JPH05258236A - Production of thin film magnetic head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely etch in a short time by forming a projected part as a sliding plane on the side where a layer to be peeled afterward is formed. CONSTITUTION:A peeling layer 36 having high etching property is formed on a substrate 35, and a recessed part 40 is formed in the layer 36 to form a projecting part 23 as a sliding part. Then insulating layers 371-373 which constitute the head element and magnetic layers 301-303 which constitute a rear yoke 30 are formed on the area including the recessed part 40. A coil pattern C1 is formed in the insulating layers 371-373 and then an insulating layer 42 and a magnetic pattern 24 as the core are formed in a manner that a part of the core pattern 24 is overlapped with the rear yoke 30. Then an insulating layer 43 and another coil pattern C2 are formed on the core pattern 24, which is connected to the pattern C1 to form a coil 25. After cutting the substrate into block units, each unit is polished till the top of the core pattern 24 is exposed to form a magnetic pole pattern 29, which is then coated with a protective film 46. Then the block is divided into head elements, which is subjected to etching of the peeling layer 36 to separate the head element from the substrate 35.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head in which a head element portion is laminated by a thin film technique, although a magnetic head is used for recording / reproducing information in a magnetic disk device.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

[Thin-Film Magnetic Head and Manufacturing Method Thereof] FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the whole of the thin-film magnetic head and a perspective view of the thin-film magnetic head attached to a spring arm. As shown in FIG. 1A, the thin film magnetic head is composed of a slider section 1 and a head element section 2, and a head element section 2 is laminated on the rear end 1r of the slider section 1 by a film forming technique and a lithographic technique. ing. Reference numeral 3 is a thin film coil terminal.

The inflow slopes s of the flying rail r and the front end 1f of the slider portion 1 are formed by grinding the slider portion 1 after forming the head element portion 2. Then, as shown in (b), the slider portion 1 is attached to the spring arm 5 via the gimbal 4 having a weak spring force, the root of the spring arm 5 is attached to the magnetic head positioning mechanism, and the gap G
Information is recorded / reproduced by facing the magnetic recording medium to the magnetic recording medium.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a film forming process of the head element portion 2 in the thin film magnetic head in the order of steps. First, as shown in (a), Al ₂ O ₃ is sputtered on a substrate (wafer) 13 of Al ₂ O ₃ .TiC to be a slider portion to form a lower protective film 6, on which a magnetic material is formed. NiFe is plated to form the bottom pole layer 7. At this time, several hundreds of lower magnetic pole layers 7 are formed in a matrix on one substrate 13 and finally separated one by one.

As shown in (b), a gap layer 8 is formed on the lower magnetic pole layer 7 by sputtering a non-magnetic material Al ₂ O ₃ to form a gap G, and the tip portion is made a gap G. Next, as shown in (c), a photoresist is spin-coated on the gap layer 8, exposed and developed into a desired shape, and then thermally cured to form the coil insulating layer 10a.

On the coil insulating layer 10a, as shown in (d),
A spiral thin film coil 9 centered on the rear end 11b of the upper magnetic pole layer 11 shown in step (f) is plated with Cu and patterned.
To form. Then, as shown in (e), a thin film coil 9 is spin-coated with a photoresist and thermally cured to form a coil insulating layer 10b, on which a magnetic substance is formed as shown in (f).
NiFe is formed by plating and patterned to form the top pole layer 11
To form.

At this time, the closed magnetic path having the gap G is formed by directly overlapping the rear end 11b of the upper magnetic pole layer 11 on the rear end of the lower magnetic pole layer 7. In the above process,
The shape of each film is formed into a predetermined pattern by lithographic technique and etching after film formation.

Finally, as shown in (g), on the top pole layer 11
Al ₂ O ₃ is sputtered to form the upper protective film 12. Thereafter, the pair of head element portions 2 is separated into several to ten slider blocks, and the slider blocks are ground and ground to the grinding position indicated by 15 to determine the gap depth GD.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the head element portion of the thin film magnetic head thus manufactured. By making the tips of the lower magnetic pole layer 7 and the upper magnetic pole layer 11 narrowed, the lower magnetic pole portion 7p and the upper magnetic pole portion 11p are formed, and the magnetic flux is concentrated in the gap G formed at the tip of the gap layer 8. I have to. Further, the thin-film coil 9 has the rear end 11b of the upper magnetic pole layer 11.
It is formed in a spiral shape centering on. Lead patterns 3a and 3b are connected to the terminals 3 and 3 in FIG.

