JPH08321027A - Magnetic head and magnetic recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain a novel magnetic head which permits the contact of a recording medium and the magnetic head and a magnetic recording and reproducing device which is formed by using this magnetic head and is inexpensive and is large in capacity and high in density. CONSTITUTION: The magnetic head 2 has pads 51, 52, 54 which project from the substrate surface to the inflow end and outflow end of a sliding surface. A recording and reproducing function part is disposed on the pad 54 on the outflow end side. The sum total of the areas of the pad surfaces is specified to 0.0003 to 0.02mm<2> and the height of the inflow end side pads 51, 52 is set higher than the height of the outflow end side pad 54. The supporting center of the magnetic head 2 is set in the position exclusive of the centroid on a segment connecting the centroid of the magnetic head and the pad center on the outflow end side. The load acting on the magnetic head is specified to a range from 10mg to 1g. Consequently, the stable continuous sliding in the state of bringing the recording medium to contact with the pads is made possible and the state of bringing the recording and reproducing function part into proximity to the recording medium is stably maintained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus used in an electronic computer, an information processing apparatus and the like, and more particularly to a large capacity magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus having a magnetic head continuously contacting the surface of a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Semiconductor memories and magnetic memories are mainly used as memories for information equipment. A semiconductor memory is used as the internal memory from the viewpoint of access time, and a magnetic memory is used as the external memory from the viewpoint of large capacity and nonvolatility. At present, the mainstream of magnetic memory is a magnetic disk and a magnetic tape, and in these, a magnetic thin film formed on a disk substrate made of Al or a tape made of resin is used as a recording medium. In order to record magnetic information on this recording medium, a functional section having an electromagnetic conversion function is used. Further, for reproducing the recorded magnetic information, a functional unit utilizing a magnetoresistive phenomenon, a giant magnetoresistive phenomenon, or an electromagnetic induction phenomenon is used. These functional units are provided in an input / output component called a magnetic head.

The magnetic head has a function of moving relative to the recording medium, recording magnetic information at an arbitrary position on the recording medium, and reproducing the recorded magnetic information if necessary.
Taking a magnetic disk device as an example, the magnetic head has a recording function unit 21 for recording magnetic information and a reproducing function unit 22 for reproducing as shown in FIG.
Consists of The recording function unit 21 includes a coil 26 and magnetic poles 27, 28 that wrap the coil 26 up and down and are magnetically coupled.
Consists of The reproducing function section 22 is composed of a magnetoresistive effect detecting section 23 and a conductor 29 for supplying a constant current to the detecting section and detecting a resistance change. Playback function section 2
A magnetic shield layer 25 is provided in the lower layer of 2 to prevent unwanted magnetic flux from entering. A similar shield effect also has the magnetic pole 28. As the distance between the magnetic pole 28 and the shield layer 25, that is, the size of the so-called lead gap, is narrower, unnecessary magnetic flux does not enter the magnetoresistive effect detection section 23, the resolution is improved, and high-density magnetic information is detected. Will be able to. These functional units 21 and 22 are
It is formed on the underlayer 24 provided on the magnetic head body 30.

The performance of the recording / reproducing apparatus is determined by the speed of input / output operation and the recording capacity, and it is necessary to shorten the access time and increase the capacity in order to improve the performance of the recording / reproducing apparatus. Further, in recent years, there has been a strong demand for downsizing of the recording / reproducing apparatus from the viewpoints of saving an occupied space and easiness of handling. In order to satisfy these requirements, it is necessary to develop a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording and reproducing a large amount of magnetic information in one recording medium.

In order to realize high density recording, it is necessary to miniaturize the size of the magnetic domain to be written. This can be generally realized by narrowing the width w of the recording magnetic pole 27 shown in FIG. 2 and increasing the frequency of the recording current passed through the coil 26 (frequency for rotation of the recording medium). However,
The signal intensity at the time of reproduction depends on the size of the magnetic domain, and if the magnetic domain is miniaturized, the signal intensity becomes small and reproduction becomes difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to devise to increase the detection sensitivity of the reproduction function unit.
However, there is a limit to improvement by this method due to the physical restriction of the magnetoresistive effect of the magnetic thin film used for detection,
This limit is considered to be several Gb / in ² in terms of recording density.

