JPH10289414A - Manufacture of thin-film magnetic head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of a magneto-resistance effect type thin-film magnetic head which can flatten a nonmagnetic substrate where a magneto-resistance effect film is formed on a high level. SOLUTION: The nonmagnetic substrate where the magneto-resistance effect film is formed is polished previously by using abrasives which contain abrasive grains of =<50 nm in grain size and have pH =>10. By this method, the surface of the nonmagnetic substrate can be made into a specular surface with high precision since it is polished by using the abrasive grains of =<50 nm in grain size. Further, this method can chemically etch the surface of the nonmagnetic substrate since pH of the abrasive is >=10. Consequently, a hole or damage is prevented from being formed in the surface of the nonmagnetic substrate after the surface is polished.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head having a magnetoresistive film formed on a nonmagnetic substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a magnetic recording device such as a hard disk device, further high-density recording is required in order to increase the capacity. Therefore, in order to advance high-density recording,
A magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head (hereinafter referred to as "MR head"), which is a magnetic head suitable for forming a narrow track, is employed.

In this MR head, as shown in FIG. 9, basically, electrodes 102 are attached to both ends of a magnetoresistive element 101 having a magnetoresistive film whose resistivity changes according to the magnitude of a magnetic field. Be composed. By supplying a sense current to the magnetoresistive element 101 from the electrodes 102 at both ends, a change in resistance of the magnetoresistive element 101 due to a signal magnetic field from the magnetic recording medium is detected, and based on the change in resistance, Get playback output. Such an MR head has a feature that the reproduction output does not depend on the medium speed, and a high reproduction output can be obtained even when the medium speed is low.

In general, it is preferable that the magnetoresistive effect film is formed into a single magnetic domain in order to detect a signal magnetic field with high sensitivity. However, the magnetoresistive film is magnetically unstable, and causes domain walls due to various factors. Therefore, the MR head has a problem that Barkhausen noise is generated due to the movement of the domain wall of the magnetoresistive film in the magnetoresistive element. Therefore, in the MR head, it is a major problem to secure the magnetic stability of the magnetoresistive film in the magnetoresistive element and to reduce Barkhausen noise.

[0005]

When manufacturing the above-mentioned conventional MR head, the magnetoresistive effect film is usually formed on a non-magnetic substrate formed in a flat plate shape, and thereafter, a thin film is formed. It is processed to have a predetermined shape. At this time, the magnetic properties of the magnetoresistive film formed on the nonmagnetic substrate are greatly affected by the surface properties of the nonmagnetic substrate. That is, if the surface properties of the non-magnetic substrate are poor, the magnetic stability of the magnetoresistive film is not maintained and domain walls are generated. On the other hand, when the surface property of the non-magnetic substrate is good, the magnetoresistive film is magnetically stabilized and is likely to be formed into a single magnetic domain.

However, in the conventional method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, it cannot be said that sufficient study has been made on the flattening of the non-magnetic substrate on which the magnetoresistive film is formed. For this reason, in the conventional method, the surface of the nonmagnetic substrate is not highly mirror-finished. Therefore, the conventional method has a problem that the magnetoresistive film of the manufactured MR head is magnetically unstable.

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described conventional circumstances, and has a magneto-resistance effect type capable of highly flattening a non-magnetic substrate on which a magneto-resistance effect film is formed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head of the present invention.

[0008]

A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention, which has been completed to achieve the above object, comprises the steps of:
Polishing is performed using an abrasive having abrasive grains having a particle size of 50 nm or less and a pH of 10 or more.

In the method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention having the above-described structure, polishing is performed using abrasive grains having a particle size of 50 nm or less, so that the surface of the non-magnetic substrate is mirror-finished with high precision. can do. Further, according to this method, since the pH of the abrasive is 10 or more, the surface of the nonmagnetic substrate can be chemically etched. Therefore, according to this method, after the surface of the non-magnetic substrate is polished, occurrence of holes, scratches, and the like on the surface is prevented.

The method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention is further characterized in that the polishing step is performed by cleaning the non-magnetic substrate by removing the polishing agent used for polishing. May be provided.

Here, it is difficult to wash and remove the abrasive used for polishing once it is dried. However, in this case, according to the method for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention, since the abrasive is in an undried state, the abrasive can be easily removed in the cleaning step. Therefore, according to this method, the polishing agent can be surely removed, and the magnetic stability of the magnetoresistive film is not impaired due to the adverse effect of the polishing agent during the thin film forming step.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention, when polishing, a polishing apparatus having a mounting portion for mounting a non-magnetic substrate and a polishing surface plate that is driven to rotate is used. The non-magnetic substrate on which the film is to be formed is curved so that the substantially central portion of one surface is convex, the non-magnetic substrate is attached to the mounting portion, and the one surface having the substantially central portion convex is rotated. It may be such that it comes into contact with a polished surface plate.

Here, since the polished surface plate is rotating, the peripheral speed at the center is slower than the peripheral speed at the edge. Therefore, when a flat substrate comes into contact with the rotating polishing platen, the edge is more polished than the center of the substrate. That is, in this case, the flat substrate has a different polishing amount in the radial direction.

However, in this case, in the method according to the present invention, since the substantially central portion of one surface of the non-magnetic substrate is convex, the polishing platen first polishes the substantially central portion. Become. Then, the non-magnetic substrate is gradually polished in the radial direction. That is, according to this method, the non-magnetic substrate is polished with a time difference from the substantially central portion to the edge portion.

Therefore, in this method, the difference in the amount of polishing due to the difference in the peripheral speed in the radial direction is corrected by adjusting the polishing time. Therefore, according to this method,
One surface of the non-magnetic substrate is uniformly polished by the rotating surface plate, and the amount of polishing in the surface can be made substantially uniform.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present embodiment, a magnetoresistive film is formed on a non-magnetic substrate, and the magnetoresistive film is used as a magnetoresistive element. This is referred to as a head.)

As shown in FIG. 1, an MR head to which the present method is applied has a lower shield 1, a lower gap layer 2 formed on the lower shield 1, and a magnetoresistive layer formed on the lower gap layer 2. The effect element 3 and the non-magnetic insulating layer 4, the protective layer 5 formed on the magnetoresistive element 3 at a portion other than the front end 3 a and the rear end 3 b, A conductive layer for sense current formed over the non-magnetic insulating layer and electrically connected to the magnetoresistive element; and a non-magnetic insulating layer formed on the magnetoresistive element and the conductive layer for sense current. A layer 7, a bias current conductor layer 8 formed in the nonmagnetic insulating layer 7 so as to cross over the upper part of the magnetoresistive element 3, and from the tip 3a of the magnetoresistive element 3 to the nonmagnetic insulating layer 7. Formed over the magnetoresistive element And electrically connected to the upper gap layer 9, and a Metropolitan upper shield 10 formed on the upper gap layer 9.

In the MR head, the lower shield 1
The upper shield layer 10 is made of a magnetic material, the lower gap layer 2 is made of a non-magnetic insulating material, and the upper gap layer 9 is made of a non-magnetic material that is electrically good. The lower shield 1, the upper shield 10, the lower gap layer 2, and the upper gap layer 9 function to prevent a magnetic field other than a reproduction target, out of the signal magnetic field from the magnetic recording medium, from being drawn into the magnetoresistive element 3. . That is, since the lower shield 1 and the upper shield 10 are arranged above and below the magnetoresistive element 3 via the lower gap layer 2 and the upper gap layer 9, respectively, of the signal magnetic field from the magnetic recording medium,
The magnetic field other than the reproduction target is guided to the lower shield 1 and the upper shield 10, and only the reproduction target magnetic field is drawn into the magnetoresistive element 3.

On the other hand, the conductor layer 6 for sense current and the upper gap layer 9 become a pair of electrodes respectively connected to both ends of the magnetoresistive element 3 and function to supply a sense current to the magnetoresistive element 3. . When detecting the signal magnetic field from the magnetic recording medium, the sense current conductor layer 6 and the upper gap layer 9 use the magnetoresistive element 3 to detect the signal magnetic field.
Is supplied with a sense current.

The conductor layer 8 for bias current formed in the non-magnetic insulating layer 7 so as to cross over the magnetoresistive element 3 is for applying a bias magnetic field to the magnetoresistive element 3. That is, when a signal magnetic field is detected from the magnetic recording medium, a bias magnetic field is applied to the magnetoresistive element 3 so that a higher magnetoresistance effect is obtained by flowing a current through the conductor layer 8 for bias current. You.

The non-magnetic insulating layer 4 is disposed on both sides of the magneto-resistance effect element 3, and the magneto-resistance effect element 3 is in a state where it is embedded in the non-magnetic insulating layer 4. Here, since the nonmagnetic insulating layer 4 is exposed on the medium sliding surface, it is preferable that the nonmagnetic insulating layer 4 be made of a material having excellent sliding characteristics.
For example, a material such as Al ₂ O ₃ , SiO ₂ , SiN _x (Si ₃ N _4, etc.) is suitable.

Then, at both ends of the upper surface of the magnetoresistive element 3, the magnetoresistive layer 13 and the electrodes are connected. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, at the tip 3 a of the magnetoresistive element 3, the upper surface of the magnetoresistive layer 13 and the upper gap layer 9 are electrically connected, and the rear end of the magnetoresistive element 3 In the portion 3b, the upper surface of the magnetoresistive layer 13 and the conductor layer 6 for sense current are electrically connected.

On the other hand, the method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention is applied when manufacturing the above-described MR head.

When manufacturing the above-described MR head, first, as shown in FIG. 2, a lower gap made of a non-magnetic insulator such as Al ₂ O _{3 is} placed on a lower shield 1 made of a magnetic material. The layer 2 is formed. Here, the lower gap layer 2 electrically insulates the lower part of the magnetoresistive element 3 formed in a later step and forms a magnetic gap below the magnetoresistive element 3.

That is, on the lower gap layer 2,
The magnetoresistive element 3 is formed in a thin film forming step described later. Therefore, on the lower gap layer 2,
It is necessary to be highly planarized. Specifically, the in-plane distribution of the film thickness of the lower shield 1 and the lower gap layer 2 is made highly uniform, and the upper surface of the lower gap layer 2 is made highly specular. Need to be done.

For this reason, in the method according to the present invention, the surface treatment of the lower gap layer 2 is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this surface treatment, first, a polishing step S1 is performed, and then a cleaning step S6 including a pure water cleaning step S2, an ultrasonic cleaning step S3, a brush cleaning step S4, and a drying step S5 is performed.

In this surface treatment, a polishing step S
In FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 4, a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus 20 (hereinafter, referred to as a CMP apparatus 20).
Is used. The CMP apparatus 20 includes a substrate mounting section 2
1, a polishing platen 22 against which a substrate mounted on the substrate mounting portion 21 comes into contact, a work forced rotation device 23 for rotating the substrate mounting portion 21 at a predetermined speed, and the substrate mounting portion 21 and a work forced rotation device. And a vacuum pump 2 for generating a vacuum suction force on the substrate mounting portion 21.
5 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the CMP apparatus 20, the substrate mounting portion 21 includes a chuck portion 26 for mounting a substrate and a reference surface A with respect to the surface of the polishing platen 22.
And a reference portion 27 having a reference surface B. That is, since the reference surface A and the reference surface B of the reference portion 27 are accurately positioned with respect to the polishing platen 22, the substrate attached to the chuck portion 26 is attached to the polishing platen 22. It is configured to face exactly.

The chuck portion 26 is made of a hard material such as a metal, and is configured such that a substantially central portion of the substrate mounting surface 26a is more convex than an edge portion. This CNP device 2
At 0, the difference between the substantially central portion and the edge of the board mounting surface 26a shown in FIG. 5A is about 2 μm.

In this CMP apparatus 20, the polished platen 22 has a cross face 22 which is flattened with high precision.
a and is rotatably supported. In this polished surface plate 22, the cross surface 22a is made of a soft material such as suede.

Further, in the CMP apparatus 20, the workpiece forcible rotation device 23 connects the substrate mounting portion 21 to the connecting portion 2
8 are connected. This work forced rotation device 23
Has a rotating means such as a motor inside, and rotates the substrate mounting portion 21 at a predetermined rotation speed. In addition, the driving device 24 moves the connecting portion 28 in the direction indicated by the arrow C in FIG. 4, and causes the board mounting portion 21 to move toward and away from the polisher 22 along the connecting portion 28.

Further, in the CMP apparatus 20, the vacuum pump 25 has an exhaust pipe (not shown) which is connected to the chuck section 26 through the driving device 24 and the connecting section 28.
have. The vacuum pump 25 exhausts the gas through an exhaust pipe, so that the substrate mounting surface 2 of the chuck portion 26 is exhausted.
A vacuum suction force is generated in 6a.

In the CMP apparatus 20 configured as described above, the substrate is mounted by the vacuum suction force generated on the substrate mounting surface 26a. The substrate mounting portion 21 mounts the substrate such that the lower gap layer 2 faces outward.
In other words, in the chuck portion 26, the substrate mounting surface 26
a vacuum-sucks the lower shield 1 side.

At this time, the substrate mounting surface 26a is made of a hard material such as metal, and its surface is formed so that the center portion is more convex than the edge portion.
When the substrate is mounted on the substrate, the substrate curves along the surface shape of the substrate mounting surface 26a. That is, this CMP apparatus 2
At 0, the substrate is attached so that its substantially central portion is convex compared to the edge.

In the CMP apparatus 20, when the substrate is mounted so that the lower gap layer 2 faces the polishing platen 22, the substrate is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed by the work forcible rotating device 23 together with the substrate mounting portion 26. Rotated. Further, the substrate mounting portion 26 is moved by the driving device 24 in a direction approaching the rotating polishing surface plate 22 together with the substrate. At this time, the rotation speed of the polishing platen 22 is about 10 rpm,
Preferably, the rotation speed of 6 is about 10 rpm.

Then, first, the rotating polishing table 2
A substantially central portion of the rotating substrate is in contact with 2. And
The rotating substrate is gradually and greatly pressed against the polishing platen 22. For this reason, after the substantially center portion of the rotating substrate comes into contact with the polishing platen 22, the whole surface gradually comes in contact with the outside in the radial direction. In this method, about 1.5k against the polish platen
Preferably, the substrate is brought into contact with a pressure of gf. This allows the CMP apparatus 20 to perform polishing more efficiently. Further, in this method, the cross surface 22a of the polishing platen 22 is made of a soft material, for example,
Since it is made of suede, it can be polished with higher precision.

At this time, in the CMP apparatus 20, an abrasive is supplied between the substrate and the cross surface 22a of the polishing platen 22. Then, the substrate is polished by the abrasive.

In this method, an abrasive having a particle size of 50 nm or less and a pH of 10 or more is used as the abrasive. In this method, by using an abrasive having a particle size of 50 nm or less, the substrate is mirror-finished with high precision. Further, in this method, by using an abrasive having a pH of 10 or more, the surface of the substrate is chemically etched. In particular, when the lower gap layer 2 is made of Al ₂ O ₃ , this chemical etching proceeds efficiently. Specific examples of the abrasive used include GLANZOX 3700 (trade name) manufactured by Fujimi Incorporated.

As described above, the rotating polishing table 22 first polishes the substantially central portion of the substrate. Then, the rotating polishing platen 22 gradually polish toward the outside in the radial direction of the substrate. That is, in the CMP apparatus 20, the substantially central portion of the substrate is polished for the longest time, and the polishing time gradually decreases toward the outside in the radial direction.

Meanwhile, the polishing surface plate 22 formed in a substantially disk shape has a peripheral speed at a substantially central portion lower than a peripheral speed at an edge portion. For this reason, in the polish platen 22, the polish amount per unit time differs between the substantially central portion and the edge portion. However, in this method, polishing is performed for a long time in the substantially central portion where the peripheral speed is low and the amount of polishing per unit time is small, and in the edge portion where the peripheral speed is high and the polishing amount per unit time is large, comparison is made. We perform polish of target short time.

For this reason, in this method, the difference in the amount of polishing caused by the difference in the peripheral speed depending on the position on the polishing platen 22 is corrected by adjusting the polishing time. Therefore, in this method, the board mounting portion 21
The surface of the substrate attached to the substrate can be uniformly polished. In other words, according to this method, the CMP
The polishing amount by the apparatus 20 becomes substantially uniform regardless of the position of the substrate.

Therefore, according to this method, the in-plane distribution of the film thickness of the lower shield 1 and the lower gap layer 2 can be made uniform. That is, according to this method, the film thickness of the substrate including the lower shield 1 and the lower gap layer 2 can be made substantially constant.

In this surface treatment, the cleaning step S
Reference numeral 6 denotes a step for removing abrasives, dust, and the like adhering during the polishing step described above.

In the cleaning step S6, first, a pure water cleaning step S2 is performed to roughly clean the substrate. In the pure water cleaning step S2, the polishing agent is not dried by applying pure water to the substrate. At the same time, this pure water cleaning step S2 is also a step for removing a part of abrasives and dust attached to the substrate.

Next, an ultrasonic cleaning step S3 is performed. The ultrasonic cleaning step S3 is a step of submerging the substrate after the pure water cleaning step S2 in pure water and irradiating the pure water with ultrasonic waves. In this step, by irradiating the substrate with ultrasonic waves, abrasive grains, fine dust, and the like in the abrasive attached to the substrate can be removed.

Next, a brush cleaning step S4 is performed. After the brush cleaning step S4, a drying step S5 is performed. In this method, the brush cleaning step S4 and the drying step S5 are performed by the cleaning device 30, as shown in FIG. The cleaning device 30 includes a first tank 31 for performing brush cleaning, a second tank 32 for removing the detergent with pure water, and a third tank 33 for drying.

The first tank 31 includes a pair of brushes 34A and 34B disposed so as to be sandwiched from both sides of the substrate.
Detergent supply pipes 35A and 35B for supplying a detergent to these brushes 34A and 34B, respectively;
A, a pure water supply pipe 36A for supplying pure water to 34B,
36B and an exhaust pipe 37 for exhausting the inside of the first tank 31
And Further, the first tank 31 is provided with a drain port 31A below.

In this method, the brushes 34A, 34B
Is. It is preferably tanuki. In this method, the brushes 34A and 34B are made of tan and can be cleaned without damaging the substrate. In this method, the detergent is preferably a neutral detergent. In this method, the detergent can be improved by using a neutral detergent.

In the cleaning device 30, the second tank 32
Are pure water supply pipes 38A and 38B for supplying pure water for rinsing the detergent to both sides of the substrate, and an inert gas such as N ₂ gas for roughly removing water droplets attached to the substrate on both sides of the substrate. And first N ₂ gas supply pipes 39A and 39B.

In the cleaning device 30, the third tank 33
Is provided with second N2 gas supply pipes 40A and 40B for supplying an inert gas, for example, N2 gas, for completely removing water droplets attached to the substrate or drying the substrate.

In the cleaning device 30 configured as described above,
First, the brush cleaning step S4 is performed in the first tank 31.
In this method, a substrate is placed at a predetermined position in the first tank 31, and a pair of brushes 34A,
4B is brought into contact. Then, in this state, the substrate and the pair of brushes 34A and 34B are rotated in opposite directions. At this time, a pair of brushes 34A, 34A are supplied from the detergent supply pipes 35A, 35B and the pure water supply pipes 36A, 36B.
A predetermined amount of detergent and pure water are supplied to B respectively.
As a result, in the first tank 31, the brushes 34A, 3A
The substrate can be cleaned with a detergent using 4B.

At this time, in this method, since tanuki is used as a brush and a neutral detergent is used as a detergent, abrasive grains, dust and the like in the abrasive adhered to the substrate are efficiently and reliably removed. can do. Therefore, according to this method, a good surface condition can be achieved without an abrasive or dust remaining on the surface after cleaning.

Next, in the cleaning device 30, the second tank 3
A rinsing step is performed at 2. This rinsing step is a step for removing the detergent used in the above-described brush cleaning step S4, and is performed until the detergent is removed.

In this rinsing step, the substrate is moved to the second tank 32 after the brush cleaning step S4 is performed in the first tank 31. Then, in the second tank 32, the substrate is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed, and the pure water supply pipe 3 for rinsing is rotated.
Pure water is supplied from 8A and 38B to the rotating substrate. In this way, the detergent is removed from the substrate. In the rinsing step, after the detergent is completely removed, N ₂ gas is supplied to the rotating substrate to roughly remove pure water attached to the substrate. This N ₂ gas is supplied from the first N ₂ gas supply pipes 39A and 39B, and is supplied until pure water on the substrate is roughly removed.

Next, in the cleaning device 30, the third tank 3
At 3, the drying step S5 is performed. This drying step is a step for completely removing the pure water not removed in the above-described rinsing step and drying the substrate.

In this drying step, after the rinsing step is performed in the second tank 32, the substrate is moved to the third tank 33.
Then, in the third tank 32, the substrate is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed and the second N2 gas supply pipe 4 is rotated.
0A, N ₂ gas is supplied to the rotating substrate from 40B. As a result, both surfaces of the substrate are completely dried.

As described above, in the method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention, cleaning can be performed without leaving abrasive or dust on the surface of the lower gap layer 2 formed on the lower shield 1. . According to this method, as described above, after the thicknesses of the lower shield 1 and the lower gap layer 2 are made uniform in the in-plane direction, and the surface of the lower gap layer 2 is highly planarized, as shown in FIG. Then, the magnetoresistive layer 20 to be the magnetoresistive element 3 is formed. Thereafter, a protective layer 5 made of a non-magnetic insulator such as Al ₂ O _{3 is} formed on the magnetoresistive layer 20.

Next, in order to form the magnetoresistive layer 20 into the magnetoresistive element 3 having a predetermined shape, as shown in FIG.
A photoresist 21 patterned into a predetermined shape is formed. Here, the photoresist 21 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape corresponding to the shape of the magnetoresistive element 3.

Thereafter, etching is performed on the substrate surface 22 on which the photoresist 21 is formed. For this etching, ion etching is used. As a result, the magnetoresistive element 3 is formed on the lower gap layer 2. And, although not shown,
A non-magnetic insulating layer 4, a sense current conductor layer 6, a bias magnetic field conductor layer 8, an upper gap layer 9, an upper shield 10, and the like are sequentially formed.

Thus, an MR head as shown in FIG. 1 is formed. In the MR head manufactured as described above, the magnetoresistive effect element 3 is formed on the lower mirror layer 2 which is highly mirror-finished. Specifically, since the conditions of the polishing step S1 and the cleaning step S6 are as described above, the in-plane distribution of the film thickness of the lower shield 1 and the lower gap layer 2 becomes ± 10% or less, and the lower gap layer 2 The surface roughness Rmax becomes 3 nm or less. According to this method, since the surface of the surface on which the magnetoresistive film is formed is flattened with high precision, the magnetoresistive element 3 can be magnetically highly stabilized.

[0062]

As described in detail above, in the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, since a polishing agent having a predetermined particle size and pH is used, the non-magnetic substrate can be mirror-finished with high precision. Can be Therefore, according to this method, it is possible to manufacture a thin-film magnetic head in which the magneto-resistance effect film formed on the non-magnetic substrate has good magnetic stability.

In this method, the surface on which the magnetoresistive film is formed is curved and polished so that the substantially central portion of the surface on which the magnetoresistive film is formed is convex, so that the surface on which the magnetoresistive film is formed is oriented in the in-plane direction. Can have a uniform film thickness.
As a result, according to this method, a thin-film magnetic head having better magnetic stability can be manufactured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an example of an MR head to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view for explaining the method for manufacturing the thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a polishing step and a cleaning step in the method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a polishing apparatus used in a polishing step.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of a principal part showing a substrate mounting part of the polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a cleaning device used in a cleaning process.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view for explaining the method for manufacturing the thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an essential part perspective view for explaining the method for manufacturing the thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing a configuration of an MR head.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 lower shield, 2 lower gap layer, 3 magnetoresistive element, 4 non-magnetic insulating layer, 5 protective layer, 6 conductor layer for sense current, 7 non-magnetic insulating layer, 8 conductor layer for bias current, 9 upper gap layer, 10 Upper shield, 2
0 CMP equipment, 21 substrate mounting part, 22 polish surface plate, 30 cleaning equipment

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A non-magnetic substrate on which a magnetoresistive film is formed is prepared by previously preparing abrasive grains having a particle diameter of 50 nm or less and having a pH of 10
A method for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, wherein the polishing is performed using the above-mentioned abrasive. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning step of removing the abrasive used in the polishing by cleaning the non-magnetic substrate in an undried state. A method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head. 3. The cleaning step includes: a pure water cleaning step for maintaining the polishing agent in an undried state; an ultrasonic cleaning step of irradiating an ultrasonic wave; and a rotation while supplying the cleaning agent. 3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: a brush cleaning step of contacting and cleaning the brush; and a drying step of blowing an inert gas onto the cleaned surface to dry the surface.
The manufacturing method of the thin film magnetic head according to the above. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the brush cleaning step and the drying step are performed in-line. 5. A polishing apparatus having a mounting portion for mounting a non-magnetic substrate and a polishing surface plate that is driven to rotate when polishing is used, and one of the non-magnetic substrates on which a magnetoresistive film is formed. The non-magnetic substrate is attached to the mounting portion by bending the surface so that the substantially central portion of the surface is convex, and one surface having the substantially central portion convex is brought into contact with the rotated polishing platen. The method for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the non-magnetic substrate has an Al ₂ O ₃ film formed on a surface on which a magnetoresistive effect film is formed.