[Conventional Thin Film Coil Manufacturing Method] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a thin film coil using a resist pattern in the order of steps. First, as shown in (1),
A plating base 16 is formed on the lower insulating layer 10a produced in step (c) by vapor deposition or sputtering, and a photoresist is applied thereon as shown in (2). The photoresist film 17 having a thickness of 6 to 7 μm is formed by heating for 30 minutes and prebaking.

Next, as shown in (3), the photomask 18 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to be exposed and developed with a developing solution.
Thus, the resist pattern 19 is formed. And 11
After heating at 5 ° C. for about 30 minutes and post-baking to cure the resist pattern 19, the plating base 16
When the electrode is used for electrolytic plating, the plating grows in a region where the resist pattern 19 does not exist as shown in (5),
Selective plating is performed.

Finally, the resist pattern 19 is removed by etching with a stripping solution as in (6), and the plating base is removed as in (7).
When 16 is removed, the thin film coil 9 is completed. The lower magnetic pole layer 7 and the upper magnetic pole layer 11 made of a magnetic material are manufactured by substantially the same process.

The thin film magnetic head thus manufactured is attached to the spring arm 5 as shown in FIG. 9 (b), and is pressed against the magnetic recording medium side by the spring force of the spring arm 5 to act on the inflow slope s. Information is recorded / reproduced in a state of slightly floating by the aerodynamic force.

However, when subjected to vibration or the like, the thin film magnetic head may collide with the magnetic recording medium to cause a head crash, and the information on the magnetic recording medium may be destroyed.
Further, in contrast to such a recording system using a conventional thin film magnetic head, perpendicular magnetic recording is more suitable for high density recording, but in the case of perpendicular magnetic recording, the gap between the gap and the magnetic recording medium is further narrowed. However, it is necessary to make a slight levitation,
As a result, head crashes are more likely to occur.

In view of the above circumstances, it is considered effective to directly slide the head element portion on the magnetic recording medium instead of flying using the slider portion 1 as shown in FIG. Further, since the flying slider section 1 is not required, it can be made small and lightweight and can be slid with a light contact pressure, which is also suitable for extending the life of the magnetic head and the magnetic recording medium. Since the head element portion is small, a large number of thin film magnetic heads can be obtained from one wafer, and the cost can be reduced by mass production.

[Conventional integrated thin film head] FIGS. 13 to 15
Is an integrated thin-film head introduced in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-178017, which is adapted to slide perpendicularly on a magnetic recording medium as described above. FIG. 13 is a plan view and a side view showing the whole of the integrated thin film head. Reference numeral 21 is a spring arm portion, and the magnetic head element portion 22
Are integrally formed, and the sliding protrusion 23
Are formed so as to project. That is, instead of attaching the slider portion to a separate spring arm as shown in FIG. 9 (b), the spring arm portion and the head element portion are integrally laminated by a thin film technique from the beginning.

FIG. 14 is a vertical cross-sectional view of this integral type thin film head. The head element portion 22 has a core 24 made of a magnetic material,
The coil 25 is wound by a thin film technique, and the lead pattern 26 of the coil 25 is attached to the root (mounting portion) 27 of the spring arm portion 21.
It has a structure connected to the bonding pad 28 of.

A magnetic pole 29 extending to the magnetic disk D side is connected to the tip of the core 24, and a rear end yoke 30 also extending to the magnetic disk D side is formed at the rear end. And
A return yoke 31 is connected to the rear end yoke 30 in parallel with the core 24. Each of the above parts is manufactured by sequentially stacking the thin film technology.

This integral type thin film head has a sliding projection at the tip.
When an information signal is applied to the coil 25 while the 23 is in contact with the magnetic disk D rotating in the direction of the arrow, the magnetic pole
The magnetic flux 32 between the return yoke 31 and the return yoke 31 is transmitted through the magnetic disk D, so that perpendicular magnetic recording is possible.

FIG. 15 (a) is a plan view showing a state in which this integral type thin film head is mounted on a magnetic disk device, which is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 3-137883 previously proposed by the applicant of the present invention. It is the same as the one. That is, the root 27 of the integrated thin-film head H is fixed to the mounting arm 33, and the mounting arm 33
Is fixed to the positioner 34. FIG. 2B is an enlarged side view showing the mounting portion of the integrated thin-film head, in which the sliding protrusion 23 at the tip of the integrated thin-film head H is in pressure contact with the magnetic disk D and the spring arm. Part 21 is mounted so that it flexes somewhat.

[Manufacturing Method of Conventional Integrated Thin Film Head]
16 to 18 show a conventional method of manufacturing an integrated type thin film head described in Japanese Patent Application No. 4-9106. First, as shown in FIG. Then, the magnetic circuit, the insulating layer, the coil 25, etc. are sequentially laminated to form the substrate 35, and then the substrate 35 is finally removed. The substrate 35 has an easy-to-etch separation layer 36 to facilitate removal of the substrate 35 after completion.
Is formed, an integral thin film head is laminated on the separation layer 36, and finally the peeling layer 36 is removed by etching.