In order to exceed this limit, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
As in the integrated magnetic read / write head / flexure body / conductor structure described in JP-A-178017, a method of bringing the magnetic head into contact with the recording medium has been proposed. In the conventional magnetic disk device, since the magnetic head floats above the recording medium, an air layer, which is a non-magnetic material, is interposed between the magnetic head and the recording medium. On the other hand, in the method of the above publication, as shown in FIG. 3, the magnetic head function part 43 is made into a lightweight and minute bending body 45, and the magnetic head function part 43 is brought into contact with the recording medium 11. Slide it in the closed position. According to this method, since the non-magnetic layer does not exist between the surface of the recording medium and the magnetic head functional unit (magnetic pole) 43, the magnetic information in the recording medium is efficiently transmitted to the magnetic head functional unit, so that high-output reproduction is achieved. The signal can be obtained. Therefore, high signal / noise ratio (S / N) even if the magnetic domains are miniaturized.
Is obtained, and a good reproduction signal can be obtained.

However, in this method, since the magnetic head functional portion is supported by the soft bending body, when the magnetic head is positioned by the rotary actuator, a phase delay or unexpected vibration may occur due to the deformation of the bending body. there were. This problem can be mitigated by the magnetic head 2 that floats the inflow end side pad as shown in FIG. 4 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-60329). According to this method,
The inflow end side pad floats high due to aerodynamic force, and only one pad on the outflow end side where the element function portion 46 exists contacts the recording medium 1. When the pad on the outflow end side floats, the load on one pad on the outflow end side becomes (load applied to the magnetic head-levitation force). The load applied to the entire head can be increased. The fact that the load applied to the entire magnetic head can be increased means that the rigidity of the suspension material that supports the magnetic head can be increased, and it is more stable than the method that supports the magnetic head with a flexible body. I / O operations are possible.

[0008]

According to the above conventional technique,
High-density magnetic information can be recorded and reproduced on the recording medium while the magnetic head is continuously sliding. However, it has been found that the following problems arise when trying to further improve the recording density. That is, since the pad on the inflow end side is floating, the inflow end side is largely floated up in a region where the peripheral speed of the recording medium is high, and the magnetic poles forming the element portion 46 and the surface of the recording medium 1 as shown in FIG. The distance α becomes larger. Therefore, the recording magnetic field distribution becomes broad,
Moreover, the electromagnetic conversion efficiency at the time of reproduction is deteriorated due to the spacing loss, and the desired high-density information cannot be input / output.

In order to maintain the magnetic head in the posture shown in FIG. 4, it is necessary to increase the area of the inflow end side pad. By the way, when the recording medium stops, the floating pad on the inflow end side of the magnetic head comes into contact with the surface of the recording medium. At this time, if the area of the inflow end side pad is large, the action of the lubricant interposed between the pad and the recording medium causes adhesion. Adhesion is generated by the cohesive force, adhesive force and surface tension of the lubricant filled between the pad and the recording medium surface, and is extremely strong, so the pad does not peel off from the recording medium surface simply by rotating the recording medium. If the recording medium is forcibly rotated while the pads are adhered, the suspension of the magnetic head may be damaged, or the magnetic film forming the recording medium may be peeled off.

As a method of avoiding sticking of the magnetic head,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-44718 discloses that a strut having a small contact area is provided on the sliding surface of the magnetic head. However, this method has problems that the formation of struts is more complicated than in the normal process, and that the struts come into contact with the medium during low flying (contact sliding). Further, JP-A-7-21716 and JP-A-7-21717 describe that adhesion is prevented by forming a taper on the inflow end side pad and the outflow end side pad of the magnetic head. However, this method only assists the floating of the magnetic head while preventing adhesion, and the taper pad does not come into contact with the medium during recording and reproduction.
In order to adapt this magnetic head to a recording medium having a high recording density, recording and reproducing were performed by bringing the pad into contact with the recording medium. As a result, the pad area was large, so that the tangential force (friction force) was large and the magnetic head vibrated. No good reproduction signal was obtained.

