JPH0487006A - Thin film magnetic head and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the a gap step original point and also to improve the accuracy of a prescribed gap layer itself by using such material that is not etched at etching of an upper layer insulated part to a lower layer insulated part and at the same time positioning a single end part of the lower layer edge part at the counter face side of a medium on the gap step original point. CONSTITUTION:An inter-layer insulated layer 5 consists of an upper layer insulated part 14 which covers a coil conductor 6 and a lower layer insulated part 15 which separates a gap layer 4 formed at the counter face side of a medium from a lower magnetic layer 3 and is positioned at a gap step original point 13. The part 15 is made of such a material that is not etched at etching of the part 14, and at the same time a single end of the part 15 is positioned on the point 13 at the counter face side of the medium. In other words, the part 15 having the smaller etching thickness is formed on the point 13 and therefore the point 13 is fixed. Thus the position of the point 13 can be set with high accuracy. Then it is possible to obtain a thin film magnetic head having the high accuracy of the layer 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention relates to a thin film magnetic head applied to fixed magnetic disk drives for computers and a method for manufacturing the same.

``Prior Art'' An example of the conventional structure of this type of thin film magnetic head will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

1 is a substrate, 2 is a lower insulating layer, 3 is a lower magnetic layer, 4 is a gap layer, 5 is an interlayer insulating layer, 6 is a coil conductor, 7 is an upper magnetic layer, and 8 is a protective layer. In addition, by overlapping the tips of the magnetic layers 3.7 on the side facing the medium with the gap layer 4 in between, the tips of the magnetic layers 3, 7 form a pair of magnetic poles (balls) 9.10. It is.

In manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, a number of steps are performed, including a chip slicing process, a polishing process, an assembly process, etc., and one example of these steps will be described below.

A lower insulating layer 2 (A lyo3.Sio, etc.) is formed on a substrate 1 made of ceramic (ALO3TiC, etc.), and a ferromagnetic material such as permalloy or sendust is sputtered on the upper surface to form a lower magnetic layer 3. do.

Next, as a gap layer 4 on the lower magnetic layer 3, silicon oxide (Sio), aluminum oxide (AIto3), etc. are sputtered to a predetermined thickness to regulate the gap length, and the lower magnetic layer 3 and the upper magnetic layer 7 are The pack gap portion If connecting the two is removed by etching.

In addition, aluminum (AI), copper (Cu), etc. is formed on the gap layer 4 by vapor deposition or sputtering,
Coil conductor 6 is formed by dry etching.

Thereafter, the coil conductor 6 is covered with a polyimide resin, 5iO=, etc. as an interlayer insulating layer 5, and the coil conductor 6 is planarized.

Next, the front gap portion 12 and the back gap portion 11
The interlayer insulating layer 5 is etched and removed by about 10 μm. Then, on the surface of the interlayer insulating layer 5, an upper magnetic layer 7 is formed by sputtering Permalloy, Sendust, etc., and etched into a predetermined core shape. In this way, the tips of both magnetic pole layers 3.7 on the medium facing surface side are connected to the pair of magnetic poles 9.7. IO
Thus, a gap layer 4 is formed between them. And AI203. A protective layer 8 made of S 10 or the like is formed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Incidentally, in thin film magnetic heads, due to the requirement to maintain head characteristics, the gap depth origin (the lower magnetic layer 3 and the upper magnetic layer 7 are located on the medium facing surface side with only the gap layer 4 interposed therebetween) is required. Anti-light end (i.e., the point where the interlayer insulating layer 5 is no longer interposed)
13 is required to be formed with high precision such that the variation in position is less than ±lμl.

In the conventional thin film magnetic head described above, the interlayer insulating layer 5
Since the origin of the gap depth is determined by shoulder etching approximately lθμ at a time, there is a large variation, making it impossible to obtain stable accuracy.

Further, as another conventional example of a thin film magnetic head, there is one as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG.

This is because when forming the interlayer insulating layer 5 and the coil conductor 6, the interlayer insulating layer 5 made of polyimide resin, resist, etc. is added to the first insulating layer +7. Second insulating layer 18. Third insulating layer 1
It is divided into 9 and 3 layers and laminated in order.

In this thin-film magnetic head, the gap depth origin 13 is determined by etching the lowermost first insulating layer 17, which is relatively thin, so the gap depth origin is relatively stable, but the tapered portion 20 has a stepped shape. Therefore, this is not preferable for maintaining the magnetic properties of the upper magnetic layer 7.

