JPH0453012A - Manufacture of thin film magnetic head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve positioning accuracy by forming a flat insulated layer having an opening part exposing a lower magnetic pole formed on a base, and forming an upper magnetic pole through a thin film coil, which is sandwiched by a gap layer and an inter-layer insulating layer, at the opening part. CONSTITUTION:On a non-magnetic base 21, a magnetic film 22 is formed, a first mask 23 is formed on this film 22 and a lower magnetic pole 24 is formed through this mask 23. At such a time, the mask 23 is remained on the magnetic pole 24 although the film thickness is made thin because of etching. Next, an inorganic insulated layer 25 is formed on the non- magnetic base 21 including the mask 23 on the magnetic pole 24 while being much thicker than the magnetic pole 24 and mechanically ground to be flat until the mask 23 is exposed. Then, after providing an opening part 26 exposing the magnetic pole 24 by removing the mask 23, on the layer 25 having the opening part 26, the thin film coil sandwiched by a gap layer 27 and the inter-layer insulating layer, and a magnetic film 28 are successively laminated and formed. Then, on the film 28, a second mask 29 is formed in an area corresponding to the magnetic pole 24 and afterwards, the mask 29 is removed after forming th film 28 and the layer 27 through the mask 29. Thus, an upper magnetic pole 30 can be easily formed in the state of accurately matching the position to the magnetic pole 24.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] A method for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head used in a magnetic disk device, the purpose of which is to form a high-precision magnetic pole in which the relative position of a lower magnetic pole and an upper magnetic pole is accurate. After forming a magnetic film, the magnetic film is patterned by an etching method using a first mask to form a lower magnetic pole, and an insulating layer is formed on a substrate including a laminated body of the lower magnetic pole and the first mask. After depositing and flattening the surface of the insulating layer until the surface of the first mask is exposed,
After the step of removing the first mask and sequentially forming a gap layer, a Fi1 film coil sandwiched between interlayer insulating layers, and a magnetic film on the insulating layer having the opening where the first mask was removed, The method includes a step of patterning the magnetic film by an etching method using a second mask to form an upper magnetic pole.

Further, a step of sequentially forming a magnetic film and a gap layer for a lower magnetic pole on a substrate, and then patterning the magnetic film and gap layer into a predetermined shape by etching using a first mask; An insulating layer is deposited on a substrate including a laminate of a magnetic pole, a gap layer, and a first mask, and the surface of the insulating layer is flattened until the surface of the first mask is exposed. After sequentially forming a thin film coil sandwiched between interlayer insulating layers and a magnetic film on the insulating layer and the gap layer exposed in the opening where the first mask was removed, the magnetic film is removed. The method includes a step of patterning by an etching method using a second mask to form an upper magnetic pole.

Further, a step of forming a magnetic film on the substrate and patterning the magnetic film by an etching method using a first mask to form a lower magnetic pole, and a step of forming a substrate including the lower magnetic pole after removing the first mask. forming a first insulating layer thereon, flattening the surface of the first insulating layer until the surface of the lower magnetic pole is exposed, and forming a second insulating layer on the flat surface after the processing; Thereafter, a step of removing a portion of the second insulating layer directly above the bottom pole by an etching method using a second mask to form an opening, and forming a gap layer on the second insulating layer having the opening through which the bottom pole is exposed. and a step of sequentially laminating a thin film coil and a magnetic film sandwiched between interlayer insulating layers, and then patterning the magnetic film by an etching method using a third mask to form an upper magnetic pole (52). do.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head used in a magnetic disk drive, and more particularly to a method of forming magnetic poles of a thin film magnetic head with high precision.

In recent years, in magnetic disk drives, the width of the magnetic pole tip, which is directly involved in recording and reproduction of thin-film magnetic heads, has tended to become narrower as the recording density and capacity have increased. Therefore, there is a need for a method of forming the narrowed magnetic pole tip of such a thin film magnetic head with high precision.

(Prior Art) Examples of a conventional thin film magnetic head include a plan view of (a) in FIG. 4, a sectional view along line AA' in FIG.
As shown in the cross-sectional view, a non-magnetic group made of ceramic etc.
A lower magnetic pole 2 made of a Ni-Fe film is arranged on a plate 1,
The lower magnetic pole 2], a gap layer 3 made of an Al2O3 film, a thin film coil 5 sandwiched between an interlayer insulating layer 4, and a Ni-F
L portion magnetic poles 6 made of e-films are laminated in order, and one side of them is further covered with a protective film 7 made of Al2O3.