Further, in order to maintain the magnetic head in the posture shown in FIG. 4, it is necessary to balance the levitation force of the inflow end side pad and the rigidity of the gimbal member of the suspension supporting the magnetic head. The gimbal member has a function of absorbing the machining tolerance and the assembly tolerance of the magnetic head and the suspension or the arm member in addition to maintaining the attitude of the magnetic head, and applying the pad surface on which the element is placed to the recording medium surface.

In the magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus which allows the contact between the magnetic head and the recording medium, it is necessary to reduce the load of the magnetic head in order to reduce the wear of the magnetic head and the recording medium and prolong the life of the apparatus. In order to match the pad surface and the recording medium surface with a low load, a suspension having a gimbal function with extremely low rigidity is required. Currently, a cheap and practical suspension is made of stainless steel, but according to a study by the present inventors, it is necessary to provide wiring for an element portion in the gimbal portion of the suspension, and gimbal production has high mass productivity. Considering the necessity of performing the punching process, it became clear that the desired rigidity could not be achieved.

For the above reasons, the pad area for floating the magnetic head cannot be reduced, and the problem of adhesion cannot be solved. Therefore, magnetic recording using a magnetic head of the type in which the inflow end is floated There is a limit to increase the recording density of the reproducing device. An object of the present invention is to disclose a novel magnetic head structure that always allows contact between a recording medium and a magnetic head, and to provide an inexpensive large-capacity and high-density magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus using this magnetic head. It is in.

[0014]

In the present invention, a plurality of pads are provided on the sliding surface of the magnetic head, and the height of the inflow end side pad is made higher than that of the outflow end side pad. The difference in pad height can be easily formed by selectively laminating a thin film on the inflow end side pad. This method is suitable for mass production because a plurality of magnetic heads can be processed at the same time. When the laminated film is a thin film containing carbon as a main component, abrasion due to sliding on the surface of the recording medium can be reduced.

It is preferable that the number of pads is three, that is, two on the inflow end side and one on the outflow end side, and the recording and reproducing function section is provided on the outflow end side pad. Not only the outflow end but also the inflow end of the magnetic head are not floated, and in order to slide all the pads on the recording medium, the total pad area of the pads provided on the sliding surface is 0.0003 to 0.02 mm. Set to the range of ² . According to the experiment, when the load applied to the magnetic head is 1 g and the total pad area exceeds 0.02 mm ² , the magnetic head flies above the recording medium.
The pad area that contributes to the floating of the magnetic head also depends on the load applied to the magnetic head. When the load was 200 mg, the pad area flew at 0.012 mm ² . When the pad area was smaller than 0.0003 mm ² , the pad was deformed by the tangential force even when the load was set to 10 mg, and stable continuous sliding could not be realized. Based on the results of these experiments, in the present invention, the pad area is approximately 0.0003 to 0.002 mm.
Set to the range of ² .

The support center of the magnetic head is set at a position deviated from the center of gravity on the line segment connecting the center of gravity of the magnetic head and the pad center on the outflow end side. With this setting, the rotational torque acting on the outflow end side pad is reduced, and the outflow end side pad can be prevented from floating. A device that continuously slides the magnetic head and the recording medium.
It is necessary to suppress the wear between the magnetic head and the recording medium as much as possible. Therefore, the cross section of the laminated film containing carbon as a main component appears on the outflow end side pad. This laminated film is in a plane parallel to the side surface of the magnetic head on which the element for inputting / outputting magnetic information is formed, and is formed before and after the element manufacturing step. The amount of wear of the pad can be reduced by bringing a carbon material having excellent wear resistance into contact with the surface of the recording medium during sliding.

On the other hand, it is also known that the wear depends on the load, and the present invention makes it possible to further reduce the wear by optimizing the load applied to the magnetic head. Specifically, the load applied to the magnetic head is 10 mg to 1 g.
Set to the range of. FIG. 5A shows the relationship between the load applied to the magnetic head and the frictional force generated during sliding (tangential force: resistance force generated when the magnetic head slides on the lubricant), obtained by experiments. The slanted pad shown in the figure has the pad arrangement shown in FIG. 1, and the total area of the pad surface is 0.0.
2mm ² (One pad area on the inflow end side is 0.00
25 mm ² ), a magnetic head in which carbon having a thickness of 3 μm is adhered to the outflow end side pad, a flat pad has the same pad shape and pad arrangement, and the inflow side pad and the outflow side pad are on the same plane. It is a magnetic head inside.

