JPH06223319A - Thin film composite magnetic head and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve massproducibility with no increase in the manhour by getting rid of 'steps' and 'waving' in an upper magnetic layer, a lower magnetic layer and a recording gap of a write only head part, preventing possible drop in main peak in reproduction and moreover, dispensing with a skew writing part to eliminate possible bit shifting while using no mechanical working-for the 'steps' and 'waving' in a wafer. CONSTITUTION:This thin film composite magnetic head is provided with a read-only head part R which comprises a magnetic resistance element layer 7, a lower shield layer 2 sandwiched by the magnetic resistance element layer 7 through a reproduction gap and an upper shield layer 11 and a write-only head part W which has a lower magnetic layer 13 and an upper magnetic layer 15 formed through an intermediate insulation layer 12 and a recording gap 14 formed between both the magnetic layers on a base plate 1. A flattened portion is subjected to lapping or polishing as mechanical working.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thin film composite type magnetic head used in a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus used for an external storage device of a computer and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, external storage devices for computers and V
With the miniaturization and large capacity of TRs, there is a demand for higher recording density. In particular, when the relative speed between the magnetic recording medium and the magnetic head decreases with miniaturization, a thin film composite magnetic head using a magnetoresistive element whose magnetic head output does not depend on the relative speed (hereinafter referred to as MR head) The need for is getting higher.

In the MR head, a conventional electromagnetic induction type thin film head is used as a write-only head portion, and a plurality of layers including a magnetoresistive element, a non-magnetic layer and a soft magnetic bias auxiliary layer are two shield layers with an insulating layer interposed therebetween. It is used as a sandwiched read-only head unit. The MR head is a semiconductor
Since the head is manufactured by using the thin film forming technology and the photo-etching technology based on the process technology of (LSI, IC, etc.), it is easy to downsize and suitable for mass production.

The entire structure of the conventional MR head and the manufacturing method thereof will be described below with reference to FIGS.
The appearance of the conventional MR head slider and the present invention is shown in FIG.
FIG. 17 shows an enlarged view of a portion A of the conventional MR head slider shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 18 shows an enlarged view of the central portion of the element portion of the conventional MR head in FIG. 18, and FIG. M
FIG. 19 is an enlarged perspective view of the element portion of the R head.

In the structure of the conventional MR head, as shown in FIG. 17, an insulating layer 33 for electrically insulating the substrate 31 and the lower shield layer 32 is formed, and a base insulating layer is formed on the lower shield layer 32. 34 via the soft magnetic bias auxiliary layer 35, the non-magnetic layer 3
6. After forming a plurality of layers with the magnetoresistive element layer 37, an exchange bias layer 38 and a lead layer 39 are formed, and an upper shield layer 41 is formed on the lead layer 39 including the plurality of layers via an upper insulating layer 40. After forming the intermediate insulating layer 42 on the read-only head portion R and the upper shield layer 41, the lower magnetic layer 43, the recording gap
A write-only head portion W formed in sequence with 44 and the upper magnetic layer 45 is formed. Also, an inter-layer insulating layer 47 and an element for maintaining insulation between the energizing coil 46 and the upper magnetic layer 45 and the lower magnetic layer 43 and the energizing coil 46 shown in FIG. It has a structure in which a protective layer 48 is formed to protect the parts.

A conventional method for manufacturing an MR head will be described below.
A description will be given based on FIG. 20 and FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 20 (a) and 20 (b), a thin film forming technique (sputtering, vacuum deposition method, etc.) is formed on a substrate 31 having excellent workability and wear resistance in order to maintain electrical insulation from the substrate 31. (For example, electrode plating method) is used to form an insulating layer 33 of SiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ or the like, and a Ni-Fe alloy, Fe-Al-Si alloy,
A lower shield layer 32 is formed by depositing a Co-based amorphous alloy or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1C, a base insulating layer 34 is formed of SiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ or the like to maintain electrical insulation with the lower shield layer 32, and a Ni--Fe based alloy or a Co based The soft magnetic bias auxiliary layer 35 is formed of an amorphous alloy or the like. After that, a film of Al ₂ O ₃ , Si ₂ O, Ta or the like to be the nonmagnetic layer 36 is formed, and a Ni—Fe alloy to be the magnetic resistance element layer 37 is formed to form a plurality of layers.

