JPH10172110A - Manufacture of thin film magnetic head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manufacture a magnetic thin film head with excellent yield by digging a hole with etching after a resist is applied to a protection film on a substrate to be exposed/developed and film forming magnetic material becoming a lower part magnetic pole layer from the upper part of the hole. SOLUTION: The hole is dug on a substrate protection film 2 on the substrate, and the magnetic material is film-formed into this hole, and planing is performed so as to become prescribed thickness, and the lower part magnetic pole layer 4 is formed. Then, a gap 5, coil layers of the number of required layers and an insulation layer are formed on the planed lower part magnetic pole layer 4. Then, an upper part magnetic pole layer 6 is formed on it, and the thin film magnetic head is manufactured. Thus, the lower part magnetic pole layer 4 is formed in the hole of the substrate protection film 2 to plane its surface, and the gap layer 5 and upper part magnetic pole layer 6 are formed on it, and the size of the gap 5 between the lower part magnetic pole layer 4 and the upper magnetic pole layer 6 is fixed, and moreover, a core short circuiting with the lower part magnetic pole layer due to the positional deviation of the upper part magnetic pole layer 6 is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a lower magnetic pole layer, a gap layer and an upper magnetic pole layer of a thin-film magnetic head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a thin-film magnetic head is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, a lower magnetic pole layer was formed on a flat substrate, a gap layer was formed thereon, the required number of insulating layers and coil layers were formed, and then an upper magnetic pole layer was formed. .

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, when a gap layer is formed on the lower pole layer, as shown in FIG. 4B, the gap layer at the edge of the lower pole layer is cut by an ion mill or the like in each of the subsequent steps. As shown in FIG. 4 (c), the gap layer at the edge portion disappears and there is no margin for displacement of the upper magnetic pole layer, and the upper magnetic pole layer and the lower magnetic pole layer may be short-circuited or core drop may occur. There was a problem of doing it.

[0004] The present invention solves these problems,
A thin-film magnetic head with a stable gap size by keeping the dimension of the gap layer between the lower magnetic pole layer and the upper magnetic pole layer of the thin-film magnetic head constant, and preventing core short-circuit with the lower magnetic pole layer due to displacement of the upper magnetic pole layer It is intended to manufacture.

[0005]

Means for solving the problem will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. 1 and 2, a substrate 1 is a substrate on which a thin-film magnetic head is formed.

The resist 3 is applied on the substrate 1 or the like, and is exposed and developed to form a hole, thereby forming a film, etching, and the like. The lower magnetic pole layer 4 is a lower magnetic pole layer constituting the thin-film magnetic head.

[0007] The gap layer 5 is a gap layer provided between the lower pole layer 4 and the upper pole layer 6. Upper magnetic pole layer 6
Is an upper magnetic pole layer constituting a thin film magnetic head.

Next, a manufacturing method will be described. After a resist 3 is applied to the protective film on the substrate 1 and exposed and developed, a hole for forming the lower magnetic pole layer 4 is formed by etching, and a magnetic material to be the lower magnetic pole layer 4 is formed from above the hole. A desired lower magnetic pole layer 4 was formed by flattening, a gap layer 5 was formed on the flattened lower magnetic pole layer 4, and the necessary number of coils and insulating layers were formed on the gap layer 5 and the gap layer 5. The upper magnetic pole layer 6 is formed on both of them.

At this time, when digging a hole for forming the lower magnetic pole layer 4 by etching after coating and exposing and developing the resist 3 on the protective film on the substrate 1, a step is provided in the lower magnetic pole layer 4 to make it thicker. Like that.

Further, the width of the pole portion of the lower magnetic pole layer 4 and the width of the pole portion of the upper magnetic pole layer 6 opposed to the gap layer 5 are set to be wider and narrower, and the narrower one is opposed to the wider one. I try to eliminate the effect of.

Therefore, the dimension of the gap layer 5 between the lower pole layer 4 and the upper pole layer 6 of the thin-film magnetic head is made constant,
In addition, it is possible to manufacture a thin-film magnetic head having a stable gap size by preventing a core short-circuit with the lower magnetic pole layer 4 due to displacement of the upper magnetic pole layer 6.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment and operation of the present invention will be sequentially described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of the manufacturing method of the present invention. In FIG. 1, S1 is a resist 3 on a substrate 1.
Is applied. In this method, a resist 3 shown in FIG. 2A to be described later is applied over the entire surface of the substrate protective film 2 formed on the substrate 1.