The tips of the lower magnetic pole 2 and the first magnetic pole 6, which are directly opposed to each other with the gap layer 3 in between, are cut to have a predetermined magnetic gap depth, and the cut surfaces are polished flat so that they are suitable for recording media. The structure is such that a medium facing surface 8 for recording and reproduction is formed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, in the conventional thin film magnetic head as described above, when forming the upper magnetic pole 6 on the lower magnetic pole 2 via the thin film coil 5 sandwiched between the gap layer 3 and the interlayer insulating layer 4, alignment errors of the photomask may occur. There is a problem in that positional deviation occurs between the upper and lower magnetic poles due to such factors, and alignment accuracy decreases.

In addition, in the worst case of this misalignment, one end of the upper magnetic pole 6 may hang down from the top surface of the soil part magnetic pole 2, as shown in the cross-sectional view of the tip of the magnetic pole in FIG. There is a problem in that the upper magnetic pole 6 portion electrically contacts through the gap layer 3 portion which is thinned at the corner of the edge of the lower magnetic pole 2.

In order to prevent this problem, for example, as a method of forming the upper and lower magnetic poles, as shown in FIG. 6(a),
A resist film is applied onto the non-magnetic substrate 11 via a base conductive film for plating (not shown), and the resist film is patterned to form the first plating frame 12 that defines the shape pattern of the lower magnetic pole. Magnetic film 1 made of Ni-Fe is deposited on the exposed area within first plating frame 12 by plating method.
3, the first plating frame 12 is melted and removed to form a lower magnetic pole 14 as shown in FIG. 6(b).

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(C), A f! 20
After forming a gap layer 15 consisting of three films and further forming a thin film coil sandwiched between interlayer insulating layers (not shown), a conductive base for plating is applied on the gap layer 15 and the thin film coil sandwiched between interlayer insulating layers (not shown). A resist film is applied through a film (not shown), and the resist film is patterned to form a sixth pattern.
As shown in Figure (d), a second plating frame 16 is formed that defines the shape pattern of the upper magnetic pole smaller than the lower magnetic pole 14, and then the exposed area within the second plating frame 16 is coated with Ni-Fe by a plating method. After forming the magnetic film 17, the second plating frame 16 was dissolved and removed to form an upper magnetic pole 18 in a small pattern on the lower magnetic pole 14, as shown in FIG. 6(e).

However, as shown in FIG. 6(e), if the widths of the tips of the lower magnetic pole 14 and the upper magnetic pole 18 are different, crosstalk will increase when off-tracking with respect to the recording medium, and it will also be difficult to increase the track density. However, it had drawbacks that were a major hindrance.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, the present invention forms an insulating layer having an opening through which the lower magnetic pole is exposed on a substrate on which the lower magnetic pole is formed, and is sandwiched between a gap layer and an interlayer insulating layer in the opening. The present invention aims to provide a novel method for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head in which the accuracy of alignment of the upper magnetic pole with respect to the lower magnetic pole is improved by forming the upper magnetic pole through a thin-film coil.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, a method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the invention of claim 1 includes forming a magnetic film on a substrate, and then patterning the magnetic film by an etching method using a first mask to form a lower magnetic pole. forming an insulating layer on a substrate including a laminate of the lower magnetic pole and the first mask, and flattening the surface of the insulating layer until the surface of the first mask is exposed. After that, a step of removing the first mask, and sequentially laminating a gap layer, a thin film coil sandwiched between interlayer insulating layers, and a magnetic film on the insulating layer having the opening where the first mask was removed, The method includes a step of patterning the magnetic film by an etching method using a second mask to form an upper magnetic pole.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the invention of claim 2, after sequentially forming a magnetic film for a lower magnetic pole and a gap layer on a substrate, the magnetic film and the gap layer are etched in a predetermined manner using a first mask. a step of patterning the magnetic film into a shape, and forming an insulating layer on a substrate including a laminate of a lower magnetic pole, a gap layer, and a first mask made of the magnetic film, and exposing the surface of the insulating layer to the surface of the first mask. After flattening the first mask, a thin film coil sandwiched between an interlayer insulating layer and a magnetic The structure includes a step of sequentially laminating the magnetic films and patterning the magnetic films by an etching method using a second mask to form an upper magnetic pole.

