JPH1021514A - Magnetic head and magnetic recorder using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maintain a stable contact state by providing a coil member, etc., in a surface nearly parallel with the sliding surface of a magnetic head and providing a magnetic circuit gap for reproduction at a position deviated from a magnetic circuit gap for recording. SOLUTION: On a pad 14 on the side of flowing out, end the recording magnetic circuit gap 114 is provided between magnetic poles 15 and 18, and the reproducing magnetic circuit gap 117 is provided between the magnetic poles 18 and 17. In this case, the magnetic circuit gap 114 for recording is arranged at the front in the sliding direction, and the magnetic circuit gap 117 for reproduction (read-out) is arranged at the rear position. The recording and reproduction operations are realized by approaching these gaps to the recording medium.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a storage device used for an electronic computer, an information processing device, and the like. The present invention relates to a so-called planar magnetic head and a high-density magnetic recording device using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A semiconductor memory and a magnetic memory are mainly used as storage devices of information equipment. A semiconductor memory is used for the internal storage device from the viewpoint of access time, and a magnetic memory is used for the external storage device from the viewpoint of large capacity and non-volatility. At present, in the field of magnetic memories, magnetic disks and magnetic tapes have become mainstream. The storage media used in these devices have a magnetic thin film formed on an Al substrate or a resin tape. In order to write magnetic information into the storage medium, a functional unit having an electromagnetic conversion function is used. Further, in order to reproduce magnetic information, a functional unit utilizing a magnetoresistance phenomenon, a giant magnetoresistance 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 and the medium have a function of moving relatively, writing magnetic information at an arbitrary position on the medium, and electrically reproducing the magnetic information as necessary. Taking the magnetic disk device as an example, the magnetic head is composed of a functional unit 21 for writing magnetic information and a detecting unit 22 for reproducing as shown in FIG. The writing function unit includes the coil 26
And a magnetic pole 27 wrapping it up and down and magnetically coupled
And 28. The detection unit 22 includes a magnetoresistive effect detection unit 23 and a conductor 29 for applying a constant current to the detection unit and detecting a change in resistance. A magnetic shield layer 25 is provided between the writing and reproducing function units. These functional units are formed on the magnetic head main body 30 with the base layer 24 interposed therebetween.

The element having the above structure is formed on the side surface (outflow end side surface) of the magnetic head 200 as shown in FIG. Reference numeral 201 shown in FIG. This magnetic head 200 is mounted on the suspension 7. These members are attached to an arm 4 connected to a rotary actuator 3 as shown in FIG. The magnetic head 200 is positioned at an arbitrary position on the recording medium 1 by the rotary actuator 3, and the recording medium 1
Input and output magnetic information while sliding on the top. They are,
It is housed in the case 14 as shown in FIG.

[0005] The performance of a storage device is determined by the speed and the storage capacity during input / output operations, and it is necessary to shorten the access time and increase the capacity in order to increase product competitiveness. In recent years, miniaturization of storage devices has become important due to demands for lighter, thinner and smaller information devices. In order to satisfy these demands, there is an urgent need to develop a magnetic storage device capable of writing and reproducing a large amount of magnetic information in a single recording medium.

In order to realize high-density recording with the above-described magnetic head, it is necessary to reduce the size of the magnetic domain to be written. This can be realized by narrowing the width of the write magnetic poles 27 and 28 shown in FIG. 4 and increasing the frequency of the write current flowing through the coil 26 (when the peripheral speed is constant). However, since the signal intensity at the time of reading depends on the size of the magnetic domain, reading becomes difficult by miniaturizing the magnetic domain.

[0007] In order to solve this problem, studies have been made to increase the detection sensitivity of the readout section. However, the improvement by this method is limited by the physical limit of the magnetoresistive element used for detection.

On the other hand, as a means for detecting a weak magnetic field with higher sensitivity, a solution for bringing a magnetic head extremely close to a recording medium has been proposed. Specifically, a recording method in which a magnetic head and a recording medium are continuously or intermittently contacted has been proposed. According to this technology, several tens Gb / in
It was thought that ^two memory densities would be possible.

[0009]

According to the above-mentioned technique of bringing the magnetic head into contact with the recording medium, several tens Gb / in ^{2 are provided.}
It was thought that a high recording density could be achieved. However, in the conventional head in which the functional element is provided on the side surface of the magnetic head, since the support point and the contact point are separated, mechanical vibration is likely to occur during sliding, and it is difficult to maintain a stable contact state. I understood that.

As another problem, it has been found that it is difficult to make the magnetic path gap directly involved in recording / reproduction closest to the recording medium due to an error in processing the head. This problem arises because the sliding surface needs to be polished in the conventional magnetic head, and at that time, a step is formed between the element portion and the slider portion of the magnetic head. This step is estimated to be about 5 nm to 10 nm. Due to this problem, the slider cannot be approached to a distance of less than 5 nm from the medium surface. This problem also makes it impossible to achieve the target approaching state, making it difficult to achieve the desired high-density magnetic recording.

The step is caused by the difference between the structural member of the element portion and the structural member of the slider portion. This difference cannot be eliminated as long as mechanical polishing is required to form the sliding surface. In addition, this polishing step requires high accuracy and a long time for processing. For this reason,
There is also a problem that the manufacturing cost of the magnetic head cannot be reduced.