After laminating the magnetic circuit, the insulating layer, the coil 25, etc. on the substrate 35, the end face 22a is lap-polished until the tip of the core 24 is exposed as shown in FIG. The magnetic pole 29 is formed on the substrate. After that, when the separation layer 36 is etched, the substrate 35 is separated, and only the integral type thin film head having the head element portion 22 remains.

In order to wind the coil 25 around the core 4 by the thin film technique, film formation and patterning are repeated as shown in FIG. FIG. 18 is a plan view and a vertical sectional view showing each step. First, as shown in (1), an insulating layer made of Al ₂ O ₃ etc.
On the 37, a plating base (Cu) for forming the lower conductor pattern is formed on one surface, Cu is formed on the mask by plating, and the unnecessary plating base is removed to remove the lower conductor. Form a pattern C1 ... Reference numeral 30 is a rear end yoke formed previously.

Next, as shown in (2), in order to insulate between the lower conductor pattern C1 and the core 24, the lower conductor pattern C1
A first insulating layer 38 is formed in a direction intersecting with C1 ..., A magnetic material such as permalloy is formed on the entire surface, and then patterned by ion etching to form the core 24. The rear end of the core 24 is laminated on the rear end yoke 30.

As shown in (3), set the core 24 to the upper conductor pattern.
Core 24 to insulate₂O ₃With insulators such as 39
cover. At this time, both ends e1 of each lower conductor pattern C1 are exposed.
Let me put it out. Next, as in (4), the second insulating layer 39
Above, the upper conductor pattern C2 is patterned.

At this time, the right end of each upper conductor pattern C2
The upper and lower conductor patterns C are arranged so that 2r overlaps with the right end 1r of the lower conductor pattern C1 and the left end 2L of the upper conductor pattern C2 overlaps with the left end 1L of the lower conductor pattern C1 of the next pitch.
Patterned in the direction in which 1 and C2 intersect. As a result, each lower conductor pattern C1 and each upper conductor pattern C2
And form a continuous coil 25 with a core 24
Will be inserted.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 14, in regions where the thin-film coil 25 and the like do not exist, insulating material layers 371 and 37 such as Al ₂ O ₃ are used.
By laminating 2 ... and magnetic layers 301, 302 ... Of permalloy or the like, the head element portion 22 and the spring arm portion 21 are laminated.
Are integrally laminated. Finally, as shown in Figure 16, the core
The magnetic pole 29 is patterned on the tip of the core 24 by lapping until the tip of the 24 is exposed. This gives
An L-shaped magnetic circuit is formed as shown in FIG.

To form the magnetic pole 29, a photoresist is applied on the magnetic film formed on the tip surface 22a of the head element portion 22 shown in FIG. 16 and thermally cured, and a photomask is placed thereon. , Align the photomask pattern with the core 24. Then, exposure and development are performed to remove the photoresist other than the region of the magnetic pole 29, and ion milling is performed on the photoresist to remove an unnecessary portion of the magnetic film, whereby the magnetic pole 29 is formed.

[0029]

By the way, in the conventional method of manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic recording type thin film magnetic head as described above, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, both surfaces of the peeling layer 36 are flat. When the peeling layer 36 is removed by etching to separate the substrate 35 and the head element portion, it takes a long time to etch the peeling layer 36, which hinders mass production.

There is also a method of cutting the release layer 36 and then etching the remaining release layer.
It is difficult to cut along the line, and if the peeling layer 36 is thickened so as to be easily cut, there is a problem that it takes a long time to form the peeling layer 36.

In addition, in the manufacturing process of the thin film magnetic head, including the case of the thin film magnetic head of FIGS. 9 to 12, it is necessary to repeat film formation by plating or vapor deposition, selective etching, and thermosetting treatment of photoresist. Therefore, it is necessary to perform each process reliably and smoothly, and it is important to be able to form each film uniformly.

The technical problem of the present invention is to pay attention to such a problem, to enable efficient manufacture of a thin film magnetic head formed by thin film technology, and to smoothly perform each process without deteriorating the quality. It is to be realized.

[0033]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the basic principle of a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the recess 40 for forming the sliding protrusion 23 is formed on the release layer 36 having a high etching property formed on the substrate 35.
The insulating layers 371 to 373 forming at least the head element portion and the magnetic films 301 to 303 forming the rear end yoke 30 are formed in the region including the recess 40.

Then, the insulating layer 371 formed in the above process
After forming one coil pattern C1 on ~ 373,
An insulating layer 38 is formed on the coil pattern C1, a magnetic material pattern 24 serving as a core is formed on the insulating layer 38, and a part of the core pattern 24 is overlapped with the rear end yoke 30.