Furthermore, since the coil conductor 6 and the interlayer insulating layer 5 are formed after the formation of the gap layer 4, the gap layer 4 is damaged during the formation and etching of the coil conductor 6 and the interlayer insulating layer 5. There was a problem that it became unstable.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide a thin film magnetic head that maintains magnetic properties, has a high precision of the gap depth origin, and has a high precision of the gap layer itself, and a method for manufacturing the same. purpose.

"Means for Solving the Problem" In order to solve the problem, the invention according to claim 1 provides a coil conductor covered with a lower insulating layer, a lower magnetic layer, and an interlayer insulating layer on a substrate, A thin film magnetic film in which a gap layer, an upper magnetic layer, and a protective layer are laminated, and the tips of the lower magnetic layer and the upper magnetic layer laminated with the gap layer on the side facing the medium form a gap between them. In the head,
The interlayer insulating layer includes an upper insulating part that covers the coil conductor, and a lower insulating part located at the origin of the gap depth by separating the gap layer and the lower magnetic layer on the side facing the medium, and the lower insulating part is The thin film magnetic head is characterized in that it is made of a material that is not etched during etching of the upper insulating layer, and one end of the lower insulating layer on the side facing the medium is located on the origin of the gap depth.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 2 laminates an interlayer insulating layer covering a lower insulating layer, a lower magnetic layer, and a coil conductor on a substrate, and a tip portion on the side facing the medium from the origin of the gap depth. The interlayer insulating layer is etched and removed, and a gap layer, an upper magnetic layer, and a protective layer are sequentially laminated.
This method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head is characterized in that a lower magnetic layer and an upper magnetic layer are laminated with a gap layer interposed therebetween, and the medium facing surface side of each layer is exposed on the side surface side of the substrate.

In order to solve the above problem, the invention as set forth in claim 3, in which a lower insulating layer and a lower magnetic layer are laminated on a substrate, and the lower insulating part made of a material that is not etched when etching the upper insulating part is placed on the side facing the medium. One end is formed to be located on the origin of the gap depth, an upper insulating layer is formed to cover the coil conductor, and the interlayer insulating layer is etched and removed from the origin of the gap depth to the tip on the side facing the medium. , characterized in that a gap layer, an upper magnetic layer, and a protective layer are sequentially laminated, and the tip surfaces of each of the lower magnetic layer and the upper magnetic layer laminated with the gap layer interposed are exposed on the side surface of the substrate. This is a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head.

"Function" In the thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, the gap depth origin is determined by forming the lower layer insulating portion with a small etch thickness at the gap depth origin, so that the position of the gap depth origin can be set with high precision. .

In the manufacturing method according to claim 2, since the gap layer is formed after forming the coil conductor and the interlayer insulating layer covering the coil conductor, damage caused during formation or etching of the coil conductor and the interlayer insulating layer can be avoided from the gap layer. This is a manufacturing method that eliminates the occurrence of damage and improves the precision of the gap layer.

In the manufacturing method according to claim 3, in order to form the lower layer insulating portion with a small etch thickness at the gap depth origin, and to form the gap layer after forming the interlayer insulation layer covering the coil conductor, This is a manufacturing method that has high precision and further improves the precision of the gap layer.

Embodiment FIGS. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention.

In the thin film magnetic head in the following embodiments, the same components as those in the conventional thin film magnetic head described above are given the same reference numerals.

The thin film magnetic head of this embodiment will be described below along with its manufacturing method.

First, the board! A lower insulating layer 2 and a lower magnetic layer 3 made of non-magnetic material are laminated thereon.

Next, the desired gap depth origin 1 on the lower magnetic layer 3 is
3, a lower insulating portion 15 is formed. The lower insulating portion 15 is formed so that one end thereof on the side facing the medium is aligned with the gap depth origin 13 . This lower layer insulating portion 15 is made of a nonmagnetic oxide such as AltO3°5iot or a nonmagnetic metal, and has a thickness of about 2 μm, for example.

After forming the coil conductor 6, polyimide resin or 5i
The upper insulating part 14 made of Oz or the like is formed while enclosing the coil conductor 6, the lower insulating part 15, and the like.

Thereafter, the front gap portion 12 is removed by etching. At this time, etching is performed until the lower layer insulating portion 15 is exposed. In this way, a gently tapered portion 20 is formed.

Next, a gap layer 4 made of A I203, S io 2, etc. is formed.

Thereafter, the upper magnetic layer 7 and the protective layer 8 are laminated to obtain a thin film magnetic head.