As a method for solving the above problem, a method has been proposed in which an element is formed two-dimensionally on a polished sliding surface. This technology is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-26702.
No. 6. According to this technique, since the magnetic circuit gap is formed in a plane substantially parallel to the sliding surface, a mechanical polishing step can be substantially omitted. For this reason, the manufacturing cost could be significantly reduced.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the above-mentioned prior art. As shown in the figure, it can be seen that the recording magnetic field generating coil 52 and the sliding surface 50 are formed substantially in parallel, and the gap 54 is formed in the sliding surface 50. In this example, since the element manufacturing process is completed with the formation of the sliding surface 50, the gap 54 can be exposed on the sliding surface without mechanical polishing.

However, in the same structure, the functional thin film 5 for reading magnetic information as described in the above publication is used.
3 are provided in the magnetic path 51 so as to form a wide gap.
For this reason, an increase in magnetic path resistance at the same portion cannot be avoided, and weak magnetic information cannot be reproduced.
For this reason, high-density information could not be reproduced in a high S / N state. In addition, since a strong magnetic field at the time of writing generated by the coil 52 passes through the inside of the functional thin film 53, there is a problem that the magnetization state of the functional thin film 53 set at the time of manufacturing is disturbed. For this reason, noise components included in the signal increased, and high-sensitivity readout could not be performed. For this reason, high-density information could not be reproduced.

An object of the present invention is to clarify a novel magnetic head structure which solves the problems of the above-mentioned flat type magnetic head, and to disclose an ultra-high density magnetic recording apparatus using the magnetic head.

[0016]

The present invention has solved the above-mentioned problems by using the following means.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, a coil member 16 for generating a recording magnetic field is formed in a plane substantially parallel to the sliding surfaces 11 and 14 of the magnetic head 2, and a recording magnetic circuit gap (air gap) is formed. A reproducing (reading) magnetic circuit gap 117 is provided at a position shifted forward or backward with respect to the sliding direction with respect to 114).

As shown in FIG. 1, a reproducing magnetic circuit and a recording (writing) magnetic circuit constituted by these magnetic circuit gaps were respectively installed in parallel in different directions.

Further, a part of the reproducing magnetic circuit having the plurality of magnetic circuit gaps and a part of the recording (writing) magnetic circuit are shared in the vicinity of the magnetic path provided with the magnetic circuit gap.

As another means, a means for magnetically separating a reproducing magnetic circuit and a recording (writing) magnetic circuit is used.

The two magnetic circuit gaps are designed so that the gap dimension is widened when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the sliding surface.

Further, regarding the shape of the two gaps,
In particular, a curvature is provided in the shape from the sliding surface side, magnetic information is recorded on the storage medium by a leakage magnetic field from the gap, and a gap having the same curvature is provided in the adjacent second reproduction (reading) magnetic circuit. . As a result, the magnetic information was introduced into the magnetic circuit for reading, and reading was performed.

Further, regarding the magnetic circuit member for recording and the magnetic circuit member for reproduction, the material composition is changed particularly between the member closest to the recording medium and other portions.

A first method for recording magnetic information on a storage medium is described below.
A third air gap was provided between the magnetic air gap and the second magnetic air gap for introducing magnetic information, and the write function section and the reproduction function section were magnetically or electrically separated by the air gap.

As shown in FIG. 1, the flat type magnetic head 2 is provided with sliding pads 11 and 14, particularly a taper 12 is provided at the tip of the inflow end side pad 11, and the tip of the outflow end side pad 14 is provided. Was sharpened.

As shown in FIG. 9, gimbal functions 74-1 and 73-1 are provided in a part of the flat magnetic head 77.

Further, the above-mentioned flat magnetic head is integrated with an arm member, a gimbal member and a wiring member.

Further, a semiconductor circuit was mounted on a member mainly composed of the above-mentioned flat type magnetic head moved by a rotary actuator.

As shown in FIG. 11, means for introducing a magnetic field from a conductor 47 electrically connected to a recording coil is provided in the reproducing magnetic circuits 18, 15, 42, 31 and the like. Also, the direction of the magnetic field from the conductor is opposite to the direction of the magnetic field flowing into the reproducing magnetic circuit of the recording magnetic field,
A function to reduce the inflow magnetic field is provided.

In addition, a function is provided in which a high-frequency current, which is weaker than 1/10 of the write current and higher than the recording frequency, flows through the conductor during information reproduction.

Since the flat type magnetic head of the present invention is formed on a smooth Si surface, it can be basically used as a magnetic head without mechanical polishing. Therefore, there is no step formed between the element portion and the magnetic head slider portion, which is caused by the conventional magnetic head processing. Therefore, the distance from the recording medium intended in the present invention is 5 nm or less (so far, the distance from the so-called maximum projection surface of the medium surface to the maximum projection surface of the facing magnetic head surface (sliding pad surface) is And a magnetoresistive element having a high detection sensitivity (having a function of reproducing magnetic information by a magnetoresistance phenomenon or a giant magnetoresistance phenomenon). Can work. Thus, a high-density magnetic recording device can be realized. Further, a magnetic head which is easy to manufacture and inexpensive can be realized. The details are described below.

[0032]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a flat type magnetic head according to the present invention. The upper part of the figure shows the head viewed from the sliding surface side, the middle part shows the side view, and the lower part shows the back side (suspension mounting surface). The magnetic head body is made of silicon oxide or alumina. The feature viewed from the sliding surface side is that three small area pads 11 (two) and 14 for eliminating buoyancy are provided in order to realize sliding in a narrow spacing state. The area is 50 μm square on the inflow end 11 and 14 μm on the outflow end.
Is about 5000 μm ² . The tip of the outflow end side pad 14 is sharpened.

