JPH11120529A - Magnetic head slider and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To form a thin protective film with good adhesion property without forming an intermediate layer, to improve friction and wear characteristics and to realize an extremely thin film by forming a protective film on the floating face of a slider base body and changing the surface of the slider base body to be in contact with the protective film into an amorphous state. SOLUTION: The surface of a slider base body comprising Al2 O3 -TiC or the like is irradiated with neutral particles of 0.5 to 2 keV energy in a vacuum chamber by using a high frequency plasma device. The crystal structure of the surface of the slider body is broken and an amorphous layer is formed to 1 to 10 nm depth. In the same vacuum chamber without exposing the amorphous layer to air, the source material gas for a protective film is introduced to form a protective film on the amorphous layer. The protective film is formed by sputtering, CVD, ion beam vapor deposition or laser vapor deposition to form a hard amorphous carbon film. Thus, the obtd. protective film has >=10<12> Ω.cm resistivity and >=1 MV/cm dielectric breakdown voltage. The obtd. floating face is also effective to prevent arc discharge.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic head mounted on a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus and a method for manufacturing the same.
The present invention relates to a magnetic head with improved characteristics of a protective film provided on a surface of a slider facing a recording medium, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A magnetic recording device having a floating magnetic head is widely used as an external storage device of a computer. In this type of magnetic recording device, when stopped, the slider on which the magnetic head is mounted is in contact with the recording medium, and when the recording medium rotates, the slider floats with a small distance from the recording medium due to the airflow generated by the rotation.

In such a flying magnetic head device, the slider and the recording medium slide when the device starts and stops.
Even when the slider is flying, the slider may accidentally come into contact with the surface of the recording medium. Such sliding or contact between the slider and the recording medium causes wear and damage to the surfaces of the two, which causes a reduction in the reliability and life of the apparatus and a sudden failure.

In order to prevent or reduce these, a protective film made of carbon of several tens of nanometers [nm] and a lubricating layer of several nanometers [nm] are provided on the surface of the recording medium.

In recent years, high-density recording and high-speed recording of magnetic recording devices have been progressing at a remarkable pace. As a result, the flying height of the magnetic head has been reduced to 50 [nm] or less, and the disk rotation speed has been increased to 7,200 [ rpm], friction,
The environment for wear is becoming increasingly severe. Therefore, in recent years, in order to improve the friction and wear characteristics, a protective film conventionally provided only on the surface of the recording medium is provided on the surface of the magnetic head slider.

As the protective film of the magnetic head slider, a hard amorphous carbon film having high hardness and having self-lubricating properties is used similarly to the protective film of the recording medium, and has a thickness of 10 nm. ] Has been put to practical use.

However, the hard amorphous carbon film has a problem that it is easily peeled by an external force due to high internal stress and weak adhesion to the slider surface. Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 9, an intermediate layer 102 is provided between the slider base 101 and the hard amorphous carbon film 103 to improve the adhesion to the slider.

As the intermediate layer 102, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-12615, Si, Cr, Ti, Z
elements selected from r, Ta, Hf, and NiCr
JP-A-8-45022 discloses that Si, Zr, Ti,
Materials made of Ru, Ge, and oxides, nitrides, and carbides thereof are used. Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5 (1999) -1995, the intermediate layer 102 is formed after the slider surface is etched and cleaned, thereby improving the adhesion between the slider base 101 and the intermediate layer 102.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-153379, an intermediate layer 102 is formed after the slider surface is etched with hydrogen or an inert gas.
By forming the hard carbon film 103 after etching the surface of the substrate with an inert gas, the adhesion between the slider base 101 and the intermediate layer 102 and between the intermediate layer 102 and the hard carbon film 103 is improved.

Recently, in response to the increase in recording density,
A magnetoresistive effect element (so-called MR element) has been used for a read head. This magnetoresistive effect element (MR element) utilizes the fact that the resistance of the element changes according to the strength of the magnetic field, and a current always flows through the element. For this reason, a potential difference is generated between the magnetic head and the recording medium, and there is a disadvantage that an arc discharge occurs between the head and the medium when the flying height is small and the distance between the head and the medium is short.