As can be seen from FIG. 5 (a), the frictional force generated at the time of sliding depends on the load applied to the magnetic head, and the increase of the frictional force changes with a load of 1 g or more. This phenomenon is considered to be related to the durability of the lubricating layer. Also, it can be seen from the figure that the frictional force depends on the pad shape, and that the inclined pad according to the present invention has a lower frictional force than the conventional flat pad. It is understood that the inclined pad is effective, because the smaller the frictional force is, the more preferable it is to stably support the magnetic head.

The friction coefficient is calculated by dividing the frictional force by the load. The relationship between the load and the coefficient of friction is obtained from FIG. 5 (a) and is as shown in FIG. 5 (b). The coefficient of friction affects the amount of wear,
The smaller the coefficient of friction, the longer the device life. Figure 5 (b)
From this, it is understood that it is preferable to set the load applied to the magnetic head in the range of 10 mg to 1 g because the friction coefficient becomes small. When the load was less than 10 mg, the frictional force worked more than the load, and the attitude of the magnetic head became unstable. It is considered that this is because the resistance of the lubricant to the frictional force became remarkable.

The recording medium includes a recording layer for magnetic information, a protective film mainly composed of carbon or a carbon-silicon mixed layer laminated on the recording layer, a lubricating layer reactively adhered to the protective film material, and a fixed lubricating layer. And at least a fluidized lubricating layer. As the substrate material of the recording medium, carbon, polymer resin, as well as Al, Si, and glass can be used as in the conventional case.

[0021]

In the magnetic head according to the present invention, by optimizing the total area of the pad surface, the setting of the support center, and the magnitude of the load applied to the magnetic head, the gimbal function of the suspension supporting the magnetic head allows all pads to be operated. Sliding on the recording medium surface without floating.

Since it is not necessary to float the pad on the inflow end side, the area of the pad on the inflow end side can be narrowed to a range in which adhesion does not occur. Further, since the height of the inflow end side pad is higher than that of the outflow end side pad, the magnetic head is in a state in which the inflow side end portion is lifted and has a tilt with respect to the recording medium surface. Since the substrate surface of the magnetic head and the pad surface are parallel to each other, as shown in FIG.
2, 54 have an inclination with respect to the surface of the recording medium 1 and are in line contact with the surface of the recording medium instead of surface contact. Therefore, even when the rotation of the recording medium 1 is started from the state shown in FIG. 6, the lubricating layer 63 existing on the recording medium can be efficiently engaged with the sliding surface, and the inflow side edges of the pads 54 and 52 are The lubricant 63 does not collect.

If the inflow end side pad does not float,
The attitude (inclination amount) of the magnetic head has nothing to do with the peripheral speed of the recording medium. Therefore, the distance α between the magnetic pole forming the element portion 46 shown in FIG. 4 and the surface of the medium 1 becomes constant, and the sharp state of the recording magnetic field distribution can be maintained, so that high-density information can be input / output. Further, it becomes unnecessary to consider the moment involved in the levitation force in designing the suspension member supporting the magnetic head. Therefore, the suspension member need only have the function of absorbing the processing tolerance and the assembly tolerance of the parts (the function of applying the pad surface on which the element rides to the recording medium surface), which increases the design latitude of the suspension and is inexpensive. Be able to manufacture.

Since it is not necessary to cancel the levitation force,
The suspension rigidity can be reduced and the load applied to the magnetic head can be reduced. Specifically, the load applied to the magnetic head can be set to 1 g or less. As a result, it is possible to reduce wear of the recording medium and prolong the life of the apparatus.
By setting the load applied to the magnetic head in the range of 10 mg to 1 g, the wear amount can be suppressed to a practically negligible amount, and the magnetic head continuously slides on the recording medium. The device life can be extended to a level equivalent to that of a conventional magnetic disk in which a magnetic head floats above the surface of a recording medium.