The outflow end side pad 14 is provided with a recording magnetic circuit gap 114 between the magnetic pole 15 and the magnetic pole 18 and a reproducing magnetic circuit gap 117 between the magnetic pole 18 and the magnetic pole 17. In this embodiment, the recording magnetic circuit gap 114 is provided in front of the sliding direction, and the reproducing (reading) magnetic circuit gap 117 is provided in the rear position. The recording / reproducing operation is realized by bringing these gaps closer to the recording medium.

The feature of the magnetic head of the present invention viewed from the side is that the head thickness is thin. Its thickness is about 50μm
It is. The pads 11 and 14 are provided with a step of about 10 μm. Further, the inflow side edge 12 of the pad 11 is provided with a taper of less than about 1 degree (angle from the sliding surface). The taper 12 has the effect of scraping the lubricating layer applied to the medium surface during sliding, and has the effect of preventing the magnetic head from sticking to the recording medium when the recording medium is stopped. This adhesion countermeasure is applied to the outflow end side pad 1
4, the same taper may be applied to the edge of the outflow end side pad. As another method, all pads can be tapered by making the height of the inflow end side pad (the height from the magnetic head main body to the sliding surface) higher than the height of the outflow end side pad. Was. In addition, a protective film containing carbon as a main component is applied to the sliding surface (not shown) for the purpose of reducing abrasion due to sliding.

A coil 16 for generating a write magnetic field is provided on the back surface of the magnetic head. This coil member 16
And the sliding surfaces of the pads 11 and 14 are substantially parallel to each other. Further, a conductor 18 for supplying a current to the coil and a pad 19 serving as an electrical contact from the outside are provided. Also, a functional thin film member 3 for reading out
2 is provided in a gap formed in a magnetic path 31 provided on the back surface of the magnetic head.

The functional thin film member 32 has a magnetoresistance effect,
A functional thin film for detecting a recording magnetic field using a giant magnetoresistance effect or a Hall effect was used.

As described above, an apparent feature of the present invention is that a recording gap and a reproducing gap exist on the sliding surface. This feature is considered to be the same as the conventional magnetic head sliding surface formed by the mechanical polishing method shown in FIG. But,
In conventional magnetic heads, multiple magnetic circuit gaps can be easily formed by sequentially laminating a magnetic film and a non-magnetic film.
In the present invention, it is extremely difficult to form a plurality of gaps because the lamination direction of the magnetic film is rotated by 90 degrees with respect to the magnetic circuit gap. For this reason, JP-A-6-2
As described in JP-A-67026, when a magnetoresistive effect element is applied to a planar type head, a configuration is adopted in which a wide gap is provided in a magnetic path and a functional thin film for reproduction is provided therein. Was.

However, in this form, as described above, the strong magnetic field generated from the coil at the time of recording flows into the magnetoresistive element, and the magnetization state initialized to set the operating point and the like of the magnetoresistive element changes. There is a problem that is easily destroyed. This problem was remarkable when a recording medium (magnetic film) having a high coercive force was used to achieve high-density recording.

The present invention clarifies the possibility of a new magnetic head configuration by clarifying means for forming a plurality of magnetic circuit gaps. The form realized by this is not seen in the prior art, and is disclosed for the first time by the present invention.

Next, an outline of a method of manufacturing a planar magnetic head for realizing the same configuration will be described with reference to FIG. The process diagram shows how the cross-sectional structure of the main part of the element of the magnetic head shown in FIG. 1 is formed. First, in (a), a region corresponding to the outflow end side pad 14 in FIG. 1 is selectively etched. An Si wafer was used for the substrate 40, and reactive ion etching using a fluorine-based gas was used for etching.
There was no problem even if a hydrofluoric acid-based etching solution (wet etching) was used. At this time, a resist pattern was used as an etching mask. The edge can be arbitrarily tapered by selecting conditions such as gas pressure and input power during this etching. This taper solves problems such as adhesion. The pad shape is determined by the resist mask shape at the time of etching.

Thereafter, a non-magnetic pattern 41-1 serving as a gap portion is formed as shown in FIG. At this time, a pattern 41-2 for simultaneously masking a region outside the magnetic pole pattern closest to the sliding surface is formed at the same time. The width of the gap (shown in the figure) determines the gap size. The depth (not shown) toward the figure determines the recording track width. When using a resist as the non-magnetic pattern,
The pattern can be formed by any exposure method such as i-line reduction exposure method, excimer laser exposure method, electron beam exposure method, X-ray exposure method, electron beam exposure method, which can form a fine width pattern of 0.2 μm or less. It could be applied to the present invention. other,
After once transferring a thin-film resist pattern having excellent resolution to an inorganic thin film such as SiO _2, the resin thin film further laminated under the inorganic thin-film pattern is etched by a reactive ion etching method using oxygen gas. The same pattern could be formed by the method. This method is called a multi-layer process used in a semiconductor process. When the multilayer process is used, the gap is formed from the lower resin film. As another multilayer process, an inorganic non-magnetic material such as Si can be used instead of the lower resin film (with a change in etching gas). In this case, the magnetic circuit gap can be filled with an inorganic substance.

Thereafter, as shown in (c), the recording and reproducing magnetic poles 17, 18, and 15 closest to the sliding surface are formed using the patterns 41-1 and 41-2 as a mask. An electrolytic plating method or a lift-off method was used for the formation. The magnetic poles 17, 18, 15 may be Ni-Fe or Co
And a soft magnetic film such as a Ni-Fe alloy film containing. After forming the magnetic poles 17, 18, and 15, the process mask pattern 41-2 was selectively removed.