[0011]

As described above, the technique of providing a protective film on a magnetic head slider is effective in terms of friction and wear characteristics, but by providing a protective film, the distance between a magnetic head and a recording medium is increased. That is, there is a disadvantage that the magnetic separation length is increased. On the other hand, it is important to shorten the magnetic separation length in order to improve the recording density of the magnetic recording device. Therefore, the protective film on the magnetic head slider should be as thin as possible within the range where the friction and wear characteristics are not impaired. It is required to be thin. For example, in a high-density magnetic recording apparatus in which the recording density per square inch exceeds 10 gigabits, the thickness of the protective film formed on the surface of the magnetic head slider is required to be about 3 [nm].

Therefore, in a conventional protective film composed of an intermediate layer for ensuring adhesion and a hard amorphous carbon film, the magnetic separation length is increased by the thickness of the intermediate layer. However, there is a limit in reducing the thickness of the intermediate layer in order not to impair the adhesion between the slider material and the hard amorphous carbon film. For example, in the technique described in JP-A-6-12615, the thickness of the intermediate layer is 1 [nm] or more, and in the technique described in JP-A-8-45022, the thickness is 0.5 [n].
m] or more.

However, when the intermediate layer is used as described above, in the case of a protective film having a thickness of 3 nm or less required for a high-density magnetic storage device, the intermediate layer is smaller than the entire thickness of the protective film. Since the occupying ratio is large, the thickness of the hard amorphous carbon film required for good friction and wear characteristics is reduced, and there is a disadvantage that sufficient protective film characteristics cannot be obtained.

On the other hand, as a technique for improving the slidability without forming a protective film on the slider surface, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-1 has been proposed.
In Japanese Patent No. 29943, the slider surface is modified by performing ion implantation on the slider surface, and the surface roughness of the slider surface is controlled to 4.5 [nm] or more.

However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-12994 discloses
In the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3 (1993) -1995, the magnetic separation length is not increased because no protective film is formed on the slider surface.
In a magnetic head equipped with an element, there is a disadvantage that a discharge is easily generated between the magnetic head and the medium when the medium and the slider are brought close to each other.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-129943 also discloses a technique for controlling the surface roughness by forming a protective film and then performing ion implantation to modify the surface of the slider including the protective film. .

However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-12994 discloses
According to the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3 (1993) -1995, the protective film is etched when ions are implanted to control the surface roughness, so that the technology is applied to an extremely thin protective film required for a magnetic head slider of a high-density magnetic recording device. Can not. Furthermore, since not only the slider but also the protective film is modified, there is a problem that the characteristics of the protective film itself change.

[0018]

An object of the present invention is to improve the disadvantages of the prior art, and particularly to provide an extremely thin protective film such as a hard amorphous carbon film with good adhesion without providing an intermediate layer on the surface of a magnetic head slider. Along with this
It is an object of the present invention to provide a slider (having an extremely thin protective film) excellent in friction / wear characteristics and insulating properties required for a high-density magnetic recording device.

[0019]

The magnetic head slider according to the present invention has a protective film on the main body of the slider on which the magnetic head is mounted, that is, the air floating surface of the slider substrate. It is characterized by being amorphous.

Here, a specific example of the material constituting the slider base is Al2O3-TiC (AlTiC). In the slider made of AlTiC, the amorphous depth of the slider base is not less than 1 nm and not more than 10 nm.
m] or less. Further, a hard amorphous carbon film is an example of the above-mentioned protective film.

Hard amorphous carbon has a resistivity of 10%.
^It is as large as ¹² [Ω · cm] or more and the withstand voltage is as large as 1 [MV / cm] or more, which is effective in preventing arc discharge. When this high-resistance material is used as a protective film, not only the friction and wear characteristics can be improved, but also the insulating properties of the MR element surface can be increased. , Arc discharge can be more effectively suppressed.

Furthermore, in the magnetic head slider according to the present invention, the surface of the slider base in contact with the protective film on the air floating surface is made amorphous. When the crystal structure of the slider base is broken and becomes amorphous, chemical bonds between atoms forming the crystal structure are broken. Therefore, the chemical state of the constituent elements on the surface of the slider base is different between the crystalline state and the amorphous state. 3 (A) and 3 (B) show the surface of an AlTiC slider base having an amorphous surface (in the case of FIG. 3 (A)) and the AlTi in a crystalline state, respectively.
This is the result of examining the chemical shift of the binding energy of electrons existing in the 2p orbit of Al (aluminum) by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy on the surface of the slider base made of C (in the case of FIG. 3B).