Next, as shown in FIG. 21 (a), a lead electrode and an exchange bias layer 38 for suppressing Barkhausen noise and Au.W are formed into a predetermined shape and size by using a photographic etching technique.
Etc. to form the lead layer 39. After forming the upper insulating layer 40 with Al ₂ O ₃ , Si ₂ O, etc., as shown in FIG.
The read-only head portion R is manufactured by forming the upper shield layer 41 of Fe alloy, Fe-Al-Si alloy, Co-based amorphous alloy or the like.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1C, Al ₂ O ₃ and Si ₂
The intermediate insulating layer 42 is formed of O or the like, and the Ni-Fe alloy, Fe-Al is formed.
The lower magnetic layer 43 is formed of a -Si alloy, a Co-based amorphous alloy, or the like. After that, an insulating film such as SiO 2 to be the recording gap 44 is formed, an energizing coil 46 and an interlayer insulating layer 47 are formed, and Ni is used.
An upper magnetic layer 45 is formed of a -Fe alloy, a Fe-Al-Si alloy, a Co-based amorphous alloy or the like to produce a write-only head portion W.

Further, in order to protect the element portion, a protective layer 48 is formed of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like to form the element portion as shown in FIG. Thereafter, grinding processing and lapping processing are performed to form the air bearing surface 19 shown in FIG. 1, whereby the MR head slider as shown in FIG. 1 is completed.

Since the MR head is constructed by the recording / reproducing separation system, it is good in head design and in theory. However, since a plurality of layers including the magnetoresistive element layer 37, the exchange bias layer 38, and the lead layer 39 are formed, the layers formed / formed on the lead layer 39 and the recording gap 44 of the write-only head portion W are formed. "Steps" and "swells" occur. For this reason, the diagonal writing during recording reduces the main peak by a few percent during reproduction. Further, since the waveform width (Pw ₅₀ ) spreads and the waveform asymmetry (bit shift) is large, bit shift and Pw ₅₀
It was used in the low frequency band with little effect of.

[0013]

In the MR head, a plurality of layers including the magnetoresistive element layer 37, the exchange bias layer 38 and the lead layer 39 are formed in manufacturing the read-only head portion R which is a reproducing system. Then, a “step” of about several thousand Å is generated, and the write gap W of the write-only head W formed on the read-only head R and the upper magnetic layer 4 are formed.
5. A surface with "steps" or "waviness" remains on the lower magnetic layer 43. Therefore, the flow of magnetic flux is obstructed during recording in both magnetic layers, and the recording efficiency is reduced.

When reproducing the signal recorded on the magnetic recording medium, the signal component reproduced in the obliquely written portion is usually delayed in time from the signal component reproduced in the read-only head unit R. And the main peak is reduced by several percent. Further, the spread of the waveform width (Pw ₅₀ ) and the asymmetry of the waveform (bit shift) are large. Therefore, it is difficult to use in a high frequency band.

Further, as a method for eliminating the step difference, when the upper insulating layer 40 or the intermediate insulating layer 42 is formed of Al ₂ O ₃ , Si ₂ O or the like, it is different from the usual film forming method (RF sputtering). It becomes possible to form a film by a film forming method (magnetron sputtering) or eliminate the step by using a photo-etching technique. However, since the number of steps is increased in the above method, it is too costly for mass production.

The present invention solves the conventional problems by providing "steps" in the upper magnetic layer 45, the lower magnetic layer 43, and the recording gap 44.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an MR head which is excellent in recording efficiency and frequency characteristics without causing a "waviness" and a manufacturing method which does not require mass production cost.