Thereafter, as shown in (d), the lower magnetic path 4
2 was formed. For this formation, an electrolytic plating method or a lift-off method was used. Further, a resin film pattern was formed as the insulating layer 43, and the coil 16 was formed thereon. After the coil 16 was formed, the insulating layer 43 was applied again, and finally the functional thin film member 32 was formed. The coil 16 was formed of Cu having a thickness of 1 μm. In addition, a highly conductive material such as Au or Al could be used. In this embodiment, a film having a magnetoresistance effect is used as the functional thin film 32. Specifically, it was formed from a soft magnetic film such as Ni-Fe. Further, in order to determine the operating point of this functional film, Co-
A Pt permanent magnet film pattern and the like were provided close to the functional thin film. The steps of the portion related to the magnetic head function part formed in FIG. 6D are basically the same as the manufacturing steps of the function part of the conventional magnetic head. For this reason, it can be easily implemented by combining conventional processes.

In FIG. 5E, the upper magnetic path 31 is formed after an insulating film is laminated as necessary (when there is no need to electrically insulate the upper magnetic path 31 such as a Hall effect element). did. At this time, a gap was formed in the magnetoresistive film 32 to efficiently guide the reproducing magnetic flux to the magnetoresistive film. In addition, a magnetic contact between the lower magnetic path 42 and the upper magnetic path 31 was realized in a portion excluding the insulating layer 43. The upper magnetic path 31 is made of the same Ni-Fe as the lower magnetic path 42.
And the like.

After the above steps, necessary members such as wiring patterns and electrode pads were formed. Thereafter, as shown in (f), a silicon oxide or alumina film 119 of 20 to 30 μm was laminated on the entire flat magnetic head in order to increase the mechanical strength of the entire magnetic head. At this time, it goes without saying that the film forming conditions were optimized so that the tensile stress and the compressive stress due to the film formation were not applied to the entire magnetic head. Needless to say, an electric contact hole is provided on the pad.

After completing the above steps, in FIG. 4F, an acid-resistant film was applied to the entire surface of the magnetic head function part and a part of the back surface of the Si wafer, and the Si wafer was wet-etched from the back surface. As the acid-resistant tape, TR-30 manufactured by Tsukasa Shoten was used. KOH for wet etching
This was performed at a temperature of 67 ° C. using a 40% aqueous solution.

After removing the acid-resistant film, a protective film 34 including a pad formed on the surface of the Si wafer was laminated. A thin film (thickness: 5 nm) containing C as a main component was formed by a CVD method. This step can be performed at the beginning of the device fabrication shown in FIG.

The structure patterns 16, 17, 18, 15, 32 and the like constituting the magnetic head function part are formed by irradiating ultraviolet rays or the like from the direction which finally becomes the back surface of the magnetic head, as is apparent from FIG. can do. Therefore, all processes related to the magnetic head function section can be completed without performing mechanical processing such as polishing. From this effect, a large number of magnetic head functional units can be simultaneously manufactured in a state where a large number of magnetic head functional units are two-dimensionally arranged on the same plane. This method is the same as the process for manufacturing an element such as a semiconductor and is technically established, so that the process for manufacturing a magnetic head can be greatly simplified.

As shown in the lowermost part of FIG. 6, the dimensions of the magnetic path gaps 114 and 117 (dimensions in the sliding direction) of the magnetic head were viewed in a direction perpendicular to the sliding surface. At this time, the gap size increases from α to β. this is,
As shown in the step (d), after the gap pattern 41-1 is formed, the gap can be easily realized by forming the lower magnetic path 42 pattern in which the gap is widened. This change in the gap dimension in the thickness direction is suitable for efficiently generating a recording magnetic field on the sliding surface. Also, from this structure, FIG.
In step (c), there is no need to form a gap pattern 41-1 having a high aspect ratio (height / width ratio). Generally, it is difficult to form a pattern having an aspect ratio of 5 or more in terms of process. Therefore, a structure in which the gap size can be changed has an advantage that the fabrication of the magnetic head can be simplified.
From this effect, it is considered that the present invention can be applied to a future narrow gap magnetic head of 0.1 μm or less.

Further, by employing the above-described gap forming step, the material composition can be changed between the magnetic circuit member closest to the sliding surface and the other magnetic path portion. The recording magnetic field distribution becomes higher at the gap where the track width becomes the narrowest.
Therefore, if the magnetization is saturated in this portion, a recording magnetic field with high leakage accuracy cannot be generated. For this reason, high-density recording becomes difficult. In order to solve this problem, only the material of the member closest to the sliding surface (having a gap) can be a high saturation density material.

The magnetic head formed from the above steps is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. The suspension 72 is provided with a spring portion 91, and the magnetic head 2 is pressed against the recording medium with a desired (several tens of mg to 1 g) load. When the suspension 72 and the magnetic head 2 are viewed from the back surface, it can be seen that the pad 19-1 on the head side and the pad 19-2 on the suspension side are electrically connected. Further, the pad 19-2 on the suspension side is coupled to a pad 19-3 serving as an electrical connection point with the device.

By attaching them to the arm 4 shown in FIG. 2, the magnetic actuator can be positioned by the rotary actuator 3.