Next, an insulating layer 39 is formed on the core pattern 24.
Is formed, another coil pattern C2 is formed thereon, and the continuous coil 25 is connected to the coil pattern C1.
To form. The coil 25 is usually covered with a protective film 41. After that, the substrate 35 is cut in block units at the position of the arrow a ₁ and polished until the tip of the core pattern 24 is exposed to form the magnetic pole 29 connected to the core pattern 24, and then the protective film 42 is used. cover.

After the above processes are completed, the head element portions are separated one by one, and the peeling layer 36 is etched to separate the head element portions from the substrate 35. A large number of head element parts can be obtained from above.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, at least before forming the insulating layer 371 constituting the head element portion in a region including the recess 40 formed in the release layer 36 having a high etching property on the substrate, at least A wear resistant film 43 is formed in the recess 40.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the insulating layers 371 to 373 are laminated by the process of the first aspect, the spring arm portion and the head element portion are formed together, so that the spring arm portion is integrated with the head element portion. A thin film magnetic head is obtained.

According to the invention of claim 4, when the insulating layers 371 to 373 are laminated by the process of claim 1, only the head element portion is formed without forming the spring arm portion, and one head element portion is formed. This is a method of attaching the head element section to a separate spring arm after separating them, that is, a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head separate from the spring arm.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, aluminum is used as the peeling layer 36 which is laminated on the substrate of the first aspect and has a recess 40 for forming a sliding protrusion and which has a high etching property. Is.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the peeling layer 36, which is laminated on the substrate of the first aspect and has a recess 40 for forming a sliding protrusion, is formed by vapor deposition or sputtering. It is a film.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a reducing agent is used as a chemical oxide film removing agent when removing an oxide film generated on the surface of a metal film in the process of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, when the magnetic substance is plated in the process of manufacturing the thin film magnetic head, PH7 is used.
In the following, a magnetic plating bath prepared by adding a complexing agent that forms a more stable metal complex than hydroxide ion is used.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, when a thick magnetic film is plated in the process of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, the plating current or the agitation speed is changed in the process of the plating process to change the film thickness direction. To prevent the composition variation of

[0045]

According to the present invention, a recess 40 for forming the sliding protrusion 23 is formed in the release layer 36 having a high etching property formed on the substrate 35, and a region including the recess 40 is formed. In order to form at least the insulating layer 371 forming the head element portion, after the subsequent steps are completed, the peeling layer 36 is etched to separate the head element portion from the substrate 35. It suffices to etch only the areas where no. That is, since the sliding convex portion 23 is provided, the volume of the peeling layer 36 that needs to be etched is reduced, so that the etching amount can be small, etching can be performed reliably and in a short time, and the productivity is improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a wear resistant film such as 43 is formed in at least the recess 40 of the peeling layer 36 having a high etching property, and at least the head is formed in the region including the recess 40. Since the insulating layer 371 forming the element portion is formed, the sliding surface of the completed sliding protrusion 23 is made of the wear resistant material 43, and the life of the thin film magnetic head is improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the insulating layers 371 to 373 are laminated by the process of the first aspect, the spring arm portion and the head element portion are laminated together, so that the spring arm portion is integrated with the head element portion. Since a thin film magnetic head is obtained, it is not necessary to attach it to a separate spring arm as in the conventional case.

According to the fourth aspect, when the insulating layers 371 to 373 are laminated by the above process, the spring arm portion is not formed, only the head element portion is formed, and the head element portions are separated one by one. After that, according to the method of attaching the head element part to the spring arm, a thin film magnetic head separate from the spring arm is formed, but a large number of head element parts can be produced on one substrate, and the sliding protrusions can be formed. Since the volume occupied by 23 becomes large, the peeling layer 36 formed on the substrate 35 can be etched in a shorter time.

According to a fifth aspect, laminated on the substrate 35,
By using aluminum as the release layer 36 having a high etching property in which the concave portion 40 for forming the sliding convex portion 23 is formed, excellent adhesion to the substrate 35 is obtained, and aluminum can be used with various etching solutions. Since it can be easily etched, it can be etched in a short time without damaging the head element portion, and has excellent productivity.

According to a sixth aspect, it is laminated on the substrate 35,
Since the peeling layer 36 having a high etching property, in which the recess 40 for forming the sliding protrusion 23 is formed, is formed by vapor deposition or sputtering, the film surface becomes flat. Flattening is not required and productivity is improved by reducing man-hours.

