JPH10134318A - Apparatus for production of thin-film magnetic head and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the deformation by work strains and to suppress the variation in working in slider working. SOLUTION: This apparatus for production of thin-film magnetic heads has three pieces of spindles 3, 6, 9. The spindle 3 is installed with a grinding wheel for cutting wafers, the spindle 6 is installed with a grinding wheel for grinding and the spindle 9 is installed with a surface plate for polishing. The spindles 3, 6, 9 are arranged in positional relations parallel with each other. The respective spindle are fixed to stages 5, 8, 11 movable in the thrust direction of the spindles. A stage movable in the direction perpendicular to the thrust direction of the spindle is arranged. A composite formed by fixing the wafer 1 formed with the thin-film magnetic head elements to supporting ceramics 2 having an equal coefft. of thermal expansion via an adhesive is fixed to the stage 12 movable in the direction perpendicular to the thrust direction described above.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head used for a hard disk drive or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a method of manufacturing a floating type thin film magnetic head device, a step of controlling a gap depth (also expressed as a throat height and a stripe height) is performed on a surface facing a recording medium, that is, in a floating type head. is there. The gap depth is defined by an air bearing surface (abbreviated as ABS: Air Bear).
ing Surface) is controlled and formed by machining in the process of forming the surface. In the conventional machining process for forming the air bearing surface, a bar in which a plurality of thin film magnetic head elements are aligned is cut out from a wafer formed by thin film integration technology, and each bar is bonded to a processing jig, and various types of machining are performed. Had been given.

The most important thing in the machining for forming the air bearing surface is to control the machining with high precision so that the gap depth of all the thin film magnetic head elements is constant. About this gap depth, taking an MR head as an example,
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 (a) shows a bar on which ABS machining has been performed, in which thin-film magnetic head elements are arranged in a line, and 15 shows a thin-film magnetic head element, which is controlled to a predetermined gap depth. ing. Reference numeral 21 denotes an air bearing surface, which is mirror-polished in a machining process for forming the air bearing surface. Reference numeral 26 denotes a recording / reproducing gap of the thin-film magnetic head element, which inputs and outputs information signals to and from the magnetic recording medium. FIG.
As can be seen from (a), the recording / reproducing gap 26 is exposed in the air bearing surface 21 during the machining process for forming the air bearing surface, and the efficiency of magnetically inputting and outputting information signals is determined. You. Further, in the machining process for forming the floating surface 21, the thin-film magnetic head elements 26 aligned in a line are collectively processed, so that variations in the bars are reduced.

The relationship between the information signal input / output efficiency and the gap depth will be briefly described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3B shows a cross-section of the thin-film magnetic head element shown in FIG. 3A in a state where the air bearing surface 21 has been processed, and a thin-film magnetic head element using an MR element will be described. . Reference numeral 27 denotes a recording core of the thin-film magnetic head element, which plays a role of converging a magnetic information signal to a recording gap 29. Reference numeral 28 denotes a recording coil of the thin-film magnetic head element, which converts an electrical information signal into a magnetic information signal. Reference numeral 29 denotes a recording gap for recording an information signal on a magnetic recording medium. Reference numeral 30 denotes an MR element for reproducing an information signal recorded on a magnetic recording medium. 31 indicates a gap depth.

In FIG. 3B, a gap depth 31 is shown.
Is larger than a predetermined amount, the resistance value of the MR element 30 decreases, and the efficiency of reproducing the information signal of the magnetic recording medium decreases. Conversely, if the gap depth 31 is smaller than the predetermined amount, the resistance value of the MR element 30 increases, but the heat generated by the MR element 30 lowers the reliability, so that the gap depth must be controlled with high precision. .

[0007]

In a conventional magnetic head manufacturing apparatus, when cutting bars one after another from a wafer, if bars are cut from a wafer having a small remaining amount, processing distortion or deformation occurs in the remaining wafer, resulting in a gap depth. There was a problem that variation occurred.