[0017]

The first structural means for solving the above problems is to provide a magnetoresistive element layer on a substrate.
A read-only head portion composed of a lower shield layer and an upper shield layer sandwiched by the magnetoresistive element layer via a reproducing gap, and a recording gap between the lower magnetic layer and the upper magnetic layer and the both magnetic layers via an intermediate insulating layer. The read-only head portion is formed, and the upper shield layer of the read-only head portion has a flat upper surface.

The second means is characterized in that the upper surface of the intermediate insulating layer formed on the upper shield layer of the read-only head portion is made flat.

The third means is characterized in that the upper surface of the lower magnetic layer of the write-only head portion is made flat.

A first manufacturing method for solving the above-mentioned problems is to form a lower shield layer after forming an insulating layer on a substrate, and to form an underlying insulating layer on the lower shield layer. Then, a plurality of soft magnetic bias auxiliary layers, nonmagnetic layers, and magnetoresistive element layers are formed on the underlying insulating layer,
Read-only by forming an exchange bias layer and a lead layer on the plurality of layers, forming an upper insulating layer on the plurality of layers including the lead layer, and forming an upper shield layer on the upper insulating layer A step of forming a head portion, a step of polishing the upper shield layer to flatten it,
Forming an intermediate insulating layer on the upper shield layer, and forming a write-only head section on the intermediate insulating layer between the lower magnetic layer, the upper magnetic layer, and both magnetic layers via a recording gap. Characterize.

The second means is characterized in that the upper surface of the intermediate insulating layer on the upper shield layer of the read-only head is flattened by lapping.

A third means is characterized in that the upper surface of the lower magnetic layer of the write-only head portion is polished to be flat.

[0023]

According to the present invention, in terms of its structure, the upper surface of the upper shield layer of the read-only head section, the upper surface of the intermediate insulating layer formed on the upper shield layer, the upper surface of the lower magnetic layer of the write-only head section, And the like are made flat so that the upper magnetic layer of the write-only head part of the MR head,
"Steps" and "waviness" in the lower magnetic layer and recording gap
It is possible to prevent the deterioration of the recording efficiency by eliminating. Further, since there is no portion where the oblique writing is performed on the magnetic recording medium, it is possible to prevent the main peak from decreasing. Furthermore, since there is no diagonal writing part, the waveform width (P
There is no spread of w ₅₀ ) and waveform asymmetry (bit shift), and it is possible to use in a high frequency band.

In the production of the present invention, the above-mentioned "step"
It is suitable for mass production without increasing the number of man-hours, because lapping and polishing, which are mechanical processes, are used to eliminate the "waviness".

[0025]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure and manufacturing method of an MR head according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 and FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an MR head slider of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part A of the MR head slider in FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the central section of the element part according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the element part according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In the structure of the MR head of the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, an insulating layer 3 for electrically insulating the substrate 1 and the lower shield layer 2 is formed, and the lower shield layer is formed. After the soft magnetic bias auxiliary layer 5, the non-magnetic layer 6, the magnetoresistive element layer 7 and a plurality of layers are formed on the substrate 2 via the base insulating layer 4,
A read-only head portion R in which an exchange bias layer 8 and a lead layer 9 are formed, and an upper shield layer 11 is formed on the lead layer 9 including a plurality of layers with an upper insulating layer 10 interposed therebetween can be formed on the upper surface of the upper shield layer 11. A write-only head unit in which a "step" is machined to be flat, an intermediate insulating layer 12 is formed on the upper shield layer 11, and then a lower magnetic layer 13, a recording gap 14, and an upper magnetic layer 15 are sequentially formed. W is formed.
Further, as a magnetomotive force generation source of the write head portion W, FIG.
Energizing coil 16 and upper magnetic layer 15 and lower magnetic layer shown in
The structure is such that an interlayer insulating layer 17 for keeping the insulation between 13 and the energizing coil 16 and a protective layer 18 for protecting the element portion are formed.