Here, the lower layer insulating section 15 needs to be made of a material that will not be etched when the upper layer insulating section 14 is etched. For example, when the upper layer insulating part 14 is made of polyimide resin, the lower layer insulating part I5 is made of a nonmagnetic oxide or nonmagnetic metal such as Alto3 or Sin, and when the upper layer insulating part 14 is made of S s Ot, the lower layer insulating part I5 is made of a nonmagnetic oxide or nonmagnetic metal such as Alto3 or Sin. The portion 15 is made of a nonmagnetic oxide such as A1.03 or a nonmagnetic metal.

In the thin-film magnetic head and its manufacturing method of this embodiment, the gap depth origin 13 is determined at the lower layer insulating portion 15, which can improve accuracy due to the thin etch thickness (approximately 2 μm). 3 has small variations.

Furthermore, since the gap Fa4 is formed after forming the interlayer insulating layer 5 that covers the coil conductor 6, the gap layer 4 is not damaged when forming the coil conductor 6 and the interlayer insulating layer 5, and the gap The accuracy of layer 4 is improved.

Note that the lower insulating section 13 may be made of many different materials to form a multilayer structure.

"Effect of the Invention J As explained above, the invention according to claim 1 forms the gap layer after determining the origin of the gap depth in advance in the lower layer insulating part where the etch thickness is small and the accuracy can be improved. This results in a thin-film magnetic head with high precision in the origin.

In the invention as claimed in claim 2, since the gap layer is formed after forming the interlayer insulating layer that covers the coil conductor, the gap layer is not damaged when forming or etching the interlayer insulating layer and the coil conductor. This method provides a method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head with a high precision gap layer.

The invention as set forth in claim 3 provides that the origin of the gap depth is determined in advance in the lower layer insulating part which has a small etch thickness and can improve accuracy, and furthermore, after forming an interlayer insulating layer that covers the coil conductor,
Since a gap layer is formed, the accuracy of the gap depth origin is high.Furthermore, the gap layer is not damaged when forming or etching the interlayer insulating layer or coil conductor, so the accuracy of the gap layer is high. This is a method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 are views showing an embodiment of the thin film magnetic head of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a sectional view, FIG. 2 is a partial plan view, FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged sectional view, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a conventional thin film magnetic head, FIG. 4 is a sectional view, FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged sectional view, and FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged sectional view of another conventional thin film magnetic head. . 1...Substrate, 2...Lower insulating layer, 3...Lower magnetic layer, 4...Gap layer, 5...Interlayer insulation Layer, 6... Coil conductor, 7... Upper magnetic layer, 8... Protective layer, I3... Gap depth origin, 14...
- Upper layer insulating section, 15...lower layer insulating section.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A lower insulating layer, a lower magnetic layer, a coil conductor covered with an interlayer insulating layer, a gap layer, an upper magnetic layer, and a protective layer are laminated on the substrate, and are laminated with the gap layer in between. In the thin film magnetic head, the interlayer insulating layer includes an upper insulating part that envelops the coil conductor, and a thin film magnetic head in which the tips of the lower magnetic layer and the upper magnetic layer on the side facing the medium form a gap therebetween. The gap layer on the opposing surface side and the lower magnetic layer are separated from each other, and the lower layer insulating portion is made of a material that is not etched when the upper layer insulating portion is etched. A thin film magnetic head characterized in that one end portion on the side of the medium facing surface is located on the gap depth origin. (2) An interlayer insulating layer covering a lower insulating layer, a lower magnetic layer, and a coil conductor is laminated on the substrate, and the interlayer insulating layer is etched and removed from the origin of the gap depth to the tip on the side facing the medium. , a gap layer, an upper magnetic layer, and a protective layer are sequentially laminated, and the medium facing surface side of each of the lower magnetic layer and the upper magnetic layer laminated with the gap layer interposed therebetween is exposed to the side surface side of the substrate. A method for manufacturing a characteristic thin-film magnetic head. (3) A lower insulating layer and a lower magnetic layer are laminated on the substrate, and the lower insulating layer is made of a material that is not etched when etching the upper insulating layer, and one end of the lower insulating layer on the side facing the medium is positioned on the gap depth origin. The interlayer insulating layer is etched and removed from the origin of the gap depth to the tip on the side facing the medium, and the gap layer, the upper magnetic layer, and the protective layer are formed. A method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, characterized in that the lower magnetic layer and the upper magnetic layer are sequentially laminated with a gap layer interposed therebetween, with the tip surfaces of each layer exposed on the side surface of the substrate.