Further, according to the present invention, since it is not necessary to float the magnetic head on the medium, the substrate for the recording medium may be made of carbon, polymer resin (plastic) or the like, in addition to the conventional Al, glass, Si, or the like. It can be used even if it has a swell. A recording medium, a magnetic information recording layer formed on these substrates, a protective film mainly composed of carbon or a carbon-silicon mixed film laminated on the recording layer, a lubricating layer reactively fixed to a protective film material, Further, if at least the fluidized lubricating layer is formed on the fixed lubricating layer, the fluid lubricating layer moves together with the pad as the magnetic head moves, and the pad slides on the fixed lubricating layer. At this time, even if lubrication breakage occurs due to contact with the pad, the fluidity of the lubricating layer can repair the breakage of the fixed lubrication layer in sequence, so that the life of the device can be extended.

[0026]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples. FIG. 1 shows an example of a magnetic head used in a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a bottom view of the magnetic head and its AA ′ sectional view, and FIG. 1 (b) is a pad sectional view. FIG. 1C is an enlarged view showing an example of the shape of the outflow end side pad.

The magnetic head 2 was formed from a substrate of hard AlTi carbide or the like. As shown in FIG. 1A, two pads 51 and 52 are provided on the sliding surface of the magnetic head 2 in the direction of entry of the recording medium, that is, the inflow end side, and one pad is provided at the rear position, that is, the outflow end side. 54 is provided. The functional unit having the structure shown in FIG. 2 for recording and reproducing information is provided on the pad 54 on the outflow end side.

Further, in order to reduce the wear of the pad by providing a cross section of the carbon film on the surface of the pad 54 provided with the functional portion, in the step of manufacturing the element having the structure shown in FIG. Then, a carbon film having a thickness of about 1 μm was laminated. That is, as conceptually shown in FIG. 6, a cross section of the laminated film 62 containing carbon as a main component appears on the pad surface of the outflow end side pad 54 provided with the element portion 46 for inputting / outputting magnetic information. To do.

When the element thus formed is polished to expose the sliding surface, a carbon film appears on the sliding surface. Since the carbon film has high mechanical strength and excellent wear resistance, it is possible to reduce wear of the pad 54 provided with the element. The same effect can be obtained by using the underlying layer 24 itself as a carbon film, or by stacking an insulating layer on the upper magnetic pole 27 and then stacking the carbon film.

A processing means such as ion milling was used for processing the pad, and the etching amount was set to about 20 μm. Pads 51 and 52 on the inflow end side have a taper on the entrance direction side, a portion parallel to the substrate is 50 μm square, and a total area of the two pads is 5.0 × 10 ⁻⁹ m ² . . The levitation force generated by the pads 51 and 52 was extremely small and could be ignored. The bottom of the pad 54 on the outflow end side is 150
As shown in FIG. 1 (a), a pentagonal shape having a line-symmetric shape with a sharp inflow side was formed. The distance between the inflow end side pads 51 and 52 and the outflow end side pad 54 is 1.8 mm.
And Note that, instead of the pentagon shown in the drawing, the shape of the pad 54 may be modified pentagon, rectangle, inverted trapezoid, circle, etc. as shown in FIG.

After forming the three pads 51, 52, and 54, the entire pad 54 on the outflow end side including the element was covered with a resin having solubility in a solvent. After that, a carbon film was deposited on the sliding surface of the magnetic head by sputtering or CVD. The thickness of the carbon film to be deposited depends on the intended tilt angle of the magnetic head.
It can be calculated from the distance between 2 and the pad 54. In this example, carbon was deposited by about 3 μm so that the tilt angle was 0.1 degree. After the carbon film was laminated, the resin covering the pad 54 was removed using a predetermined solvent. At this time, the carbon film deposited on the resin was also removed at the same time, and as shown in FIG. 1B, the carbon film 61 remained only on the pads 51 and 52. By this process, the pad 51,
The height of 52 was 3 μm higher than the height of the pad 54.