In step S2, exposure and development are performed. This is because, in S1, the resist 3 of FIG. 2A is applied to the entire surface of the substrate protective film 2 and then exposed and developed with a mask having a pattern for forming the lower magnetic pole layer 4, and is exposed to light. As shown in (1), holes are formed in the resist 3 only at the portions where the lower magnetic pole layer 4 is to be formed.

In step S3, wet etching is performed. Wet etching is performed in the state of S2 to form a hole (a hole for forming the lower magnetic pole layer 4) as shown in FIG.
In step S4, the resist is removed.

In step S5, a conductive base film is formed. this is,
In the state shown in FIG. 2A, a conductive underlayer film (for example, a NiFe film) is formed on the entire surface from above by electroplating thinly by vapor deposition or the like.

In step S6, wet plating is performed. In this method, a lower magnetic pole layer (a lower magnetic pole layer of a NiFe film) having a desired thickness is formed by wet plating (electroplating) by flowing a current between the conductive magnetic film and the conductive base film as shown in FIG. 2B. .

In step S7, planarization is performed. In this step, as shown in FIG. 2C described later, the lower magnetic pole layer 4 having a desired thickness is formed in the hole by flattening by surface grinding. S
8 forms a gap layer. This is done by flattening in S7 and forming a gap layer on the entire surface as shown in FIG.

In step S9, the required number of insulating layers and coil layers is formed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2F, a required number of coil layers, first insulating layers, and the like are sequentially stacked on the gap layer 5.

In step S10, an insulating layer is formed. After completing necessary coil layers and insulating layers in S9, an insulating layer is formed from above. S11 forms an upper pole layer. This is shown in FIG.
(E), the upper magnetic pole layer 6 is formed on the gap layer 5 and on the laminated layer of the coil layer and the insulating layer.

As described above, as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2F to be described later, a hole is formed in the substrate protective film 2 on the substrate 1 and a magnetic material is formed therein to form a predetermined thickness. The lower magnetic pole layer 4 is formed by flattening such that Then, a gap layer 5, a required number of coil layers and insulating layers are formed on the flattened lower magnetic pole layer 4, and the upper magnetic pole layer 6 is formed thereon.
To manufacture a thin-film magnetic head. As a result, the lower magnetic pole layer 4 is formed in the hole of the substrate protective film 2 to planarize the surface, and the gap layer 5 and the upper magnetic pole layer 6 are formed thereon. It is possible to make the dimension of the gap layer 5 between the magnetic pole layer 6 constant and to prevent a core short circuit with the lower magnetic pole layer 4 due to a displacement of the upper magnetic pole layer 6.

FIG. 2 shows a production example (part 1) of the present invention. FIG. 2A shows a state in which a hole is formed in the substrate protection film 2. This is the state of S3 in FIG. 1 described above. A resist 2 is applied on a substrate protective film 2 formed on a substrate 1, exposed, developed, and further wet-etched to form a lower magnetic pole layer 5. The hole has been drilled.

FIG. 2B shows a state in which the lower magnetic pole layer 4 is formed. This is the state of S6 in FIG. 1 described above, in which the lower magnetic pole layer 4 is formed by electroplating (wet plating).

FIG. 2C shows a state where the lower magnetic pole layer 4 is planarized to a predetermined thickness. This is obtained by grinding the surface of the lower magnetic pole layer 4 slightly thicker by grinding the surface in the state shown in FIG. 2B and flattening the periphery of the lower magnetic pole layer 4 by flat grinding. The lower magnetic pole layer 4 is finished to a desired thickness. Planarization is performed until (polishing). At this time, the depth of the recess is set slightly larger than the desired pole length so that the surrounding substrate protective film is always planarized together. This is the state of S7 in FIG. 1 described above.