As a result, the above-described conventional manufacturing method and apparatus can stably manufacture a thin-film magnetic head device in which the tolerance of the gap depth error is becoming smaller and smaller as the recording density and the frequency are increased in the future. Will be difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus capable of reducing the gap depth variation of a flying type thin film magnetic head device.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an apparatus for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention has at least three or more spindles, one of which is provided with a grinding wheel for cutting a wafer. One is provided with a grindstone for grinding, one is provided with a surface plate for polishing, and at least 3
A plurality of spindles are disposed in parallel with each other, each spindle is fixed to a stage movable in the thrust direction of the spindle, and a stage movable in a direction perpendicular to the thrust direction of the spindle is disposed. A wafer on which the thin-film magnetic head element is formed on a stage movable in a direction perpendicular to the direction, and having a mechanism for fixing a composite, which is fixed via an adhesive, to a supporting ceramic having an equivalent thermal expansion coefficient. It is a characteristic.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head device according to the present invention, a wafer having a plurality of magnetic head element rows formed thereon is joined to a ceramic plate having a similar thermal expansion coefficient to the wafer, and the wafer and the ceramic plate are joined together. The composite is parallel to the magnetic head element row located at the outermost periphery so that the surface of the magnetic head element row located at the outermost periphery of the composite joined with the magnetic recording medium is exposed. And the cut surface is polished until the gap depth of each magnetic head element reaches a predetermined value. Thereafter, the surface of each magnetic head element of the next magnetic head element row facing the magnetic recording medium is exposed. So that the composite is cut in parallel with the next row of magnetic head elements, the row of magnetic head elements located at the outermost periphery is separated from the composite, Gap depth of the head element is polished to a predetermined value, is obtained and wherein the repeating the process of subsequent said polishing and cutting.

According to the present invention, variations in the gap depth of the thin-film magnetic head during processing can be stably reduced.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A thin-film magnetic head manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention has a magnetic head in which a plurality of magnetic head elements are arranged such that a surface facing a magnetic recording medium is located on the same surface. In a thin-film magnetic head manufacturing apparatus for cutting out each of the magnetic head element rows from a wafer in which a plurality of element rows are formed so that the surfaces are parallel to each other, the apparatus has at least three or more spindles. Is provided with a grindstone for cutting a wafer, one is provided with a grindstone for grinding, one is provided with a surface plate for polishing, and the at least three or more spindles are arranged in a positional relationship parallel to each other, Each of the spindles is fixed to a stage movable in the thrust direction of the spindle, and a stage movable in a direction perpendicular to the thrust direction of the spindle is arranged. The thin film magnetic head element is formed on a stage movable in the direction perpendicular to the wafer, and the wafer is provided with a mechanism for fixing a composite fixed via an adhesive to a supporting ceramic having an equivalent thermal expansion coefficient. In each process from cutting to polishing, the aligned thin film magnetic head elements to be processed can be processed while maintaining the same state without changing the work, and the grinding surface and polishing surface are specified. Thus, variations in gap depth can be reduced.

Next, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic head element array in which a plurality of magnetic head elements are arranged such that a surface facing a magnetic recording medium is located on the same surface. From the wafers formed in multiple rows
(A) bonding the wafer to a ceramic plate having a similar coefficient of thermal expansion to the wafer;
The composite is positioned at the outermost periphery such that the surface of the magnetic head element row of the magnetic head element row located at the outermost periphery of the composite in which the wafer and the ceramic plate are bonded is opposed to the magnetic recording medium. (C) polishing the cut surface until the gap depth of each of the magnetic head elements reaches a predetermined value;
(D) cutting the composite in parallel with the next magnetic head element row so that the surface of each magnetic head element of the next magnetic head element row facing the magnetic recording medium is exposed; Separating the positioned magnetic head element row from the composite,
(E) polishing the cut surface until the gap depth of each magnetic head element reaches a predetermined value;
(E) is repeated,
During cutting, grinding, and polishing, deformation of the wafer due to processing distortion can be minimized.

Next, a method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the second aspect, a step of cutting the side of the thin-film magnetic head element facing the magnetic recording medium and a step of grinding the cut surface. The step of polishing the ground surface is characterized in that the processing is performed on the same processing machine without detaching the wafer, and the variation in the gap depth due to the detachment of the wafer can be reduced. .