The method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the invention of claim 3 includes the steps of forming a magnetic film on a substrate and then patterning the magnetic film by an etching method using a first mask to form a lower magnetic pole; After removing the first mask, a first insulating layer is formed on the substrate including the lower magnetic pole, and the surface of the first insulating layer is flattened until the surface of the lower magnetic pole is exposed.
and a step of forming a second insulating layer on the flat surface after the processing, and then removing and opening a portion of the second insulating layer directly above the lower magnetic pole by an etching method using a second mask. After sequentially forming a thin film coil sandwiched between a gap layer and an interlayer insulating layer and a magnetic film on a second insulating layer having an opening through which the lower magnetic pole is exposed, the magnetic film is layered using a third mask. The structure includes a step of patterning using an etching method to form an upper magnetic pole (52).

[For production]

In the manufacturing method of the present invention, a flat insulating layer having an open L' portion through which the lower magnetic pole is exposed is formed on a substrate on which the lower magnetic pole is formed, and the flat insulating layer is sandwiched between a gap layer and an interlayer insulating layer at the opening thereof. A method of forming an upper magnetic pole through a thin film coil, or forming a flat insulating layer having an opening through which the gap layer is exposed on a substrate on which a lower magnetic pole and a gap layer are laminated in the same pattern shape, A method of forming an upper magnetic pole through a thin film coil sandwiched between interlayer insulating layers in the opening,
Further, on the substrate on which the lower magnetic pole is formed, a flat insulating layer is formed to expose the lower magnetic pole, an insulating layer having an opening through which the lower magnetic pole is exposed is further formed on the insulating layer, and an insulating layer is formed in the opening. By forming the upper magnetic pole via a thin film coil sandwiched between a gap layer and an interlayer insulating layer, the upper magnetic pole can be formed with high precision without misalignment with respect to the lower magnetic pole.

〔Example〕

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

FIGS. 1(a) to 1(a) are sectional views of main parts showing the first embodiment of the method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention in order of steps.

First, as shown in FIG. 1(a), N is deposited on a 41' magnetic substrate 21 made of ceramics or the like by sputtering or the like.
After the magnetic film 22 made of i-Fe is deposited, a resist film is applied on the magnetic film 22, and the resist film is patterned to form a first mask 23 for forming the lower magnetic pole.

Next, the magnetic film 22 is patterned by ion etching through the first mask 23 to form a lower magnetic pole 24 as shown in FIG. 1(b). At this time, the first mask 23 is also etched to some extent by the ion etching and its film thickness is reduced to some extent, but it is left on the lower magnetic pole 24 without being removed even after etching.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1C, an inorganic insulating layer 25 made of A f 203 or the like is deposited on the nonmagnetic substrate 21 including the first mask 23 on the lower magnetic pole 24 by sputtering or the like. After forming a thick layer, the inorganic insulating layer 25 is mechanically polished to a flat surface until the first mask 23 is exposed, or the surface of the inorganic insulating layer 25 is etched at the same speed as the inorganic insulating layer 25. Flattening is performed by applying a fluid material that can be used to flatten the surface, and then etching the surface at a constant speed using an etch hack method.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1(d), after dissolving and removing the first mask 23 to provide an opening 26 through which the lower magnetic pole 24 is exposed, sputtering is performed on the inorganic insulating layer 25 having the opening 26. By law etc. Aj! A thin film coil sandwiched between a gap layer 27 made of t(h, etc.) and an interlayer insulating layer (not shown) and a magnetic film 28 made of Ni--Fe are sequentially laminated.

Thereafter, a resist film is applied on the magnetic film 28, and the resist film is patterned to form a second mask 29 for forming an upper magnetic pole in a region corresponding to the lower magnetic pole 24, as shown in FIG. 1(e). After forming the magnetic film 28 and the gap layer 27 through the second mask 29, the magnetic film 28 and the gap layer 27 are patterned by ion etching, and then the second mask 29 is dissolved and removed, as shown in Fig. 1). The upper magnetic pole 30 can be easily formed in a state in which the upper magnetic pole 30 is precisely aligned with the lower magnetic pole 24.

