 100A is smaller than that and has a polishing amount that can obtain a predetermined height. The The final polishing position P02 is inclined in the direction opposite to the inclined surface 405.

  In polishing, the polishing jig 72 is inclined by an angle θ02 so that the final polishing position P02 is parallel to the surface of the polishing plate 81 as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. The angle θ02 is an angle based on the line segment O1 that is perpendicular to the surface of the polishing plate 81. Since the final polishing position P02 is inclined in the opposite direction to the inclined surface 405, the problem of catching as shown in FIG. 10 does not inherently occur.

  Further, according to the present invention, in either of the above two polishing modes, grinding or polishing is performed on the row bar 71 having a plurality of thin film magnetic head elements aligned in a row, instead of individual sliders. Therefore, processing and production efficiency is improved.

  In addition, although each angle was displayed as a large value that can be visually recognized for convenience of illustration, it is actually a very small angle of about 0.1 degrees.

  After the above-described polishing process, the slider individual parts, that is, the individual thin film magnetic heads, are passed through known processes such as the air bearing surface finishing process, the protective film forming process, and the individualizing process (see FIG. 1). Goods are obtained.

  Although the contents of the invention have been described with reference to specific embodiments, it is obvious that those skilled in the art can make various modifications based on the basic technical idea and teachings of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart showing a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the outline of the wafer to which the manufacturing method concerning this invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a wafer obtained by cutting from the wafer shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a row bar obtained by cutting from the wafer shown in FIG. 3. It is the elements on larger scale of the row bar shown in FIG. It is an expanded partial sectional view of a reproducing element and a recording element included in a row bar. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the reproducing element and the recording element shown in FIG. 6 from the recording element side. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a case where the recording element is formed in front of the reproducing element in the reproducing element and the recording element shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a case where the recording element is formed behind the reproducing element in the reproducing element and the recording element shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. It is a figure which shows the problem of the conventional grinding | polishing process. It is a perspective view of the row bar obtained through the grinding process included in the manufacturing method concerning the present invention. It is an enlarged view of the row bar shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the grinding | polishing process which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which expands and shows the grinding | polishing process shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the row bar obtained through the grinding | polishing process of FIG.13 and FIG.14. It is a figure explaining the row bar in which the recording element was formed behind the reproducing element. It is a figure explaining the grinding | polishing process with respect to the row bar shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the row bar obtained through the grinding | polishing process of FIG.16 and FIG.17.

Explanation of symbols

71 Row bar 100A Reproducing element 100B Recording element 404 Cutting surface 405 Inclined surface 406 Polishing surface P01 Final polishing position P02 Final polishing position X Width direction Y Height direction Z Thickness direction

Claims (4)

A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head,
A wafer in which a plurality of thin film magnetic head elements are aligned on one surface in the thickness direction Z is cut along the thickness direction Z, and a row bar is taken out.
The row bar has a plurality of the thin film magnetic head elements arranged in a line along a width direction X orthogonal to the thickness direction Z on one surface of the thickness direction Z.
Each of the thin film magnetic head elements includes a reproducing element and a recording element, and the reproducing element and the recording element have a reproducing end and a recording end in a height direction perpendicular to the thickness direction Z and the width direction X. Y appears on one side,
The one surface of the row bar in the height direction Y is ground and angled in a direction in which the height gradually decreases from one end in the thickness direction Z of the reproducing element and the recording element toward the other end side. Forming an inclined surface,
Next, with respect to the inclined surface, a polishing process from the other end side toward the one end side is performed, and a relative positional deviation between the reproducing element and the recording element is corrected,
A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head including the steps.   2. The method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the angle of the inclined surface is larger than the angle of virtual inclination required for correcting the relative positional deviation between the reproducing element and the recording element. Manufacturing method of magnetic head.   3. The method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the recording element has a recording end portion made of a perpendicular recording magnetic pole. A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to claim 3,
The recording element has a wide portion connected to the rear in the height direction Y of the narrow portion serving as the perpendicular recording magnetic pole,
A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, wherein a relative positional deviation between the reproducing element and the recording element is determined by a relative position of the reproducing element with respect to a neck height which is a height of the narrow width portion.

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