As shown in FIGS. 11 (a) and 11 (b), the method of manufacturing the MR head shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 is made of Al ₂ O ₃ , TiC and Mn- which are excellent in workability and wear resistance. On the substrate 1 such as Zn ferrite, in order to maintain the electrical insulation from the substrate 1, SiO ₂ or A
The insulating layer 3 is formed by a thin film forming technique (sputtering, vacuum deposition method, electrode plating method, etc.) with l ₂ O ₃ or the like, and Ni-Fe alloy, Fe-Al-Si alloy, Co-based The lower shield layer 2 is formed by depositing a crystalline alloy or the like. As shown in (c) of the figure, Si is used to maintain electrical insulation from the lower shield layer 2.
The base insulating layer 4 is formed by forming a film of O ₂ , Al ₂ O _3, or the like. Further, the soft magnetic bias auxiliary layer 5 is formed of a Ni-Fe based alloy, a Co based amorphous alloy or the like. After that, the nonmagnetic layer 6 becomes A
_{l 2 O 3, Si 2 O} , forming a Ta or the like, a film of Ni-Fe alloy of the magnetoresistive element layer 7 formed in a plurality of layers.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12 (a), a lead electrode and an exchange bias layer 8 for suppressing Barkhausen noise and Au.W are formed into a predetermined shape and size by using a photo-etching technique.
Etc. to form the lead layer 9. As shown in FIG. 2B, after forming the upper insulating layer 10 with Al ₂ O ₃ , Si ₂ O or the like,
The read-only head portion R is formed by forming the upper shield layer 11 of Ni-Fe alloy, Fe-Al-Si alloy, Co-based amorphous alloy or the like.
To make. At this time, by forming a plurality of layers including the magnetoresistive element layer 7, the exchange bias layer 8 and the lead layer 9, a "step" of about several thousand Å occurs on the upper surface of the upper shield layer 11. This "step" is polished to be flat. Here, in order to prevent residual stress and scratches from being left on the processed surface of the upper shield layer 11 made of a metal magnetic material, polishing is used to planarize the surface.

As shown in FIG. 3C, Al ₂ O ₃ and Si ₂ O
To form the intermediate insulating layer 12, and the Ni-Fe alloy, Fe-Al-
The lower magnetic layer 13 is formed of Si alloy, Co-based amorphous alloy or the like. After that, an insulating film such as SiO 2 which will be the recording gap 14 is formed, and an interlayer insulating layer 17 for maintaining insulation between the energizing coil 16, the upper magnetic layer 15 and the lower magnetic layer 13 and the energizing coil 16 is formed by using Cu or the like. Then, the upper magnetic layer 15 is formed of a Ni-Fe alloy, a Fe-Al-Si alloy, a Co-based amorphous alloy, etc., and the write-only head portion W is manufactured. Further, in order to protect the element portion, a protective layer 18 may be formed to form the element portion as shown in FIG. After that, the air bearing surface 19 is formed by performing grinding and lapping processes.
The MR head slider as shown in (3) is completed.

Next, the structure of the MR head according to the second embodiment of the present invention and the manufacturing method thereof will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of part A of the MR head slider of FIG. 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged central sectional view of an element portion according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the element portion according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The structure of the MR head of the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the MR head of the first embodiment, and the insulating layer 3 for electrically insulating the substrate 1 and the lower shield layer 2 from each other.
Is formed, a plurality of layers including the soft magnetic bias auxiliary layer 5, the nonmagnetic layer 6, and the magnetoresistive element layer 7 are formed on the lower shield layer 2 through the underlying insulating layer 4, and then the exchange bias layer 8 and the lead layer 9 are formed. The upper insulating layer is formed on the lead layer 9 including a plurality of layers.
A read-only head portion R having an upper shield layer 11 formed thereon and an intermediate insulating layer 12 formed on the upper shield layer 11 and then a "step" formed on the upper surface of the intermediate insulating layer 12 is flattened by machining. To do. Further, the lower magnetic layer 1 is formed on the intermediate insulating layer 12.
A write-only head portion W formed by sequentially forming the recording gap 14, the recording gap 14, and the upper magnetic layer 15 is formed. Further, an inter-layer insulating layer 17 for maintaining insulation between the energizing coil 16 and the upper magnetic layer 15 and the lower magnetic layer 13 and the energizing coil 16 shown in FIG. A protective layer 18 is formed as a protection of the.