Here, the magnitude of the chemical shift reflects the chemical state of the element. In FIG. 3, A in the slider base is shown.
The relative change of the chemical shift is shown with reference to the chemical shift in the state of l, that is, the state of Al2O3. FIG. 3B in which the surface of the slider in a crystalline state is measured, the magnitude of the chemical shift does not change from the inside of the slider to the surface, indicating that the chemical state of Al is constant. On the other hand, FIG.
In, the chemical shift changes near the slider surface,
This shows that the chemical state of Al is different from that inside the slider.

As a result of observing the cross-section of the slider base having an amorphized surface with a transmission electron microscope (TEM), the depth at which the chemical shift changes coincides with the depth at which the slider is amorphized. I understood that. The change in the chemical state due to the amorphization is not limited to Al, but Ti (titanium), C (carbon), O
(Oxygen) was also confirmed.

As described above, it was confirmed that the chemical state of the surface of the slider was changed from a crystalline state to an amorphous state. As a result, the slider is made amorphous, so that the chemical reactivity of the slider surface is increased, and it becomes easy to form a chemical bond with the protective film formed on the slider.

Therefore, high adhesion between the protective film and the slider can be obtained without providing the intermediate layer, and the hard amorphous carbon film can be formed on the air floating surface of the slider base without using the intermediate layer. . Further, in the present invention, the adhesion to the protective film is enhanced by chemically activating the surface of the slider base, so that the adhesion can be improved regardless of the material of the slider base or the protective film. .

Further, the present invention is characterized in that, when manufacturing a magnetic head slider, the protective film is formed after the air floating surface of the slider is made amorphous as described above. At this time, in order to prevent the chemically activated surface from being contaminated after amorphizing the air floating surface of the slider base, the protective film is not exposed to the air without exposing the amorphous air floating surface. Is preferably formed.

As a method for amorphizing the air floating surface,
Irradiation of ions or neutral particles can be mentioned, and the energy of the ions or neutral particles at this time is 0.1.
The range is preferably 5 keV or more and 2 keV or less. In this case, in order to prevent the irradiated ions or neutral particles from reacting with the slider, it is preferable to use an inert element such as argon or nitrogen as the ions or neutral particles.

The above-mentioned protective film is formed by a chemical vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, an ion beam method,
It is preferable to use an evaporation method.

Techniques for modifying the surface of the slider include:
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-129943 describes a technique in which after a protective film is formed on a slider, ion implantation is performed to modify the protective film and the slider to control the surface roughness. In this technique, the injected ions collide with the atoms of the protective film and the slider base to cause atomic collision diffusion, and it is expected that the adhesion at the interface between the protective film and the slider base will be improved by the atomic collision diffusion.

However, since ions are implanted after the formation of the protective film, etching of the protective film is unavoidable, and cannot be applied when the protective film is thin. Further, since the implanted ions pass while colliding with atoms of the protective film, there is a problem that the characteristics of the protective film change. Furthermore, it is difficult to control the diffusion distance of the atoms at the interface between the slider and the protective film, and it is difficult to control the characteristic change of the protective film due to the atoms constituting the slider diffused into the protective film.

According to the present invention, after the air floating surface of the slider body is made amorphous, a protective film is formed on the amorphous air floating surface, as described in JP-A-7-129943. The problem does not occur in principle. Therefore, even when the protective film is thin, the protective film can be formed with an accurate thickness without deteriorating the characteristics, and since the slider base is made amorphous before forming the protective film, the protective film is formed. The bonding interface state between the film and the slider base can be controlled.

[0033]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a magnetic head slider according to an embodiment of the present invention. The magnetic head slider 1 is
A slider base 2 made of AlTiC or the like and a magnetic head element 3 provided at one end of the slider base 2 are provided. A tapered surface 5 is provided on the air floating surface 4 (upper surface in FIG. 1) of the slider base 2 on the side opposite to the magnetic head element 3 (air inflow side). This allows the magnetic head slider 1 to fly while receiving the flow of air accompanying the rotation of the recording medium.