(Embodiment 1) The first aspect of the present invention will be described below.
To the embodiment of the invention described in claim 3,
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 schematically shows an outline of a manufacturing apparatus of a thin-film magnetic head device, and 1 shows a wafer on which thin-film magnetic head elements are arranged. Reference numeral 2 denotes a ceramic supporting the wafer 1, which is bonded to the wafer 1 with a thermoplastic adhesive and is integrated with the wafer 1. Reference numeral 3 denotes a cutting spindle, and reference numeral 4 denotes a thin blade diamond grindstone, which is installed on the spindle 3. Reference numeral 5 denotes a stage movable in the thrust direction (indicated by the X direction in FIG. 1) of the spindle 3, on which the spindle 3 on which the thin-cut diamond grindstone 4 is mounted is fixed. Reference numeral 6 denotes a grinding spindle, and reference numeral 7 denotes a cup-shaped diamond grinding wheel for grinding. Reference numeral 8 denotes a stage movable in the thrust direction of the spindle 6, and the spindle 6 on which the cup-shaped diamond grindstone 7 for grinding is mounted is fixed. Reference numeral 9 denotes a polishing spindle, and reference numeral 10 denotes a tin platen or a copper platen. Reference numeral 11 denotes a stage movable in the thrust direction of the spindle 9,
The spindle 9 on which the tin surface plate or the copper surface plate is installed is fixed. The spindles 3, 6, 9 are adjusted in advance to a positional relationship parallel to each other. 12 is spindle 3,
6 shows a stage movable in a direction perpendicular to the thrust direction of 6, 9 and a wafer 1 on which thin-film magnetic head elements are aligned.
And a function of fixing a composite in which the supporting ceramic 2 of the wafer 1 is fixed with an adhesive. As a method for fixing the complex, a method in which a hole is formed in the stage in advance (not shown), and a method of vacuum suction is also possible, and another method is a mechanical method, for example, a method using a clamp function. Is also conceivable. Reference numeral 13 denotes a housing that supports all spindles and stages.

A method for controlling the gap depth using the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 2A, reference numeral 1 denotes a wafer on which thin-film magnetic head elements are arranged. Reference numeral 15 denotes a thin-film magnetic head element, which is formed by using a thin-film integration technique. Reference numeral 16 denotes a line cut in a wafer state. Cutting line 1
The purpose of No. 6 is to regulate the length of the bar in which the thin-film magnetic head elements 15 are arranged in a line. First, the wafer 1 on which the thin-film magnetic head elements 15 are formed by using the thin-film integration technique is cut along a cutting line 16. A specific method of cutting may be cutting using the cutting spindle 3 and the thin bladed diamond grindstone 4 shown in FIG. 1 or cutting using another dedicated cutting equipment. .

Next, the cut wafer 1 is bonded to the supporting ceramic 2. In FIG. 2B, reference numeral 17 denotes FIG.
The wafer 1 in which the thin-film magnetic head elements 15 cut in FIG. The ceramic 2 supporting the wafer desirably has a thermal expansion coefficient equivalent to that of the wafer 1. In this embodiment, porous alumina is used. If the wafer 1 and the supporting ceramic 2 have different coefficients of thermal expansion, warpage occurs when they are bonded, and the variation in gap depth increases. Even if an adhesive that does not require heating is used, warpage occurs due to processing heat generated during cutting and grinding, which will be described later, and causes gap depth to vary. Reference numeral 19 denotes a line which is cut first after the wafer 1 and the supporting ceramic 2 are bonded to each other, and cuts the outermost surface of the thin film magnetic head element 15 in the wafer 1 which faces the magnetic recording medium. During this cutting, the composite of the wafer 1 and the supporting ceramic 2 is fixed to the stage 12 shown in FIG. Further, the cutting of the line 19 uses the thin blade diamond wheel 4 shown in FIG.

Next, the exposed surface is ground and polished by the cutting line 19. In FIG. 2C, reference numeral 20 denotes a surface exposed by cutting the cutting line 19. Face 20
Is a grinding cup-shaped diamond wheel 7 shown in FIG.
Then, it is ground and polished by a tin surface plate or a copper surface plate for polishing. In this example, a tin surface plate was used for polishing. FIG.
As is clear from FIG. 1, the composite of the wafer 1 and the supporting ceramic 2 fixed to the stage 12 is cut from the cutting by the diamond blade 4 having a thin blade to the grinding by the diamond wheel 7 in the form of a cup and polishing by the tin platen 10. Since all are processed on the same stage 12, variations due to changing the composite can be reduced. Stage 1
Since the moving direction of the spindle 2 and the thrust direction of the spindles 3, 6, and 9 are arranged at right angles in advance, the composite of the wafer 1 and the supporting ceramic 2 is parallel to the moving direction of the stage 12 during cutting, grinding, and polishing. Processed into Therefore, the in-plane processing variation at the time of processing can be reduced.

Next, the thin-film magnetic head element 15 cuts out a bar aligned in a line. In FIG. 2 (d), 21 is cut,
This is the surface on which the grinding and polishing steps have been performed, and is the surface of the thin-film magnetic head element 15 facing the magnetic recording medium. Reference numeral 22 denotes a groove formed for cutting out the bar, and the groove 22 is cut to some extent in the supporting ceramic 2 in the depth direction. Reference numeral 23 denotes a remaining wafer separated by one bar. In this step, it is processed by the thin blade diamond wheel 4 shown in FIG. In this cutting step, the remaining wafer 23 is bonded to the supporting ceramic 2 in advance, so that deformation due to processing distortion at the time of cutting becomes very small.
Does not affect gap depth variation. 1 bar 2
In FIG. 2D, a diamond cutting tool (not shown) is cut in the length direction of the groove 22 until it reaches the groove 22 in FIG. 2D, so that the supporting ceramic adheres to the bottom as shown in FIG. In this state, one bar 25 can be obtained.