When the oxide film generated on the surface of the metal film in the process of manufacturing the thin film magnetic head is removed, the reducing agent is used as the chemical oxide film removing agent, so that the side surface of the metal film is removed. It is possible to remove only the oxide film on the surface without causing etching or the like.

When the magnetic film is plated in the process of manufacturing the thin film magnetic head as described in claim 8, PH7 is used.
By forming a film in a magnetic plating bath containing a complexing agent that forms a more stable metal complex than hydroxide ion below, the bath composition does not change even when the plating bath is used for a long time. As a result, a thin film magnetic head having no variation in the composition of the plated film can be obtained.

In the ninth aspect of the present invention, in the process of plating the magnetic film, the composition current in the film thickness direction can be prevented from changing by changing the plating current or the stirring speed. When making a thick magnetic film,
The composition in the film thickness direction becomes uniform, and a thin film magnetic head having excellent magnetic characteristics can be obtained.

[0054]

EXAMPLES Next, practical examples of how the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention is embodied will be described.

[Example of Manufacturing Process of Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Thin-Film Magnetic Head] FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of the invention of claims 1 and 2 in the order of steps. First, as shown in claim 5, aluminum or the like is formed as a peeling layer 36 on a substrate 35 such as Al ₂ O ₃ TiC. In this case, as described in claim 6, it is preferable to form aluminum by vapor deposition or sputtering.

Aluminum is a substrate made of Al ₂ O ₃ TiC or the like.
It has excellent adhesion to 35, and aluminum has excellent selective etching properties with each component of the head element.
It can be easily etched with various etching solutions such as dilute hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and nitric acid. For example, the etching rate is several times higher than that of copper or the like, etching can be performed in a short time, and selective etching can be performed without damaging the head element portion. Moreover, since the film surface is flattened by vapor deposition to a thickness of about 50 μm, flattening processing is not required as compared with plating, and the productivity is improved by reducing the number of steps.

After the release layer 36 is formed in this way,
A recess 40 for forming the sliding protrusion 23 is formed by a method such as selectively etching the surface of the peeling layer 36. Alternatively, after depositing aluminum up to the bottom of the recess 40,
The remaining portion can be formed by selectively forming the film by the depth of the recess 40.

Next, in a process, an insulating layer 370 such as alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) is formed in the region including the recess 40, and the surface is polished to be flattened if necessary. The return yoke 31 shown in FIG. 14 is not necessarily essential, but if necessary, after forming a return yoke 31 by plating a magnetic material such as NiFe in a step, the return yoke 31 in a step is formed. A magnetic material 301 such as NiFe is partially patterned to form the rear yoke 30 on the rear end.

In addition, after forming an insulating layer 371 of alumina or the like on the NiFe film 301 in the process, flattening processing such as lapping is performed to make the heights of the NiFe film 301 and the insulating layer 371 uniform. Then, by repeating the process and the process several times, the NiFe film 302 and the insulating layer 372 as shown in FIG.
The NiFe film 303 and the insulating layer 373 are laminated in this order to have a predetermined film thickness. Each NiFe film 301-303 is formed as a thick film of about 10-20 μm.

Then, as shown in the process, the insulating layer 370
~ After patterning the lower coil pattern C1 on 373, apply a photoresist or the like in the process, cover it with an insulating layer 42 by thermosetting at a high temperature of 100 ° C or more, and plate NiFe or the like in the process. In the core pattern 24
Pattern.

The core pattern 24 is covered with the insulating layer 43 made of the photoresist as described above in the process, and then the upper coil pattern C2 is patterned and connected to the lower coil pattern C1 in 10 processes. The entire surface is covered with the protective film 41. The formation of the coil pattern and the core pattern through steps 10 to 10 is basically the same as the process shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the lead patterns at both ends of the coil. When the lower coil pattern C1 is formed,
The lead pattern 261 is also patterned. In addition, when forming the upper coil pattern C2, the lead pattern 262 is also patterned.

Then, each lead pattern 261,
At the time of forming the insulating layer after forming the 262, the insulating layers should not be laminated only on the tip portions of the lead patterns 261 and 262.
An insulating layer is selectively formed. Alternatively, after laminating insulating layers, holes are formed in the tip portions of the lead patterns 261 and 262. Then, soldering or the like is performed to form bonding pads 281 and 282.

When the head element portion and the spring arm are integrated thin film magnetic heads as described in claim 3, the bonding pads 281 and 282 are formed on the root portion 27 of the spring arm 21 in FIG. Lead pattern 26
1 and 262 are also formed up to the root portion 27.

On the other hand, when the head element portion and the spring arm are separate type thin film magnetic heads as described in claim 4, as shown in FIG.
Since 281 and 282 are formed close to the coil pattern, the lead patterns 261 and 262 can be short. As a result, a large number of head element parts can be simultaneously formed on one wafer, but it is necessary to separate the head element parts one by one and then attach them to separate spring arms 5 as shown in FIG. 9 (b). is there.