The same effect can be obtained by depositing a hard film such as silicon oxide or silicon nitride instead of the carbon film.
After the above processing, the same as the conventional magnetic head on the entire sliding surface
A carbon film as a protective film was deposited to a thickness of 10 nm. By coating the carbon film 61 on the inflow end side pads 51, 52, as shown in FIG. 6, when the magnetic head was grounded to the recording medium surface, the entire magnetic head was tilted. Due to this inclination, even if the recording medium moves (rotates), the lubricant does not accumulate at the edge of the lubricant inflow direction, and stable continuous sliding is possible.

As shown in FIG. 7, the magnetic head 2 has a back surface supported by a suspension 7. The suspension 7 is made by punching from a stainless material having a thickness of about 25 μm, and has cross-shaped arms 43 and 45 as a gimbal portion, and the magnetic head has these cross-shaped arms 43 and 4.
Supported by 5. The support center (load center) of the magnetic head 2 is the intersection of the center lines 50 and 49 of the arms 45 and 43. On the other hand, the center of gravity of the magnetic head 2 is the position indicated by the intersection of the broken line 47 and the alternate long and short dash line 50. That is, the load center of the magnetic head is set at a position deviating from the center of gravity on the line segment connecting the center of gravity of the magnetic head and the outflow end side pad. According to this arrangement, the rotational torque acting on the outflow end side pad 54 is reduced, and the outflow end side pad 54 can be prevented from floating.

The relationship between the center of gravity of the magnetic head and the load center will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Magnetic head 2 of the present invention
Are supported by the support center 42, and the pads 52, 54 are in contact with the recording medium 1 via the lubricant 63. Therefore, due to the frictional force acting on the pads 52, 54, the magnetic head 2
A rotational torque is generated around the support center 42 as a fulcrum. Due to this torque, the inflow end side pad 52 sinks, and the outflow end side pad 54 provided with the functional element floats up from the recording medium. When the element is separated from the recording medium 1, the electromagnetic conversion function is deteriorated, and high density information cannot be recorded or reproduced. In this embodiment, since the support center 47 of the magnetic head 2 is provided on the line segment connecting the center of gravity of the magnetic head and the center of the outflow end side pad as described above, the element exists at the support point of the magnetic head 2. Since the rotational torque acting on the outflow end side pad 54 is close to the outflow end side pad 54 and the frictional force is constant, the outflow end side pad 54 can be prevented from floating.

FIG. 9 shows another example of the suspension, FIG. 9 (a) is a perspective view of a connecting portion between the magnetic head and the suspension, and FIG. 9 (b) is a bottom view thereof. The suspension 7 has two leaf springs 71 and 72 at the tip, and the leaf springs 71 and 72 support the magnetic head 2 between the pads 51, 52 and 54. That is, the load from the suspension 7 is set inside the virtual triangle having the three pads as vertices and at a position deviated from the center of gravity on the line segment connecting the center of gravity of the magnetic head and the center of the outflow end side pad 54. Act on the supporting center. Therefore, by applying a predetermined load, it is possible to prevent the outflow end side pad 54 from being lifted up, and all three pads can be brought into contact with the recording medium surface at the same time. Since the two leaf springs 71 and 72 can be independently bent, they have a gimbal function. Even a suspension having another shape can be used as long as it can apply a load to a position closer to the outflow end side pad 54 from the center of gravity of the magnetic head and has a gimbal function.

FIG. 10 shows a conceptual diagram of the magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus. FIG. 10A is a plan view of the device, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA ′. The recording medium 1 is rotationally driven by a motor 6. The magnetic head 2 having three pads on its sliding surface is supported by a gimbal member located at the tip of the suspension 7. The suspension 7 is attached to the arm 4 driven by the rotary actuator 3, and the magnetic head 2 can be positioned at a desired position on the recording medium 1 by driving the rotary actuator 3. The recording medium 1 is A as a substrate material.
Although 1 was used, carbon, plastic, etc. could be used in addition to those conventionally used such as glass and Si. A predetermined recording layer is deposited on the substrate, a carbon film is used as a protective film on the substrate, and a Hombrin lubricant is annealed on the substrate for 30 minutes in the range of 120 to 150 ° C., and further fixed thereon. A lubricant having a double structure was formed by applying the same kind of lubricant having a small molecular weight or a lubricant having no sticking reactive group. By using the silicon-containing carbon film as the protective film of the recording medium, it was possible to make the fixing force about twice as strong. You can also These components are housed in the case 14.