Next, the bar cut partway is taken out. In FIG. 2E, reference numeral 24 denotes a composite of the wafer 23 and the supporting ceramic 2 after the bar is taken out. The composite 24 is ground, polished, and again using the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG.
The cutting is repeated. Numeral 25 indicates the removed bar. The taken-out bar 25 has the supporting ceramic adhered thereto, and the supporting ceramic is subjected to various subsequent steps (not shown).
Used for handling in The polishing may be performed by cutting a bar, attaching a support jig (not shown), attaching the support jig to the stage 12, and polishing with a tin surface plate or a copper surface plate of an independent polishing machine.

In the embodiment, an example of application to a flying type thin film magnetic head device has been described. However, the present invention is effective in reducing the gap depth variation even in other thin film magnetic head devices.

[0025]

As described above, according to the thin-film magnetic head manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method of the present invention, from the cutting of the wafer to the polishing for controlling the gap depth can be performed by one facility, the transfer of the work can be performed. As a result, variations in gap depth can be reduced. Further, with respect to the processing distortion at the time of the cutting processing, since it is bonded to the supporting ceramic in advance and processed as a composite, the variation in gap depth can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing a method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bar in which thin-film magnetic head elements are arranged in a line and a cross-sectional view of the thin-film magnetic head element.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wafer on which thin-film magnetic head element was formed 2 Ceramic supporting wafer on which thin-film magnetic head element was formed 3, 6, 9 spindle 4 Diamond blade with thin blade 5, 8, 11 Stage movable in thrust direction of spindle 7 Cup-shaped diamond grindstone 10 Tin surface plate 12 Stage movable in the direction perpendicular to the thrust direction of the spindle 13 Housing for supporting all spindles and stages 15 Thin film magnetic head element 18 Wafer supported ceramic 26 Thin film magnetic head element 27 Magnetic core constituting a thin-film magnetic head element 28 Electromagnetic conversion coil constituting a thin-film magnetic head element 29 Recording gap constituting a thin-film magnetic head element 30 Thin-film magnetic head element Constituting MR element 31 MR element Ppudepusu

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic head element array in which a plurality of magnetic head elements are arranged so that a surface facing a magnetic recording medium is located on the same surface, from a wafer in which a plurality of lines are formed such that the surfaces are parallel to each other. A thin-film magnetic head manufacturing apparatus for cutting each magnetic head element row, comprising at least three spindles, one of which is provided with a grinding wheel for cutting a wafer, and one is provided with a grinding wheel for grinding. One is provided with a polishing platen, the at least three or more spindles are arranged in a parallel positional relationship to each other, and each spindle is fixed to a stage movable in the thrust direction of the spindle; A stage movable in a direction perpendicular to the thrust direction is disposed, and the thin-film magnetic head element is mounted on a stage movable in a direction perpendicular to the thrust direction. Made the wafer manufacturing apparatus having a mechanism for fixing the immobilized complex with an adhesive to the supporting ceramic having a thermal expansion coefficient equivalent. 2. A magnetic head element array in which a plurality of magnetic head elements are arranged so that a surface facing a magnetic recording medium is located on the same surface, from a wafer in which a plurality of lines are formed such that the surfaces are parallel to each other. And (b) bonding the wafer to a ceramic plate having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of the wafer, and (b) bonding the wafer to the ceramic plate. The composite is cut parallel to the outermost magnetic head element row so that the surface of each magnetic head element of the magnetic head element row located at the outermost circumference of the composite facing the magnetic recording medium is exposed. (C) polishing the cut surface until the gap depth of each of the magnetic head elements reaches a predetermined value; and (d) magnetically removing the magnetic head elements of the next magnetic head element row. Cutting the composite in parallel with the next row of magnetic head elements so that the surface facing the air recording medium is exposed, separating the magnetic head element row located at the outermost periphery from the composite, e) A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, wherein the cut surface is polished until the gap depth of each of the magnetic head elements reaches a predetermined value, and thereafter, the steps (d) and (e) are repeated. 3. A step of cutting the thin-film magnetic head element on the side facing the magnetic recording medium, and a step of grinding the cut surface.
3. The method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 2, wherein the step of polishing the ground surface processes the wafer without detaching the wafer on the same processing machine.