Further, FIGS. 2(a) to 2(a) are sectional views of essential parts showing a second embodiment of the method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention in order of steps.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2(a), after a magnetic film 32 made of Ni-Fe and a gap layer 33 made of AAz03 etc. are deposited and formed on a non-magnetic substrate 32 made of ceramic etc. by sputtering method etc. A resist film is applied on the gap layer 33, and the resist film is patterned to form a first mask 34 for forming the lower magnetic pole.

Next, the gap layer 33 and magnetic film 32 are patterned by ion etching through the first mask 34 to form a patterned gear layer 33 and lower magnetic pole 35 as shown in FIG. 2(b). At this time, the first mask 34 is also etched to some extent by ion etching and its film thickness is reduced to some extent, but it is left on the gap layer 33 without being removed even after etching.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2(C), I'J A 720. After forming an inorganic insulating layer 36 thicker than the lower magnetic pole 35, the inorganic insulating layer 36 is mechanically flattened to expose the first mask 34, or flattened by the etch-back method. conduct.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2(B), the first mask 34 is removed and a thin film sandwiched between interlayer insulating layers (not shown) is placed on the inorganic insulating layer 36 in which an opening 37 through which the gap layer 33 is exposed is provided. A coil and a magnetic film 38 made of Ni--Fe are sequentially laminated by sputtering or the like.

Thereafter, a resist film is applied on the magnetic film 38, and the resist film is patterned to form a second mask 39 for forming an upper magnetic pole in a region corresponding to the lower magnetic pole 35, as shown in FIG. 2(e). After forming the magnetic film 38, the magnetic film 38 is patterned by ion etching through the second mask 39, and the second mask 39 is subsequently melted and removed, thereby forming the lower magnetic pole as shown in FIG. 2(f). The upper magnetic pole 40 can be easily formed in a state in which it is accurately aligned with respect to the upper magnetic pole 35 as in the first embodiment.

Furthermore, FIGS. 3(a) to 3(a) are sectional views of essential parts showing the third embodiment of the method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention in order of steps.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3(a), a magnetic film 42 made of Ni-Fe is deposited on a non-magnetic substrate 41 made of ceramic or the like by sputtering or the like, and then a resist is applied on the magnetic film 42. A film is applied and further patterned to form a first mask 43 for forming the lower magnetic pole.

Next, the magnetic film 42 is patterned by ion etching through the first mask 43 to form a lower magnetic pole 44 as shown in FIG.
The non-magnetic substrate 4 containing the lower magnetic pole 44 by dissolving and removing the
A first inorganic insulating layer 45 made of A j2 t03 or the like is deposited on the lower magnetic pole 44 by sputtering or the like, and the first inorganic insulating layer 45 is formed to be thicker than the lower magnetic pole 44.
Flattening is performed by mechanical flattening or the etch-back method described above until 4 is exposed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3(C), a second inorganic insulating layer 46 made of Af2O3 or the like is further formed by sputtering or the like on the first inorganic insulating layer 45 where the lower magnetic pole 44 is exposed. An L/cyst film is applied on the second inorganic insulating layer 46, and the resist film is patterned to form a second mask 47 having an open [] pattern having the same shape as the upper magnetic pole.

Next, the second inorganic insulating layer 46 is
is patterned by ion etching method as shown in Figure 3 (
As shown in d), an opening 48 for forming an upper magnetic pole is formed in the lower magnetic pole 44F. Continuing with the second mask 4
After dissolving and removing 7, a gap 1 made of A1.2O3 or the like is formed on the second inorganic insulating layer 46 having the open U11 portion 48.
4.9 and a thin film coil sandwiched between interlayer insulating layers (not shown), a magnetic film 50 made of Ni-Fe, etc. are sequentially laminated by sputtering or the like.

Next, a resist film is applied on the magnetic film 50, and the resist film is patterned to form a third mask 51 for forming an upper magnetic pole in a region corresponding to the lower magnetic pole 44, as shown in FIG. 3(e). After forming the magnetic film 50, the gap 14.9 and the second inorganic insulating layer 46 through the third mask 5]
By sequentially patterning the mask by ion etching and subsequently dissolving and removing the third mask 51, as shown in Fig. It is possible to easily form this in a highly precisely aligned state.