The patterning of each layer in the above steps is performed by a conventionally known technique. That is, there is a method in which film formation is selectively performed on the mask, or after forming each layer, a mask is formed with a photoresist and etching is performed from above.

After patterning each layer on the substrate 35 in this manner, cutting is performed at the tip end position of each core pattern 24, the head element portion is divided into a plurality of blocks, and each block is
As shown in FIG. 16, polishing is performed by lapping until the tip of the core pattern 24 is exposed.

Then, as shown in FIG. 17, NiFe or the like is patterned on the tip surface of the head element portion 22 so as to overlap the tip of the core pattern 24 to form a magnetic pole 29, and alumina or the like is formed thereon. After covering and forming the protective film 42 in FIG. 1, the block is cut to separate the thin film magnetic heads one by one, and the peeling layer 36 is separated from the substrate 35 by etching with dilute hydrochloric acid or the like.

As described in claim 2, a wear resistant film is formed in at least the recess 40 of the peeling layer 36 having a high etching property as shown by 43 in FIG. When the insulating layer 371 is formed, the sliding surface of the sliding projection 23 after the peeling layer 36 is etched is composed of the wear resistant film 43, and a thin film magnetic head having high wear resistance is obtained. .. Diamond-like carbon and zirconia are suitable as wear resistant materials.

[Example of Removing Oxide Film on Metal Film Surface] Next, removal of the oxide film on the metal film surface according to claim 7 will be described. In the steps (c) and (e) of FIG. 10 and in the steps and steps of FIG. 2, a photoresist is applied and cured at a high temperature of 230 ° C. to 280 ° C. However, during this hard bake treatment, the exposed surface of the conductor pattern or magnetic pattern formed earlier is oxidized, so it is necessary to remove the oxide film and then perform plating or vapor deposition on it. is there.

Conventionally, since sulfuric acid is used to remove the oxide film, there is a problem that the conductor pattern and the magnetic pattern are easily side-etched. However, as in claim 7, reduction is performed as a chemical oxide film remover. By using the agent, the oxide film on the surface can be removed without causing side etching.

As the reducing agent, it is effective to use ascorbic acid, citric acid, oxalic acid, hydroxylamine hydrochloride, hydroxylamine sulfate, hypophosphorous acid, or a salt thereof dissolved in pure water. Immerse the thin film magnetic head in the process. For example, when it was immersed in a solution of 20% ascorbic acid and 50 ° C. for 1 minute, the oxide film on the surface of NiFe and Cu could be reliably removed without side etching. It is also effective for removing an oxide film formed on the surface of a magnetic material such as FeCo or FeN.

[Example of Method of Plating Magnetic Material] NiFe is often used in forming a magnetic pattern, but Fe ²⁺ is oxidized by electrolysis and stirring of a bath during a long-time plating treatment. The iron hydroxide gradually precipitates in the bath. As a result, the Ni component in the bath relatively increases, so that the plating film gradually contains a large amount of Ni component, and the composition of the magnetic pattern varies.

On the other hand, as described in claim 8, a magnetic film is formed by using a magnetic plating bath to which a complexing agent that forms a metal complex more stable than hydroxide ion at pH 7 or less is added. As a result, the bath composition is stable, so that the composition of the plating film does not vary even if the same plating bath is used for a long time.

That is, a complexing agent capable of forming a metal complex more stable than hydroxide ion at pH 7 or less has a strong binding force between the complex ion and iron and can suppress the generation of iron hydroxide. As complexing agents, citric acid, tartaric acid, oxalic acid, EDTA,
DTPA, CyDTA, lactic acid and the like are suitable.

These complexing agents: 0.5 Mol, NiSO ₄ : 300 g /
Liter, FeSO ₄ : 10 g / liter, H ₃ BO ₃ : 30 g / liter, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate: 0.5 g / liter, saccharin Na: 2 g / liter was used as a plating bath, and a NiFe pattern was formed by plating. There was no change in the film composition of both the first plated pattern and the last plated pattern, and it was confirmed that the plating bath composition was stabilized by adding the complexing agent to the conventional plating bath.

[Example of Plating Method of Thick Film Magnetic Material] FIG.
The rear end yoke 30 is formed by repeating the plating of the NiFe film 301 shown in the step of several times, but the plating thickness of one time is 10 μm.
It is thicker than m. Therefore, in the conventional method, the film composition is different between the lower side and the upper side of the plating film formed once.