In this apparatus, about 10 recording media are used.
It is possible to provide a GB recording capacity, and by stacking a plurality of recording media, it is possible to realize a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus having a very large capacity of terabytes to petabytes. Further, this device could be applied to a magnetic disk device that allows the exchange of recording media without any problems. Since the medium cost is important in the replaceable disc device, it is necessary to use a cheap medium such as glass or plastic as the medium material. In the present invention, since the magnetic head does not float, the substrate may be slightly undulated. Therefore, these inexpensive substrates could be put to practical use.

Since the wear that affects the life of the apparatus greatly depends on the load applied to the magnetic head, it is necessary to apply the magnetic head to the recording medium with a low load. In this device, the load was set in the range of 10 mg to 1 g. When the load was set in this range, stable continuous sliding was possible without reducing the weight of the entire magnetic head to 1.5 mg or less as described in JP-A-5-114116.

[0039]

According to the present invention, the magnetic head can perform stable continuous sliding with the pad on the sliding surface in contact with the recording medium. Therefore, an ultrahigh density recording / reproducing apparatus having a recording density of 10 Gb / in ² or more can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a sliding surface and a cross section of a magnetic head.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a recording / reproducing separated type magnetic head.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional magnetic head having an element in a bending portion.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional magnetic head in which a tip portion is levitated.

5A is a diagram showing a relationship between a load applied to a magnetic head and a tangential force, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a relationship between a load applied to a magnetic head and a friction coefficient.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a magnetic head posture according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a suspension.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a frictional force that acts on a magnetic head.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of another example of the suspension.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of a magnetic recording / reproducing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Recording medium, 2 ... Magnetic head, 3 ... Rotary actuator, 4 ... Arm, 6 ... Motor, 7 ... Suspension, 21 ... Recording function part, 22 ... Reproduction function part, 23 ... Magnetoresistive effect detection part, 29 ... Conductor , 27 ... recording magnetic pole, 28 ...
Lower magnetic pole, 25 ... Shield layer, 24 ... Insulating layer, 30 ... Substrate, 42 ... Support center, 43, 46 ... Input / output element, 45
... Flexible body, 51, 52 ... Inflow end side pad, 54 ... Outflow end side pad, 71, 72 ... Gimbal, 61 ... Carbon film,
62 ... Carbon laminated film, 63 ... Lubrication film

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. Two sliding surfaces on the inflow end side and one on the outflow end side
3 pads in total, protruding from the substrate surface, the recording / reproducing function part on the outflow end side pad, the height of the inflow end side pad is higher than the height of the outflow end side pad, and the area of the pad surface Is in the range of 0.0003 to 0.02 mm ² , and the recording / reproducing is performed while simultaneously sliding the inflow end side pad and the outflow end side pad on the surface of the recording medium. 2. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the pad surface of the inflow end side pad and the pad surface of the outflow end side pad are parallel to the substrate surface of the magnetic head. 3. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein a cross section of the laminated film containing carbon as a main component is exposed on the pad surface of the outflow end side pad. 4. A disk-shaped magnetic recording medium having a magnetic thin film, means for driving the magnetic recording medium, a magnetic head having a functional section for recording and reproducing magnetic information on the magnetic recording medium, and A magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus, which includes a unit for positioning the magnetic head with respect to a magnetic recording medium, and allows the magnetic head to continuously contact the magnetic recording medium via a lubricating layer. A magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus using the magnetic head according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the load applied to the magnetic head is in the range of 10 mg to 1 g. 6. The magnetic recording medium according to claim 4, wherein the support center of the magnetic head is located off the center of gravity on a line segment connecting the center of gravity of the magnetic head and the center of the pad on the outflow end side. Recording / playback device. 7. The magnetic recording medium is Al, carbon,
Substrate made of Si, glass or polymer resin, recording layer for magnetic information formed on the substrate, protective film mainly composed of carbon or carbon-silicon mixed film laminated on the recording layer, protective film 7. A magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a lubricating layer that reacts and adheres to the material of claim 1 and a fluidized lubricating layer disposed on the adhered lubricating layer.