In addition, in the following embodiments, an example in which a resist is used as the mask material 2 for forming the first, second, and first Z masks has been described, but the present invention is limited to this example. For example, an organic polymer material such as a photo-curable polyimide resin material, or a metal film such as Ti or Cr, which has selective etching properties with respect to the magnetic film, may be used instead.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, when forming the upper magnetic pole via the thin film coil sandwiched between the gap layer and the interlayer insulating layer on the lower magnetic pole, This facilitates accurate positioning of the upper magnetic pole with respect to the lower magnetic pole, and provides an excellent effect of increasing the accuracy of magnetic pole positioning.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1(a) to 1) are cross-sectional views of main parts showing the first embodiment of the method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention in the order of steps, and FIGS. 3(a) to 3(f) are main part sectional views showing a second embodiment of a method for manufacturing a magnetic head in the order of steps, and FIGS. 4(a) to 4(C) are diagrams for explaining a conventional thin-film magnetic head, where FIG. 4(a) is a plan view and FIG. 4(b) is a diagram (
Main part sectional view along the A-A' cutting line shown in a), Figure (C)
5 is a sectional view of the main part taken along the cutting line B-B', FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the main part for explaining the manufacturing problems of the conventional thin film magnetic head, and FIGS. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining a method of forming a magnetic pole of a conventional thin-film magnetic head. In Fig. 1 (a) - ge) to Fig. 3 (a) - ge),
21.31.41 is a non-magnetic substrate, 22.28, 32.3
8, 42゜50 are magnetic films, 23, 34.43 are first masks, 24゜35, 44 are lower magnetic poles, 25.36 are inorganic insulating layers, 26.37.48 are openings, 27, 33.49 is the gap layer, 29.39.47 is the second mask, 30.4
0.52 is an upper magnetic pole, 45 is a first inorganic insulating layer, 46 is a second inorganic insulating layer, and 51 is a third mask. Daikaku (C) Figure

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) After forming the magnetic film (22) on the substrate (21),
forming a lower magnetic pole (24) by patterning the magnetic film (22) by an etching method using a first mask (23); and a laminate of the lower magnetic pole (24) and the first mask (23). forming an insulating layer (25) on a substrate (21) containing
After flattening the surface of the insulating layer (25) until the surface of the first mask (23) is exposed, the first mask (23)
), and a gap layer (27), a thin film coil sandwiched between interlayer insulating layers, and a magnetic film (28) are placed on the insulating layer (25) having the opening (26) where the first mask was removed. A thin film magnetic head characterized by comprising the step of sequentially laminating the magnetic film (28) and patterning the magnetic film (28) by an etching method using a second mask (29) to form an upper magnetic pole (30). Production method. (2) After sequentially forming a magnetic film (32) for the lower magnetic pole and a gap layer (33) on the substrate (31), the magnetic film (3
2) patterning the gap layer (33) and the gap layer (33) into a predetermined shape by etching using the first mask (34); An insulating layer (36) is deposited on a substrate (31) including a laminate of a first mask (34), and the surface of the insulating layer (36) is flattened until the surface of the first mask (34) is exposed. After performing this step, the step of removing the first mask (34), and the step of removing the insulating layer (36) and the opening (3) where the first mask was removed
7), a thin film coil sandwiched between interlayer insulating layers and a magnetic film (38) are sequentially laminated on the gap layer (33) exposed in the gap layer (33), and then the magnetic film (38) is covered with a second mask (39). The upper magnetic pole (40
) A method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, the method comprising: forming a thin film magnetic head. (3) After forming the magnetic film (42) on the substrate (41),
a step of patterning the magnetic film (42) by an etching method using a first mask (43) to form a lower magnetic pole (44); and a step of forming a lower magnetic pole (44) after removing the first mask (43).
), a first insulating layer (45) is deposited on a substrate (41) including a lower magnetic pole (44), and the surface of the first insulating layer (45)
A process of flattening until the surface of A gap layer (46) is formed on the second insulating layer (46) having the opening (48) through which the lower magnetic pole (44) is exposed. 49), a thin film coil sandwiched between interlayer insulating layers, and a magnetic film (50) are sequentially laminated, and then the magnetic film (50) is covered with a third mask (51).
) forming an upper magnetic pole (52) by patterning using an etching method.