FIG. 2D shows a state in which a gap layer such as alumina is formed on the entire surface of FIG. 2C. This is the state of S8 in FIG. FIG. 2E shows a state in which the upper magnetic pole layer 6 is formed. This is shown in FIG.
After forming the required number of coil layers and insulating layers on the gap layer 5, the upper magnetic pole layer 6 is formed on the uppermost part. This is the state of S11 in FIG.

FIG. 2F is a cross-sectional view showing the upper magnetic pole layer 6 formed. As shown in the figure, it can be seen that the lower magnetic pole layer 4 is formed in the hole of the protective substrate film 2 and has a flat surface.

As described above, holes are formed in the substrate protective film 2, the lower magnetic pole layer 4 is formed therein, the surface is ground, and the gap layer 5, the coil layer and the necessary layers of the insulating layer are formed thereon. number,
And the upper magnetic pole layer 6 is formed, and the dimension of the gap layer 5 between the lower magnetic pole layer 4 and the upper magnetic pole layer 6 of the thin-film magnetic head is made constant. Core short-circuit can be prevented.

FIG. 3 shows a production example (part 2) of the present invention. This shows a state where the lower magnetic pole layer 4 is dug in two steps.
FIG. 3A shows a top view, and FIG. 3B shows BB ′.
FIG. 3C shows a cross-sectional view, and FIG.

As can be seen from these drawings, the portion where the coils are stacked is dug in one step and then two steps to perform the so-called thickening of the magnetic path. As shown in (c), the manufacturing method at this time is, for example, one-stage digging is performed by wet (electric field polishing), and two-stage digging is performed by an ion mill. At this time, after coating, exposing and developing a resist, digging is performed.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
After a resist is applied to the protective film on the substrate 1, exposed and developed, a hole for forming the lower magnetic pole layer 4 is formed by etching, and a magnetic material to be the lower magnetic pole layer 4 is formed from above the hole. The desired lower magnetic pole layer 4 is formed by flattening, the gap layer 5 is formed on the flattened lower magnetic pole layer 4, and the gap layer 5 and the coils and the insulating layers formed on the gap layer 5 in the required number of layers are formed. Since the configuration in which the upper magnetic pole layer 6 is formed on the upper magnetic pole layer 6 is adopted, the dimension of the gap layer 5 between the lower magnetic pole layer 4 and the upper magnetic pole layer 6 of the thin-film magnetic head is made constant. It is possible to manufacture a thin-film magnetic head having a stable gap size by preventing a core short-circuit with the lower magnetic pole layer 4 due to misalignment. As a result, (1) the dimension of the gap layer between the lower magnetic pole layer and the upper magnetic pole layer can be made constant, and there is no short circuit between the two magnetic pole layers due to displacement or the like.
It is possible to manufacture a magnetic thin film head with good yield.

(2) Since the lower magnetic pole layer is dug and buried to make it buried and planarized, the overall height of the element is reduced and exposure and the like are facilitated, so that the core width of the magnetic pole layer can be made as small as possible. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a manufacturing method flowchart of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a manufacturing method (No. 1) of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a manufacturing method (part 2) of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Substrate 2: Substrate protective film 3: Resist 4: Lower magnetic pole layer 5: Gap 6: Upper magnetic pole layer

Claims (3)

[Claims] In a method of manufacturing a lower magnetic pole layer, a gap layer and an upper magnetic pole layer of a thin-film magnetic head, a resist is applied to a protective film on a substrate, exposed and developed, and then a hole for forming a lower magnetic pole layer by etching is formed. After digging, forming a magnetic material to be a lower magnetic pole layer from above the hole, flattening to form a desired lower magnetic pole layer, forming a gap layer on the flattened material, A method for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, comprising forming a required number of coils and insulating layers on a layer, and then forming an upper magnetic pole layer. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a step is formed in the lower magnetic pole layer when a hole for forming a lower magnetic pole layer is formed by etching after applying a resist to the protective film on the substrate and exposing and developing the resist. The method for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1. 3. The position of the pole portion of the lower magnetic pole layer and the pole portion of the upper magnetic pole layer facing the gap layer are widened, and the other is narrowed, and the narrower width is opposed to the wider one. 3. The method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the effect of the thin film magnetic head is eliminated.