In FIG. 1, the air floating surface 4 is processed into two rails on the left and right, but the number and shape of the rails are not limited to those shown in FIG. FIG.
3 is a partial sectional view schematically showing the vicinity of the surface of the air flying surface 4 of the magnetic head slider 1. FIG. On the surface side of the slider base 2, an amorphized layer 2 whose crystal structure is broken and becomes amorphous
A is formed, and a protective film 8 is formed thereon. The outer surface of the protective film 8 constitutes the air floating surface 4 described above.

The amorphous layer 2A is formed by irradiating ions or neutral particles in a vacuum vessel before forming the protective film 8. As a method of ion irradiation, a method of irradiating ions to the surface of the slider base 2 in a vacuum chamber with an ion gun, or fixing the slider base 2 to the anode side of a high-frequency plasma apparatus using a parallel plate type electrode to generate plasma. Raise,
The generated ions are irradiated onto the surface of the slider base 2.

The energy of the ions to be applied to the slider base 2 is set and controlled in consideration of the acceleration voltage of the ion gun, the power applied to the electrodes when generating plasma, the bias potential of the slider base 2, and the like. Further, it is also possible to irradiate as neutral particles by neutralizing the accelerated ions. When neutral particles are used, charge-up of the slider base 2 can be prevented.

Amorphization of the surface of the slider base 2 by irradiation of ions or neutral particles is performed by colliding ions or neutral particles with the slider surface and generating kinetic energy between atoms constituting the crystal. Caused by breaking chemical bonds. At this time, amorphization depends on the kinetic energy of the irradiated ions or neutral particles, and does not depend on the type of element. Therefore, ions or neutral particles of an arbitrary element can be used. In particular, when an inert element is used, it is possible to prevent irradiated ions or neutral particles from chemically reacting with atoms constituting the slider base. Specific examples of the inert element include argon and nitrogen.

When ions or neutral particles are irradiated on the slider base 2, the phenomenon that occurs on the surface of the slider base 2 differs depending on the energy of the irradiated ions or neutral particles. For example, when the energy is low, only contaminants on the surface of the slider base 2 are removed, and almost no amorphization occurs. This is a sputter cleaning that is very commonly performed in sputter deposition, as described in JP-A-8-153379.

When the energy of the ions or neutral particles to be irradiated becomes higher than the energy used for sputter cleaning, the surface of the slider substrate 2 becomes amorphous and an amorphous layer 2A is formed. Changes its chemical state and becomes chemically active. As the energy of the ions or neutral particles to be irradiated increases, the slider base 2
Becomes deeply amorphous.

However, when the energy is further increased, atoms on the surface of the slider base 2 are sputtered, and the surface of the slider base 2 is scraped and receded.
Therefore, the increase in the thickness of the amorphized layer 2A due to the increase in the energy of the irradiated ions or neutral particles is saturated. Further, the slider base 2 is sputtered with surface atoms.
Of the surface, or embrittlement due to a decrease in the atomic density near the surface, so that even when the protective film 8 is formed, it is not possible to obtain sufficient friction and abrasion resistance.

For this reason, the energy of the ions or neutral particles applied to the surface of the slider base 2 has a suitable range. Specifically, the energy of the ions or neutral particles applied to the slider base 2 is Is 0.5
It is preferably from [keV] to 2 [keV].

If the amorphized layer 2A is exposed to the atmosphere before the formation of the protective film 8, water and organic substances in the atmosphere are adsorbed on the amorphized surface and the surface of the amorphized layer 2A is free. The energy is reduced, and the reactivity with the protective film 8 is reduced. Therefore, it is preferable to form the protective film 8 without exposing the amorphous layer 2A to the air.

Forming the protective film 8 without exposing the amorphized layer 2A to the atmosphere is performed by transporting the device for forming the amorphized layer 2A and the device for forming the protective film 8 in a vacuum atmosphere. Connection by a mechanism or amorphization layer 2A in one vacuum chamber.
This is done by providing both a mechanism for forming the protection film 8.
When a parallel plate type high frequency plasma apparatus is used to form the protective film 8, plasma of argon or nitrogen is generated to form the amorphous layer 2A on the surface of the slider base 2, and then the protective layer is formed. By introducing the source gas for the film 8, the protective film 8 can be formed without exposing the amorphous layer 2A to the atmosphere.