According to the magnetic head and the magnetic disk drive equipped with the magnetic head, the distance from the recording medium intended in the present invention can be reduced to 5 nm or less, and the magnetoresistance effect having high detection sensitivity can be obtained. The device was able to function stably. As a result, a high-density magnetic recording device was realized. Further, the magnetic head does not use a mechanical polishing method which is simple and expensive to manufacture. Therefore, a magnetic disk drive could be manufactured at a low cost of about 1/3.

A flat type magnetic head is similar to a semiconductor element.
The production of the functional element is completed only by cutting the substrate. The sliding surface side of this flat type magnetic head has an extremely large area compared to the side surface (the surface on which the element is mounted in the old type head). Therefore, a plurality of input / output function unit elements can be present. Further, they can be electrically driven in parallel. With this new function, new functions such as parallel recording and reproduction can be added to the magnetic disk drive.

(Embodiment 2) In the above embodiment, the shape of the recording / reproducing gap from the sliding surface side was not mentioned.
In a planar magnetic head, patterning is performed on a plane parallel to the sliding surface. By utilizing this, the gap shape can be arbitrarily selected. In the conventional magnetic head, since the gap is formed in the laminating direction as shown in FIG. 4, the gap shape is rectangular. It is well known that the linear type has a problem that adjacent track information is erroneously detected as the track density is increased. On the other hand, a gap type combining an angled linear type has been proposed. In this shape, an azimuth angle is set for an adjacent track, so that there is an advantage that adjacent track information is not detected. On the other hand, if the track position is slightly shifted, there is a disadvantage that the adjacent track information is not detected at all. This drawback has hindered the positioning of the magnetic head.

Conventionally, the position of the magnetic head has been calculated from the signal amplitude from the positioning pattern shifted by a half cycle. However, when the azimuth has an azimuth angle, a signal cannot be detected from a track whose position is shifted, so that a position signal cannot be calculated. For this reason, it is necessary to provide a separate positioning mechanism, which has been an obstacle in reducing the cost of the apparatus.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8A, the shape of the magnetic poles 15, 18, 17 from the sliding surface 14 side is provided with a curvature, and the gaps 61, 62 between the magnetic poles are provided with the same curvature. Was. Thus, recording and reproduction of magnetic information were performed. A shape having such a curvature becomes possible only when a gap pattern can be formed by a lithography method.

According to the experiment shown in FIG. 9B, when the curvature was set to be gentle about 10 μm in the gap shape, the same curvature occurred in the recording magnetic domain pattern 63. After writing, the magnetic head was moved in the track width direction, and a change in output amplitude was measured. The measurement results are shown in (d). According to this, when the gap had a curvature, the output decreased due to the movement of the head position. Compared to the rectangular gap,
When moving the same distance, it was about 1/2. This phenomenon can be said to indicate that erroneous detection of adjacent track information is unlikely to occur.

The reason why this phenomenon occurs is that, as shown in FIG.
It is considered that the large azimuth angle is generated at both ends of the tracks 301 and 303 which are shifted when the track is located on the upper side.

On the other hand, even when the magnetic head position was shifted by about 1/2 of the track width, the amplitude was reduced to about 1/4 as compared with the on-track state. This is (c)
As shown in FIG. 7, even if the recording patterns 64, 65, and 66 are shifted by about 1/2 cycle, signals from all the patterns can be detected. From this effect, when a gap having a curvature is used, the same positioning method as the conventional method can be employed in a state where erroneous detection of adjacent track information is prevented.

The same effect as described above was also observed in the gap shape having a new curvature shown in FIG. In this cap shape, the track width is defined at a portion where the gap width becomes the narrowest. For this reason, there is an effect that the process latitude in the track width direction at the time of element fabrication is increased.

The present invention is the first such example in which the curvature is provided in the gap shape as viewed from the sliding surface, which has not existed before.

(Embodiment 3) A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below. This example is novel in that a gimbal function 74-1 (pitching direction, fulcrum 95) and 73-1 (rolling direction) are provided in a part of the flat magnetic head 77 as shown in FIG.

As described above, the flat type magnetic head is
When formed on an i-substrate, the magnetic head portion is taken out by etching the back surface of the Si substrate. At this time, as a means for selectively leaving the magnetic head portion, a method of oxidizing the Si substrate in advance, using this silicon oxide film as a mask material, and removing the silicon oxide film on the sliding surface after etching of Si is used. Can be.

If the gimbal portion is separately patterned and masked during the etching of Si, a delicate pattern of the gimbal portion can be formed simultaneously with Si, SiO or the like. In the present embodiment, as shown in the figure, the gimbal function member for contacting the sliding surface of the magnetic head to the surface of the recording medium was formed as the same structure as the magnetic head. In general, mechanical functions can be created by rough processing of a Si substrate, but this processing requires a strong etching solution (KOH
Etc.) are used. For this reason, it was not possible to process the same surface on which the element portion was mounted. However, according to the method of selectively oxidizing the surface of the Si substrate as a means for selectively leaving the magnetic head portion and using this silicon oxide film as a mask material, after forming the element portion, the surface is etched resistant. Processing can be performed simply by covering with a high-resin resin film. In the present embodiment, the flat magnetic head with a gimbal was bonded to a suspension 76 made of stainless steel and assembled into the apparatus.

By applying the same process, the flat magnetic head, the arm member, and the wiring member can be integrally formed. By using this method, the assembling cost can be significantly reduced, and a magnetic disk device which is more inexpensive than a plain magnetic head can be realized.

Further, the flat magnetic head realized by the present invention creates a space in the height direction of the magnetic disk drive and reduces the weight of the magnetic head member, so that the torque of the rotary actuator can be reduced. As a result, a compact, lightweight, and low power consumption magnetic disk drive can be realized. In order to further reduce the size of the device, it is necessary to reduce the space for peripheral circuits and the like. Therefore, in this embodiment, a semiconductor circuit is adhered to a member having a flat magnetic head as a main component, for example, 2 in FIG. 7, and necessary electrical connections are made. This measure also has the effect of shortening the wiring length, and is suitable for driving the device at high speed (high-frequency driving).

(Embodiment 4) In the above embodiment, since the write magnetic path and the reproducing magnetic path have few shared portions and are spatially separated, the strong magnetic field generated from the coil during recording causes There are few phenomena flowing into the road. However,
The influence of the recording magnetic field in the reproducing section is not negligible. In order to fundamentally solve this problem, the recording unit and the reproducing unit may be magnetically separated. In order to apply this measure to the present invention, a third gap may be provided between the recording gap (gap) and the reproduction gap (gap).
FIG. 10 shows a cross section of the magnetic head showing this state. As is apparent from the figure, the writing function unit and the reproduction function unit are magnetically separated by the newly provided gap 45. This structure matches the structure in which a new gap pattern 45 is provided between the recording gap pattern and the reproduction gap pattern 41-1 in the step (b) shown in FIG. Thereafter, by performing the process shown in FIG. 6, it can be easily inferred that the structure shown in FIG.

As a method of preventing a recording magnetic field from flowing into the reproducing section, a method of providing a means for introducing a magnetic field from a conductor 47 electrically connected to the recording coil 16 shown in FIG. 11 is also effective. Was. In this case, the direction of the magnetic field 403 from the conductor 47 is opposite to the component of the magnetic field 401 flowing into the reproducing magnetic circuit of the recording magnetic field 400, thereby preventing the recording magnetic field from flowing. If the magnetic field generated to prevent this inflow magnetic field is too strong, it goes without saying that the magnetic resistance effect film is adversely affected. This adjustment was made based on the number of conductors and the width of the conductor 47.

Further, a high-frequency current slightly weaker than 1/10 of the writing current and higher than the recording frequency was applied to the conductor 47 shown in FIG. This solves the problem related to domain wall movement called Barkhausen noise generated in the reproducing magnetic path. This effect is realized by eliminating the existence of the static frictional force of the domain wall by constantly applying a weak magnetic field and improving the nonlinearity of the domain wall movement phenomenon.

With the novel planar magnetic head structure according to the present invention, the approach performance between the magnetic recording media can be improved, and the reproducing function suitable for detecting high-density magnetic information can be realized at low cost. As a result, an extremely high-density magnetic disk drive with extremely high product competitiveness was realized.

(Embodiment 5) Next, FIG.
Will be described.

FIG. 12 schematically shows a cross-sectional structure of a flat type magnetic head according to the present invention. (A) of the figure,
(B) and (c) show examples in which the installation position of the functional thin film 32 for converting magnetic information represented by a magnetoresistive film into an electric signal is changed. In (a), a gap is provided in the lower magnetic path 42, and the functional thin film 32 is provided at a position bridging the gap. The magnetic junction between the lower magnetic path 42 and the functional thin film 32 is preferably as low as possible. For this reason, when electrical insulation between the functional thin film 32 and the lower magnetic path 42 is required, the thickness of the insulating layer is set to 100 nm or less. By the way, when the direction of the current flowing through the functional thin film is made to coincide with the direction of transmitting the magnetic information, the lower magnetic path can also be used as an electrode. In this case, it is easily understood that electrical insulation is not required.

In this example, the structure other than the installation position of the functional thin film 32 is the same as that shown in FIG. Therefore, it is easily presumed that the structure shown in FIG. 6A can be realized by newly providing a gap in the lower magnetic path 42 and then forming the functional thin film 32 in the element manufacturing process shown in FIG. An advantage of this structure is that the functional thin film can be formed on a flat lower magnetic path, so that the functional film can be formed relatively flat. Due to this effect, the starting point of the malfunction of the functional thin film hardly enters, and the functional thin film operates stably.

In the structure (b), the functional thin film 32 is provided on the connection surface between the lower magnetic path 42 and the upper magnetic path 31. With this structure, it is not necessary to provide a gap for the functional thin film in the magnetic path. For this reason, the process is simple and the product yield can be improved. However, there is a disadvantage that the write magnetic field easily flows into the reproduction function unit because the magnetic path resistance of the reproduction function unit decreases. This problem could be dealt with by using the method described in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 9C shows a structure in which the functional thin film 32 is provided inside the lower magnetic path 42 and the upper magnetic path 31. That is, the lower magnetic path 42 and the upper magnetic path 31 are not used as magnetic information transmission paths, but are used as so-called shield magnetic poles. The region B where the most important reproduction gap exists is shown enlarged in the lower right of the drawing. An insulating layer 43-2 is newly laminated on the lower magnetic path 42. This insulating layer 43
The thickness of −2 determines the length of the reproducing gap 114-2.
A yoke 32-2 for transmitting magnetic information from a medium is placed thereon.
Was provided. For yoke, Ni-
An Fe alloy film was used. The film thickness was 100 nm. The functional thin film 32 was provided at the end of the yoke 32-2. The reason for transmitting magnetic information using the yoke is that it is difficult to provide the functional thin film 32 on the cross section of the lower magnetic path 42 as shown in the figure. If this problem is solved, the yoke 32
Needless to say, the functional thin film 32 can be provided at the position of -2. After the insulating layer 43 was laminated thereon again, the upper magnetic path 31 was formed.

In the above structure, after the pattern of the lower magnetic path 42 is formed, the structure is sequentially formed up to the functional thin film, and thereafter, the magnetic circuit gap 117 for recording is formed. Subsequent steps are the same as those shown in FIG. The feature of this structure is shown in FIG.
As in the case of the recording / reproducing type magnetic head shown in (1), since the functional thin film exists in the shield magnetic pole, the resolution of the reproduced signal is increased. In order to realize this function, the existence of two reproduction gaps 114-1 and 114-2 is required. These gaps exist within a wide gap formed by the lower magnetic path 42 and the upper magnetic path 31 and cannot be handled independently. In this sense, the two reproduction gaps are paired and treated as a single reproduction gap. Therefore, the structure shown in (c) is also included in the magnetic head having two of the reproducing gap and the recording gap claimed in the present invention. The present invention also includes a device using the magnetic head.

The functional thin film member 32 has a magnetoresistance effect,
It goes without saying that a functional thin film using the giant magnetoresistance effect or the Hall effect can be used.

As an example utilizing the magnetoresistive effect, NiFe having a thickness of 20 nm was used for the magnetoresistive film. Further, a CoPt alloy film pattern was provided adjacent to the film to make the film into a single magnetic domain. Furthermore, in order to direct the magnetization of the magnetoresistive effect film in a predetermined direction, N
NiFe-ZrO ₂ thin film was laminated. This NiFe-Zr
By flowing a current through the O ₂ thin film, the purpose of aligning the magnetization directions was achieved.

The giant magnetoresistance effect utilizes a resistance change at an interface between a fixed layer of magnetization and a soft layer whose magnetization is rotated by an external magnetic field. In this embodiment, NiO / NiFe / Co is used as the structure of the fixed layer. As the structure of the free layer, Co / NiFe was used. Cu was laminated on the interface. In order to make the free layer magnetic domains into single magnetic domains, CoPt film patterns were provided adjacent to each other.

These examples of the functional thin film are only examples, and it goes without saying that improvements will be made in the future. The present invention discloses a new magnetic head structure, and refers only to the installation position of the functional thin film. Therefore, no limitation is imposed on applying the improved functional thin film to the present invention in the future. Therefore, even when another functional thin film is used, it falls within the scope claimed in the present invention.

As described above, an apparent feature of the present invention is that a recording gap and a reproducing gap exist on the sliding surface. Further, a magnetic circuit for reproduction and a magnetic circuit for recording (writing) are installed in parallel.

[0084]

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a magnetic head which improves the approach between the recording medium and the magnetic head, which has been a problem in the prior art. Further, since the magnetic head can be manufactured in the same process as that for manufacturing a semiconductor element, the manufacturing cost of the magnetic head can be reduced to about 1/10. From these effects, an ultra-high-density recording device having a storage density of 10 Gb / in ² or more has become possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a magnetic head according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a magnetic recording apparatus of the present invention using the magnetic head of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a conventional conceptual diagram of a planar magnetic head.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a main function part of a conventional magnetic head.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional magnetic head and suspension.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of a magnetic head manufacturing process of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a magnetic head and a suspension according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing recording / reproducing characteristics (off-track characteristics) of a magnetic gap having a curvature.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of a flat magnetic head with a gimbal showing the magnetic head of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of the magnetic head of the present invention in which the recording and reproducing sections are magnetically separated from each other.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of a magnetic head for preventing a recording magnetic field from flowing into a reproducing unit, showing the magnetic head of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing one embodiment of a flat type magnetic head showing the magnetic head of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Recording medium, 2 ... Magnetic head, 3 ... Rotary actuator, 4 ... Arm, 7 ... Suspension, 21 ... Writing part, 23 ... Magnetoresistance effect detection part, 29 ... Conductor, 28
... lower magnetic pole (shield layer), 27 ... upper magnetic pole, 25 ... shield layer, 24 ... underlayer, 30 ... substrate (floating magnetic head main body), 32 ... functional thin film, 31 ... upper magnetic pole, 42 ...
Lower magnetic pole, 18 ... conductor, 41-1 ... gap pattern,
16 ... coil, 15, 18, 17 ... magnetic pole, 114, 11
7, 61, 62: magnetic circuit gap, 19: electrode pad, 14, 11: sliding pad, 72: suspension, 63: magnetic domain, 64, 65, 66: position signal pattern, 47: conductor.

Claims (38)

[Claims] An embodiment of a magnetic head for performing input / output of magnetic information is such that a sliding surface is substantially parallel to a surface on which a coil member for generating a recording magnetic field is provided, and a magnetic circuit for recording is provided. A magnetic head, wherein a gap of a reproducing magnetic circuit is provided at a position shifted forward or backward with respect to a sliding direction with respect to the gap. 2. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the reproducing magnetic circuit and the recording magnetic circuit are installed in parallel. 3. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein a gap between a plurality of magnetic circuits is provided, and a part of the magnetic circuit for reproduction and a part of the magnetic circuit for recording are shared. 4. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the reproducing magnetic circuit and the recording magnetic circuit are magnetically separated. 5. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein when the gap of the magnetic circuit is viewed in a direction perpendicular to the sliding surface, the gap dimension is in a direction to increase. 6. A shape of the gap is provided with a curvature in a shape from a sliding surface side, magnetic information is recorded on a storage medium by a leakage magnetic field from the gap, and the same as an adjacent second reproducing magnetic circuit. 2. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein a magnetic information is introduced into a reproducing magnetic circuit and reproduced by providing a gap having a curvature. 7. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the recording magnetic circuit member and the reproducing magnetic circuit member have different material compositions between a member closest to a recording medium and another magnetic path member. . 8. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic head has a sliding pad, a leading end of the inflow end side pad is provided with a taper, and a leading end of the outflow end side pad is sharpened. Magnetic head. 9. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein a part of the magnetic head has a gimbal function. 10. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein said magnetic head is integral with an arm member, a gimbal member, and a wiring member. 11. A magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein a semiconductor circuit is mounted on a member mainly composed of said magnetic head moved by a rotary actuator. 12. A magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein said reproducing magnetic circuit is provided with means for introducing a magnetic field from a conductor electrically connected to said recording coil. 13. The magnetic recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the direction of the magnetic field from said conductor is opposite to the direction of the magnetic field flowing into the reproducing magnetic circuit of the recording magnetic field, and has at least a function of reducing the flowing magnetic field. Magnetic head. 14. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein at the time of reproducing information, the magnetic head has at least a function of flowing a high-frequency current of 1/10 or less of the write current and a high frequency of the recording frequency or more to the conductor. 15. A third gap is provided between a first magnetic gap for recording magnetic information on a storage medium and a second magnetic gap for introducing magnetic information. A magnetic head, wherein a reproducing function unit is magnetically or electrically separated. 16. The magnetic head has a sliding pad,
16. The magnetic head according to claim 15, wherein a taper is provided at a tip of the inflow end side pad, and a tip of the outflow end side pad is sharpened. 17. The magnetic head according to claim 15, wherein a part of said magnetic head has a gimbal function. 18. The magnetic head according to claim 15, wherein said magnetic head is integral with an arm member, a gimbal member, and a wiring member. 19. The magnetic head according to claim 15, wherein a semiconductor circuit is provided on a member having the magnetic head moved by a rotary actuator as a main component. 20. A form of a magnetic head for performing input / output of magnetic information is such that a sliding surface is substantially parallel to a surface on which a coil member for generating a recording magnetic field is provided, and a magnetic circuit for recording is provided. A magnetic head in which a gap of a reproducing magnetic circuit is provided at a position shifted forward or backward with respect to a sliding direction with respect to the gap, and a distance between a slider portion of the magnetic head and a recording medium is set to 5 nm or less. Recording device. 21. The magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said reproducing magnetic circuit and said recording magnetic circuit are installed in parallel. 22. The magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 20, wherein a gap between a plurality of magnetic circuits is provided, and a part of the reproducing magnetic circuit and a part of the recording magnetic circuit are shared. 23. The magnetic circuit for reproduction and the magnetic circuit for recording are magnetically separated from each other.
The magnetic recording device according to the above. 24. The magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 20, wherein when the gap of the magnetic circuit is viewed in a direction perpendicular to the sliding surface, the gap dimension is in a direction to increase. 25. A shape of the gap is provided with a curvature in a shape from a sliding surface side, magnetic information is recorded on a storage medium by a leakage magnetic field from the gap, and the same as an adjacent second reproducing magnetic circuit. 21. The magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 20, wherein magnetic information is introduced into a reproducing magnetic circuit and reproduced by providing a gap having a curvature. 26. The magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the recording magnetic circuit member and the reproducing magnetic circuit member have different material compositions between a member closest to a recording medium and another magnetic path member. apparatus. 27. The magnetic head has a sliding pad,
21. The magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the leading end of the inflow end side pad is tapered, and the leading end of the outflow end side pad is sharpened. 28. A magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 20, wherein a part of said magnetic head has a gimbal function. 29. A magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said magnetic head is integral with an arm member, a gimbal member and a wiring member. 30. A magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 20, wherein a semiconductor circuit is mounted on a member having said magnetic head moved by a rotary actuator as a main component. 31. The magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said reproducing magnetic circuit is provided with means for introducing a magnetic field from a conductor electrically connected to the recording coil. 32. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the direction of the magnetic field from the conductor is opposite to the direction of the magnetic field flowing into the reproducing magnetic circuit of the recording magnetic field, and has at least a function of reducing the magnetic field flowing into the magnetic circuit. Magnetic recording device. 33. The magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the magnetic recording apparatus has at least a function of flowing a high-frequency current of 1/10 or less of the write current and a high frequency of the recording frequency or more to the conductor during information reproduction. 34. A third gap is provided between a first magnetic gap for recording magnetic information on a storage medium and a second magnetic gap for introducing magnetic information. A magnetic recording apparatus using a magnetic head in which a reproducing function section is magnetically or electrically separated, and in which a distance between a slider portion of the magnetic head and a recording medium is 5 nm or less. 35. The magnetic head having a sliding pad,
35. The magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the leading end of the inflow end side pad is tapered, and the leading end of the outflow end side pad is sharpened. 36. A magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 34, wherein a part of said magnetic head has a gimbal function. 37. A magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 34, wherein said magnetic head is integral with an arm member, a gimbal member, and a wiring member. 38. The magnetic recording apparatus according to claim 34, wherein a semiconductor circuit is mounted on a member having said magnetic head moved by a rotary actuator as a main component.