For example, permalloy for magnetic pole is Ni83%, Fe
17% is used, but the Ni content gradually decreases and the Fe content increases. When the composition ratio of Ni and Fe changes in this way, the magnetic characteristics also change, so when viewed from the rear end yoke 30 as a whole, the magnetic pole resistance increases as compared to the case where the composition is uniform, and the electromagnetic conversion characteristics of the thin film magnetic head There is a problem in that stable characteristics cannot be obtained, such as a decrease in

On the other hand, by changing the plating current or the stirring speed during the plating process as described in claim 9, it is possible to prevent the composition variation in the film thickness direction.
That is, the plating current is gradually increased, but at this time, it may be increased stepwise as shown in FIG. 4A or may be linearly and continuously increased as shown in FIG. 4B. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. (C), the initial value is suddenly increased and then gradually increased.

FIG. 5 shows Ni in the plating film thickness direction when the plating current is increased stepwise from 40 mA to 80 mA every several tens of seconds.
The composition ratio is shown, and it can be seen that the Ni component has hardly changed.

Further, even when the agitation speed is changed with the plating current kept constant, the agitation speed is continuously decreased as shown in FIG. 6 (a), or gradually decreased in the first half as shown in FIG. Is a constant speed. That is, since Ni is more easily plated, as shown in FIG. 7, when the stirring speed is as low as 50 to 60 RPM, the Ni plating amount is large, but the stirring speed is 90 to 100 RPM.
If it is fast, the Ni plating amount will decrease.

Therefore, Ni is less likely to be plated by agitation at the beginning, and the agitation speed is gradually reduced to facilitate Ni plating, whereby the composition ratio of Ni and Fe can be made uniform. It should be noted that the stirring speed can be gradually reduced or combined with the increase of the plating current.

The broken line (marked with X) in FIG. 8 represents the Ni component when the stirring speed is constant at 80 RPM,
The Ni component gradually decreases, while the solid line (black circle)
According to the method of the present invention, the stirring speed is 80 RPM to 60 RPM.
It is observed that the Ni component is constant in all parts in the film thickness direction.

[0084]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the sliding convex portion 23 is formed on the side of the peeling layer 36 having a high etching property which is removed by etching later, the film forming process is completed. The peeling layer 36 to be etched later is only in a region where the sliding protrusions 23 do not exist, and the volume of the peeling layer 36 decreases, so that the peeling layer 36 can be surely etched in a short time and is suitable for mass production.

According to the second aspect, since the abrasion-resistant film 43 is formed in at least the concave portion 40 of the peeling layer 36 to be removed by etching and then the sliding convex portion 23 is formed, the sliding after the completion is completed. Convex
The wear resistance of the 23 sliding surfaces is improved, and the life of the thin film magnetic head is improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the thin film magnetic head integral with the spring arm portion is obtained by forming the spring arm portion and the head element portion together by the process of the first aspect. It eliminates the need to attach to a separate spring arm.

Thus, without forming the spring arm portion integrally, only the head element portion is formed and the head element portion is separated into individual pieces, and then the head element portion is formed of a leaf spring or the like. According to the method of attaching to the spring arm, a large number of head element parts can be manufactured on one substrate,
Further, since the volume occupied by the sliding protrusions 23 with respect to the volume of the peeling layer 36 becomes large, the peeling layer 36 can be removed by etching in a shorter time.

As described in claim 5, by using aluminum as the peeling layer 36 to be removed by etching later, the adhesion with the substrate 35 is excellent and the head can be easily etched with various etching solutions. It can be etched in a short time without damaging the element part and is suitable for mass production.

By forming the peeling layer 36, which will be removed by etching later, by vapor deposition or sputtering as described in claim 6, the film surface becomes flat, so that a flattening process such as plating is unnecessary. , Productivity is improved by reducing man-hours.

When the oxide film on the surface of the metal film previously formed is removed as described in claim 7, a reducing agent is used as a chemical oxide film removing agent to prevent side etching of the metal film. It is possible to efficiently remove only the oxide film on the surface without coming.

By forming the magnetic film in the magnetic plating bath containing a complexing agent as described in claim 8, variation in bath composition can be prevented even when the plating bath is used for a long time. As a result, a uniform thin film magnetic head having no variation in the plating film composition can be obtained.

By changing the plating current or the stirring speed in the process of forming the magnetic substance by plating as described in claim 9, compositional variation in the film thickness direction can be prevented, and a magnetic film that is uniform over the entire film thickness can be obtained. can get.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the basic principle of a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 1 in the order of steps.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a terminal pattern of a thin film coil.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing various examples in which the plating current is increased.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the results of measuring the Ni composition ratio in the plating film thickness direction when the plating current was increased stepwise from 40 mA to 80 mA.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which the stirring speed of the plating bath is reduced during the plating process.