The protective film 8 is formed by a sputtering method, a CVD method, an ion beam method, a laser evaporation method, or the like. As an example of the protective film 8, a hard amorphous carbon film is used. Hard amorphous carbon film, an amorphous film mainly containing carbon, and around 1500～1600Cm ^-1 by Raman spectroscopy 14
A wide Raman band is observed around 00 cm ^-1, and has a high Vickers hardness of 1000 or more. Depending on the film forming method and the raw material, hydrogen is contained, and nitrogen or silicon may be added in some cases.

As a method of forming the amorphous layer 2A on the slider base 2, there is a method of mechanically rubbing the slider base 2 in addition to the irradiation of ions or neutral particles. In this method, in order to avoid contact with the atmosphere after the formation of the amorphized layer 2A, a mechanism for rubbing the slider base 2 is installed in a vacuum device, and the load, speed, and wear The slider base 2 is rubbed while paying attention to the occurrence of the occurrence.

Here, the amorphized layer 2A and the protective film 8 are formed on the slider base 2 already processed into a predetermined shape, but the amorphized layer 2A and the protective film 8 are formed on the substrate before processed into the slider shape. After forming 2A and the protective film 8, this substrate may be processed into a predetermined slider shape. However, the protective film 8
It is not possible to perform a polishing process or the like that damages the protective film 8 after the formation, so that the above-described method is more preferable.

[0048]

EXAMPLES The above embodiments will be described more specifically based on experimental examples. Here, in this embodiment, the slider base 2
AlTiC was used as the material of the.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the formation of the amorphized layer 2A was performed by a high-frequency plasma apparatus using a parallel plate type electrode having a diameter of 8 inches using argon gas. At this time, the slider base 2 is fixed to the surface of one electrode,
A frequency of 13.56 [MHz] and an output of 300 were applied to this electrode.
The high frequency of [W] was applied to generate argon plasma. The pressure of argon was 10 [mTorr].

The energy of the argon ions incident on the slider surface was controlled by changing the surface potential of the slider base 2 by a self-bias and a DC high-voltage power supply connected to the substrate holder. The thickness of the formed amorphized layer 2A was measured by cross-sectional observation using a transmission electron microscope (TEM).

The durability test of the protective film 8 is performed by a contact start / repetition operation in which the recording medium is repeatedly started, rotated, and stopped.
A stop test (hereinafter, referred to as a "CSS test"), a seek test in which the slider is repeatedly moved back and forth between the inner and outer circumferences of the recording medium while rotating the recording medium, and a slider in which the slider is prevented from flying by reducing the atmosphere The recording medium was brought into contact with the recording medium, and the recording medium was rotated in this state.

In the CSS test, the friction characteristics of the slider against the recording medium can be known. CSS operation 5
After 10,000 times, the surface of the recording medium was observed with an optical microscope to check for damage. Here, the seek test and the high-speed sliding test under reduced pressure are methods for evaluating the wear resistance of the slider protective film. In the seek test, damage of the slider protective film after 500,000 seek operations was observed with an optical microscope.

In the decompression high-speed sliding test, the intensity of acoustic emission (small vibration) emitted when the slider and the recording medium slide is monitored, and the intensity is generated when the slider protective film is lost due to wear or peeling. The time until a sharp increase in the acoustic emission was defined as the decompression high-speed sliding life. First, an embodiment using a hard amorphous carbon film as the protective film 8 will be described. The hard amorphous carbon film was formed by a high-frequency plasma CVD method using a mixed gas of methane and hydrogen as a raw material, using the same apparatus as that for forming the amorphous layer 2A.

In the experimental examples 1 to 3, the amorphous layer 2A was formed with argon energy of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 [keV], and the protective film 8 was formed to a thickness of 2 [n
m] was formed. Experimental example ~
The energy of argon is set to 1 [keV] to form an amorphous layer 2A, and the protective film 8 is formed to a thickness of 1.3 [n].
m] was formed.