Next, the manufacturing method will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in (b), Al ₂ O ₃ , which has excellent workability and wear resistance,
On the substrate 1 such as TiO or Mn-Zn ferrite, an insulating layer 3 made of SiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ or the like in order to maintain electrical insulation with the substrate 1.
Is formed using a thin film forming technique (sputtering, vacuum deposition method, electrode plating method, etc.), and a Ni-Fe alloy,
A Fe-Al-Si alloy, a Co-based amorphous alloy, or the like is deposited to form the lower shield layer 2. As shown in FIG. 3C, in order to maintain electrical insulation with the lower shield layer 2, SiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ or the like is deposited to form the base insulating layer 4. Further, the soft magnetic bias auxiliary layer 5 is formed of a Ni-Fe based alloy, a Co based amorphous alloy or the like. After that, Al ₂ O ₃ , Si ₂ O, which becomes the non-magnetic layer 6,
A film of Ta or the like is formed, and a Ni—Fe alloy to be the magnetoresistive element layer 7 is formed to form a plurality of layers.

Next, as shown in FIG. 13 (a), using a photolithography technique, the extraction electrode and the exchange bias layer 8 for suppressing Barkhausen noise and Au.W are formed into a predetermined shape and size.
Etc. to form the lead layer 9. As shown in FIG. 2B, after forming the upper insulating layer 10 with Al ₂ O ₃ , Si ₂ O or the like,
The read-only head portion R is formed by forming the upper shield layer 11 of Ni-Fe alloy, Fe-Al-Si alloy, Co-based amorphous alloy or the like.
To make. As shown in FIG. 7C, the intermediate insulating layer 12 is formed of Al ₂ O ₃ or Si ₂ O and the “step” formed on the upper surface of the intermediate insulating layer 12 is flattened by lapping. Or later,
1 is formed by the steps similar to those of the first embodiment, and then the air bearing surface 19 is formed by grinding and lapping. The MR head slider as shown in (3) is completed. In this embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the upper surface of the intermediate insulating layer 12 in which the residual stress on the processed surface and the effect on the head characteristics due to scratches can be ignored is processed and flattened.

Next, the MR according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
The structure of the head and its manufacturing method will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10, 11 and 14. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of part A of the MR head slider of FIG. 1 based on the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a central section of an element portion according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is an element part enlarged perspective view by a 3rd Example.

The structure of the MR head of the third embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first and second embodiments, and the insulating layer 3 for electrically insulating the substrate 1 and the lower shield layer 2 from each other. Is formed, a plurality of layers including the soft magnetic bias auxiliary layer 5, the nonmagnetic layer 6, and the magnetoresistive element layer 7 are formed on the lower shield layer 2 through the underlying insulating layer 4, and then the exchange bias layer 8 and the lead layer 9 are formed. The upper insulating layer 10 is formed on the lead layer 9 including a plurality of layers.
The read-only head portion R having the upper shield layer 11 formed thereon and the intermediate insulating layer 12 formed on the upper shield layer 11 and then the lower magnetic layer 13 is formed to flatten the upper surface of the lower magnetic layer 13. To process. Furthermore, the recording gap 14, the upper magnetic layer
A write-only head portion W formed in sequence with 15 is formed. Further, the energizing coil 16 and the upper magnetic layer 15 and the lower magnetic layer 13 and the lower magnetic layer 13 and the energizing coil 16 shown in FIG. A protective layer 18 is formed as a protection of the.

Next, the manufacturing method will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in (b), Al ₂ O ₃ , which has excellent workability and wear resistance,
On the substrate 1 such as TiO or Mn-Zn ferrite, an insulating layer 3 made of SiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ or the like in order to maintain electrical insulation with the substrate 1.
Is formed using a thin film forming technique (sputtering, vacuum deposition method, electrode plating method, etc.), and a Ni-Fe alloy,
A Fe-Al-Si alloy, a Co-based amorphous alloy, or the like is deposited to form the lower shield layer 2. As shown in FIG. 3C, in order to maintain electrical insulation with the lower shield layer 2, SiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ or the like is deposited to form the base insulating layer 4. Further, the soft magnetic bias auxiliary layer 5 is formed of a Ni-Fe based alloy, a Co based amorphous alloy or the like. After that, Al ₂ O ₃ , Si ₂ O, which becomes the non-magnetic layer 6,
A film of Ta or the like is formed, and a Ni—Fe alloy to be the magnetoresistive element layer 7 is formed to form a plurality of layers.

Next, as shown in FIG. 14 (a), a lead electrode and an exchange bias layer 8 for suppressing Barkhausen noise and Au.W are formed into a predetermined shape and size by using a photo-etching technique.
Etc. to form the lead layer 9. As shown in FIG. 2B, after forming the upper insulating layer 10 with Al ₂ O ₃ , Si ₂ O or the like,
The read-only head portion R is formed by forming the upper shield layer 11 of Ni-Fe alloy, Fe-Al-Si alloy, Co-based amorphous alloy or the like.
To make. As shown in FIG. 3C, the intermediate insulating layer 12 is formed of Al ₂ O ₃ , Si ₂ O, etc., and the Ni--Fe alloy, Fe--Al--S is formed.
The lower magnetic layer 13 is formed of an i alloy, a Co-based amorphous alloy, or the like,
The "step" formed on the lower magnetic layer 13 is polished to be flat. After that, the element portion as shown in FIG. 8 is formed by the steps similar to those of the first and second embodiments. Then, grinding and lapping processes are performed to form the air bearing surface 19 to complete the MR head slider as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, unlike the first and second embodiments, the upper surface of the lower magnetic layer 13 is polished. This is applied when the recording gap 14 has "waviness" when impurities are mixed in the film forming process performed after the flattening process in the first and second embodiments.

Next, the isolated waveforms and frequency characteristics of the MR heads having the structures of the first, second and third embodiments of the present invention and the conventional MR head will be shown below.

FIG. 15 shows isolated waveforms of the MR heads of the first, second and third embodiments of the present invention shown by the solid line at low frequencies and the conventional MR head shown by the dotted line. As is clear from FIG. 15, the MR head of the present invention has a higher output. Further, the waveform width (Pw ₅₀ ) is narrow, and the written state is good. However, in the isolated waveform obtained from the conventional MR head, the symmetry of the waveform is poor, and bit shift occurs as shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 shows the MR head having the structure of the first, second and third embodiments of the present invention shown by the solid line and the conventional M head shown by the broken line.
It is a graph which shows the frequency characteristic by R head. As is clear from this graph, there is not much difference in output in the low frequency band, but there is a marked difference in the high frequency band.

[0041]

As described above, according to the thin film composite magnetic head and the method of manufacturing the same of the present invention, the upper magnetic layer and the lower magnetic layer are free from the surface having "steps" or "waviness".
No reduction in recording efficiency. It is possible to eliminate the "step" and "waviness" of the recording gap of the write head portion, and there is no portion where writing is performed obliquely to the magnetic recording medium, and bit shift does not occur. Further, there is no reduction in head output in the high frequency band, and an MR head having good head characteristics can be obtained.

Further, since the stepped portion is eliminated by machining in the wafer state, the increase in the number of steps does not cause any problem and does not affect the mass production cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an MR head slider of the present invention and a conventional MR head slider.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part A of the MR head slider of FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the central section of the element portion of the MR head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an element portion of the MR head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of part A of the MR head slider of FIG. 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the central section of the element part of the MR head according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of an element portion of an MR head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion A of the MR head slider of FIG. 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a central section of an element portion of an MR head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of an element portion of an MR head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a manufacturing process diagram of the MR head according to each of the first, second, and third embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a manufacturing process diagram of the MR head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a manufacturing process drawing of the MR head according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a manufacturing process diagram of an MR head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows the first, second and third aspects of the present invention at low frequencies.
3 shows isolated waveforms by the MR head having the structure of Example 1 and the conventional MR head.

FIG. 16 is a graph showing frequency characteristics of the MR head having the structures of the first, second and third embodiments of the present invention and the conventional MR head.

17 is an enlarged view of part A of the conventional MR head slider shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of the central section of the element portion of a conventional MR head.

FIG. 19 is an enlarged perspective view of an element portion of a conventional MR head.

FIG. 20 is a manufacturing process diagram of a conventional MR head.

FIG. 21 is a manufacturing process diagram of a conventional MR head.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 31 ... Substrate, 2, 32 ... Lower shield layer, 3, 33 ...
Insulating layer, 4,34 ... Base insulating layer, 5,35 ... Soft magnetic bias auxiliary layer, 6,36 ... Nonmagnetic layer, 7,37 ... Magnetoresistive element layer, 8,38 ... Exchange bias layer, 9,39 ... Lead layer, 10, 40 ... Upper insulating layer, 11,41 ... Upper shield layer, 12,42 ... Intermediate insulating layer, 13,43 ... Lower magnetic layer,
14, 44 ... Recording gap, 15, 45 ... Upper magnetic layer, 16,
46 ... energizing coil, 17, 47 ... interlayer insulation layer, 18, 48 ...
Protective layer, 19… Air floating surface.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A read-only head portion comprising a magnetoresistive element layer on a substrate, and a lower shield layer and an upper shield layer sandwiched by the magnetoresistive element layer via a reproduction gap.
A write-only head section having a lower magnetic layer and an upper magnetic layer via an intermediate insulating layer and a recording gap formed between the both magnetic layers, and a flat upper surface of the upper shield layer of the read-only head section. Thin film composite type magnetic head. 2. The thin film composite magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein an upper surface of an intermediate insulating layer formed on the upper shield layer of the read-only head portion is made flat. 3. The thin film composite magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the lower magnetic layer of the write-only head portion is made flat. 4. A step of forming a lower shield layer after forming an insulating layer on a substrate, and a step of forming a lower insulating layer on the lower shield layer, and then forming a soft magnetic bias auxiliary on the lower insulating layer. Forming a plurality of layers, a non-magnetic layer, and a magnetoresistive element layer, and forming an exchange bias layer and a lead layer on the plurality of layers; and forming an upper insulating layer on the plurality of layers including the lead layer. And a step of forming an upper shield layer on the upper insulating layer to form a read-only head section,
Polishing the upper shield layer to flatten it, forming an intermediate insulating layer on the upper shield layer, and forming a recording gap between the lower magnetic layer and the upper magnetic layer and both magnetic layers on the intermediate insulating layer. And a step of forming a write-only head portion via the interposition. 5. The method of manufacturing a thin film composite magnetic head according to claim 4, wherein the upper surface of the intermediate insulating layer on the upper shield layer of the read-only head is flattened by lapping. 6. The method of manufacturing a thin film composite magnetic head according to claim 4, wherein the upper surface of the lower magnetic layer of the write-only head unit is polished to be flat.