FIG. 7 is a measurement result showing the relationship between the stirring speed of the plating bath and the Ni plating amount.

FIG. 8 shows the measurement results of the Ni plating amount when the stirring speed is constant and when the stirring speed is gradually reduced.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the whole thin film magnetic head.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a film forming process of a head element portion in the thin film magnetic head in order of steps.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a completed state of a head element portion.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a thin-film coil using a resist pattern in the order of steps.

13A and 13B are a plan view and a side view showing the whole of the integrated thin film head.

FIG. 14 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the integrated thin-film head.

15A and 15B are a plan view and a side view showing a state in which the integrated thin film head is mounted on a magnetic disk device.

16 to 18 show a conventional method for manufacturing an integrated thin film head, and FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing an end face forming process of a core pattern.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a conventional magnetic pole forming method.

FIG. 18 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view showing a method of forming a coil pattern and a core pattern in a conventional integrated thin film head in the order of steps.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 slider part 2 head element part 3 thin film coil terminal r levitation rail s inflow slope 4 gimbal 5 spring arm 6 lower protective film 7 lower magnetic pole layer 7p lower magnetic pole 8 gap layer G recording / reproducing gap D magnetic recording medium (magnetic disk) 9 thin film coil 10a lower insulating layer 10b upper insulating layer 11 upper magnetic pole layer 11p upper magnetic pole 12 upper protective film 13 substrate 15 grinding position 16 plating base 17 photoresist film 18 photomask 19 resist pattern 21 spring arm part 22 head element part 23 slide Dynamic convex part 24 Core (core pattern) 25 Coil 26,261,262 Lead pattern 27 Root (mounting part) 28,281,282 Bonding pad 29 Magnetic pole 30 Rear end yoke 301 to 303 Magnetic film 31 Return yoke 32 Magnetic flux 35 Substrate (wafer) 36 Release layer (separation layer) ) 371-373 Insulation layer 40 Recess 41,42 Protective film 43 Abrasion resistant film

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A recess for forming a sliding protrusion (23) on a release layer (36) formed on a substrate (35) and having a high etching property.
(40) is formed, and in the region including the recess (40), at least insulating layers (371 to 373) constituting the head element portion and the rear end yoke are formed.
(30) forming the magnetic film (301 to 303) constituting the step, a step of forming one coil pattern (C1) on the insulating layer (371 to 373) formed in the step, the coil Form the insulating layer (42) on the pattern (C1),
A step of forming a magnetic material pattern (24) to be a core thereon and overlapping a part of the core pattern (24) with the trailing end yoke (30); on the core pattern (24) A step of forming an insulating layer (43), forming another coil pattern (C2) on it, and connecting it to the coil pattern (C1) to form a continuous coil (25), the substrate (35) ) Is cut into blocks, and then polished until the tip of the core pattern (24) is exposed to form a magnetic pole pattern (29) connected to the core pattern (24), and a protective film ( Step of covering with 46), a step of separating the head element parts one by one after finishing the above processes and etching the peeling layer (36) to separate the head element part from the substrate (35) A method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, comprising: 2. An insulating layer (371) constituting at least a head element part is formed in a region including a recess (40) formed in a release layer (36) rich in etching property on the substrate (35). 2. The method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein an abrasion resistant film (47) is formed at least in the recess (40). 3. The insulating layer (371 to
3. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the spring arm portion and the head element portion are laminated together to form a thin film magnetic head integrated with the spring arm portion. Magnetic head manufacturing method. 4. The insulating layer (371 to
When stacking 373), do not form the spring arm part,
The head element section is formed only, and after the head element section is separated, the head element section is attached to a separate spring arm.
Alternatively, the method of manufacturing the thin film magnetic head according to claim 2. 5. A sliding convex portion laminated on the substrate (35).
The thin film magnetic head according to claim 1 or 2, wherein aluminum is used as a release layer (36) having a high etching property in which a recess (40) for forming the (23) is formed. Manufacturing method. 6. A sliding convex portion laminated on the substrate (35).
The thin film according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the release layer (36) having a high etching property, in which the concave portion (40) for forming the (23) is formed, is formed by vapor deposition or sputtering. Magnetic head manufacturing method. 7. A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, wherein a reducing agent is used as a chemical oxide film removing agent when removing an oxide film generated on a surface of a metal film in a process of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head. .. 8. A magnetic plating bath prepared by adding a complexing agent capable of forming a metal complex more stable than hydroxide ion at pH of 7 or less when plating a magnetic film in the process of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head. A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, comprising: 9. When a thick magnetic film is plated in the process of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, the plating current or the stirring speed is changed in the process of plating to prevent compositional variation in the film thickness direction. A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, comprising: