JPH06349040A - Production of magnetic head device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the deformation and distortion to be generated by cutting of a wafer and adhering of bars and jigs by forming magnetic head elements lining up in plural rows on the wafer and subjecting the wafer to various steps such as cutting. CONSTITUTION:The many magnetic head elements 11 are so formed as to line up in plural rows by a thin film integrating technique on the wafer 10 consisting of a ceramic material, such as Al2O3-TiC. Shallow grooves (not shown in Fig.) for cutting the wafer to the plural bars are then formed on the wafer 10 and the wafer 10 is cut by a diamond grinding wheel so as to expose the flanks 13 of the rows 12. The surfaces of ABS surfaces 13 are ground and are subjected to throat hunt adjustment; thereafter, grooves 14 are formed from the ABS surfaces 13 side to form rail parts 15, etc. The ABS surfaces of the rail parts 15 are then polished and grooves 15 for disconnecting the first row 12 are formed. Tacky adhesive tapes are thereafter attached on the surfaces of the flanks 13 and the wafer 10 is cut along broken lines 17 to cut out individual sliders 18 corresponding to the first row 12. The wafer flank exposed by this cutting is subjected to grooving of the sliders corresponding to the next row 19 and after grooves 16 are formed, the wafer 10 is cut, by which the individual sliders 18 are cut out.

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 device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For slider processing of a thin film magnetic head device,
After cutting a disk-shaped or square-shaped wafer in which a plurality of magnetic head elements are formed by thin film integration technology into a plurality of bars,
It is performed in a state where each bar is bonded to a processing jig.

The most important point in this slider processing step is high-precision processing so that the gap depth (throat height) of all magnetic head elements is constant. For this purpose, it is required to maintain the throat height reference position at a high accuracy determined by the photomask and the exposure apparatus in the wafer integration process even in the processing process.

[0004]

However, according to the conventional slider processing method, when the bar is cut out from the wafer, the wafer particles are crushed by the diamond particles of the diamond grindstone, so that random deformation (bending) occurs in each bar. This occurs, and the reference position of the throat height of the magnetic head element also varies within each bar. In particular, when the slider size is reduced to 70% or 50%, and when the number of magnetic heads formed in one wafer is increased to reduce the cutting width into individual sliders, this variation occurs. It becomes remarkable. The error of the throat height reference position in a general wafer before cutting is about 0.1 to 0.2 μm, but when cut, it is about 0.8 to 1.5 μm, and in the worst case, It becomes 2 μm or more. If the throat height reference position greatly varies in this way, it becomes impossible to form the throat height of a desired length.

According to the conventional slider processing method,
Each bar obtained by cutting is adhered to a processing jig in order to undergo the subsequent processing, but the bar is also deformed due to the flatness of the bonding surface of the jig and the adhesive distortion. As a result, the reference position of the throat height further varies in addition to the above-mentioned deformation.

In order to avoid such inconvenience, many proposals have been made, such as using a high-rigidity and high-power cutting machine, and a jig with a deformation control function, but none of them is sufficient. Particularly, as the thickness of the wafer becomes thinner, the deformation of the bar becomes more noticeable, so effective measures for preventing the deformation are required. Moreover, the allowable range of the throat height error becomes smaller and smaller as the linear recording density and the frequency become higher in the future. For example, in the MR (magnetoresistive effect) -inductive head, it becomes about 0.5 μm. It is necessary to suppress such bar deformation to almost zero.

Therefore, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a magnetic head device which can suppress deformation when performing slider processing of the magnetic head device as much as possible.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a method of manufacturing a magnetic head device includes a step of forming magnetic head elements arranged in a plurality of rows on a wafer by a thin film integration technique, and a method of forming the formed magnetic head elements. A step of cutting this wafer so that a side surface of the outermost row facing the magnetic medium is exposed, and a step of grooving the exposed side surface of the wafer to form a rail portion for the slider in the outermost row, On the exposed side surface of the wafer, a step of forming a groove for individually separating the sliders in the outermost row, and after forming the groove for separation, the outermost row of the wafer is cut to separate and cut out the individual sliders. And a cutting step to be performed.

Before the outermost row cutting step, it is preferable that a step of attaching an adhesive tape for supporting the slider to the surface of the slider is performed.

[0010]

First, a magnetic head element is formed on a wafer made of a ceramic material by a thin film integration technique. in this case,
The magnetic head elements are formed so as to be arranged in a plurality of rows on the wafer surface. Next, this wafer is cut so that the side surfaces of the first row of the magnetic head elements thus formed in a plurality of rows are exposed. However, the exposed side surface is a surface facing the magnetic medium when separated into individual sliders, that is, an air bearing surface (ABS surface). Next, after performing various processing such as groove processing for forming a rail portion on the exposed side surface of the wafer, a groove for cutting into individual sliders is formed from the exposed side surface. After the groove for separation is formed, the outermost row of the wafer is cut to separate and cut out the individual sliders. After that, the same groove processing is performed on the side surface of the wafer exposed by this cutting, and then the separation and cutting of the slider in the next row is repeated.

[0011]

1 (A) to 1 (E) are process charts showing an embodiment of a method of manufacturing a magnetic head device according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1A, first, Al ₂ O
_A large number of magnetic head elements 11 are formed in a plurality of rows on the wafer 10 made of a ceramic material such as _3- TiC by a thin film integration technique. Then, after forming shallow grooves (not shown) for cutting into a plurality of bars on this wafer 10, the entire wafer 10 is cut into a square shape as shown in FIG. 1 (B). In this case, the wafer 10 is cut so that the side surface 13 of the first row 12 of the magnetic head elements 11 is exposed. However, the exposed side surface 13 is a surface that becomes an ABS surface. The wafer is cut by a disc-shaped diamond grindstone.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1C, the wafer 1
The exposed side surface 13 of the first row 0 of 0 is subjected to groove processing or the like in this wafer state. In this processing step, first, AB
The surface of the S surface 13 is ground, and the throat height is adjusted. Next, the groove 14 is processed from the ABS surface 13 side to form the rail portion 15 and the like.

Next, after polishing (polishing) of the ABS surface of the rail portion 15, as shown in FIG. 1D, the groove 16 for separating the first row 12 into individual sliders is exposed. It is formed from the side surface 13 side.

Next, although not shown, an adhesive tape for supporting the slider is attached to the surface of the side surface 13 so that the separated sliders will not fall apart.

Next, the wafer 10 is cut along the broken line 17 in FIG. 1D to cut out the individual sliders 18 corresponding to the first row 12. FIG. 1E shows the individual sliders 18 obtained by cutting out in this way.

On the side surface of the wafer exposed by this cutting, the groove of the slider corresponding to the next row 19 is processed in the same manner as in the case of FIG. 1C, and the same is cut as in the case of FIG. 1D. After forming the groove 16, the wafer 10 is cut to cut out the individual sliders 18 corresponding to the row. The same process is repeated thereafter to form and cut out sliders for all columns.

As described above, all the sliders are processed before being cut from the wafer 10, so that the rigidity against deformation becomes extremely high, and the deformation strain that has been conventionally generated at the time of cutting into a bar and adhering to a jig. It hardly happens. As a result, the precision of the reference position of the throat height is maintained at the high precision in the wafer state. Moreover, since this method does not have a step of adhering to a processing jig, the number of steps is reduced accordingly and the productivity is improved.

[0019]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a step of forming magnetic head elements arranged in a plurality of rows on a wafer by a thin film integration technique, and a magnetic field in the outermost row of the formed magnetic head elements. The step of cutting this wafer so that the side surface facing the medium is exposed, the step of grooving this exposed side surface of the wafer to form the rail portion for the outermost row of sliders, and the step of exposing this wafer A step of forming a groove for individually separating the outermost row of sliders on the side surface, and a cutting step of forming the separation groove and then cutting the outermost row of the wafer to separate and cut out the individual sliders. Since it is provided, it is possible to substantially prevent the deformation strain that may occur when the wafer is cut and when the bar and the jig are bonded. As a result, the accuracy of the throat height can be maintained at the high accuracy in the wafer state. Also, the number of steps for that can be reduced.

Since the occurrence of bar deformation due to cutting from the wafer can be almost suppressed, even if the allowable range of the throat height error becomes smaller as the linear recording density increases and the frequency increases, it becomes easy. It is possible to deal with it, and it is also possible to deal with an MR-inductive head.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a part of steps in an embodiment of a manufacturing method according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Wafer 11 Magnetic Head Element 12 First Row 13 Exposed Side Surface 14 Groove 15 Rail Part 16 Detachment Groove 17 Cutting Line 18 Slider 19 Next Row

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A step of forming magnetic head elements arranged in a plurality of rows on a wafer by a thin film integration technique, and a step of exposing the side surface of the formed magnetic head elements on the side facing the magnetic medium in the outermost row. The step of cutting the wafer, the step of forming grooves on the exposed side surface of the wafer to form the rail portion relating to the outermost row of sliders, and the cutting of the outermost row of sliders individually to the exposed side surface of the wafer. Of the magnetic head device, which comprises a step of forming a groove for cutting and a cutting step of cutting the outermost row of the wafer to separate and cut out each slider after forming the groove for separation. Production method. 2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein a step of attaching an adhesive tape for supporting a slider to the surface of the slider is performed before the step of cutting the outermost row.