In Comparative Examples 1 to 3, the amorphous layer 2A was formed with argon energy of 0.0, 0.3, 2.5 [keV], and the hard non-metal layer 2 nm thick was formed as the protective film 8. A crystalline carbon film was formed. In Comparative Examples 1 to 3, the amorphous layer 2A was formed with argon ion energy of 1 [keV], and the protective film 8 was formed to a thickness of 0.02 and a thickness of 0.04, respectively.
A hard amorphous carbon film of 0.5 [nm] was formed.

FIG. 4 shows the incident energy of argon ions on the surface of the slider base 2, the thickness of the formed amorphous layer 2 A, and the hard film formed as the protective film 8 in the experimental example and the comparative example. 2 is a table summarizing the thickness of the amorphous carbon film.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the energy of argon ions and the thickness of the formed amorphized layer 2A in the experimental example 1 and the comparative example in the table of FIG. is there. When the energy of argon ions is 0.5 [keV], the amorphous layer 2 having a thickness of 1 [nm] 2
A is formed, and thereafter, the thickness of the amorphized layer 2A increases as the energy of argon increases, and begins to saturate when the thickness exceeds 10 [nm] at 2 [keV]. That is, in the comparative example in which the energy of argon is less than 0.5 [keV], the slider base 2 is hardly amorphized, and in the comparative example in which the energy exceeds 2 [keV], the slider base 2 is formed.
A sputtering phenomenon has occurred on the surface of.

FIG. 6 is a table summarizing the results of the durability tests of Experimental Example 1 to Comparative Example 1. Irradiation with argon ions at an incident energy of 0.5 to 2 keV results in an amorphous layer 2A having a thickness of 1 nm to 10 nm.
Are formed, and the wear resistance of the slider using the hard amorphous carbon film as the protective film 8 and the friction characteristics with the recording medium are improved.

Here, in the comparative example, the CSS test,
The hard amorphous carbon film formed as the protective film 8 was lost on the surface of the slider base 2 after the seek test. this is,
This is because the protective film 8 was peeled off by friction with the medium due to weak adhesion. In the comparative example, the hard amorphous carbon film remained on the surface of the slider base 2 after the seek test.
Streaked wounds were seen. The streak-like scratch reached not only the hard amorphous carbon film but also the slider base 2. This is because, because the irradiation energy of argon is high, atoms on the surface of the slider base 2 are sputtered, the atomic density on the surface of the slider base 2 is reduced, and the hardness is reduced and the brittleness is reduced. This is due to damage.

FIG. 7 is a table summarizing the results of the durability test of the experimental example and the comparative example. When the thickness of the hard amorphous carbon film is 1 [nm] or more, it exhibits excellent wear resistance and friction characteristics, and the thickness of the hard amorphous carbon film is 1 [n].
m] or more is preferable. When the protective film 8 is thick, the magnetic separation length between the recording medium of the magnetic recording device and the magnetic head becomes long, which is not suitable for high-density magnetic recording. Specifically, for a recording density exceeding 10 gigabits per square inch, the thickness of the protective film 8 is preferably set to 3 [nm] or less.

Next, an embodiment using boron nitride and aluminum nitride as the protective film 8 will be described.

The experimental example and the experimental example are respectively AlTi
Ar ions were applied to the surface of the slider base 2 made of C
After irradiation with energy of [keV] to form an amorphous layer 2A having a thickness of 7 [nm], boron nitride and aluminum nitride were formed as a protective film 8 to a thickness of 3 [nm] by sputtering. . On the other hand, Comparative Example and Comparative Example
Without forming the amorphous layer 2A on the surface of the lTiC slider base 2, boron nitride and aluminum nitride were formed as the protective film 8 to a thickness of 3 [nm] by sputtering.

FIG. 8 shows the results of a seek test and a reduced pressure sliding test of an experimental example and an experimental example, and a comparative example and a comparative example. Experimental examples and experimental examples show excellent sliding resistance.
On the other hand, when the comparative example and the comparative example were observed after the seek test, the protective film 8 was peeled and lost. As described above, even when boron nitride or aluminum nitride is used as the protective film 8, the adhesion of the protective film 8 is improved by forming the amorphous layer 2A.

Further, even when silicon, silicon oxide, or silicon nitride is used as the protective film 8, the effect of improving the adhesion of the protective film 8 can be obtained by forming the amorphous layer 2A. Was completed.

In the above-described embodiment, AlTiC is used as the material of the slider base 2.
Even when MnZn, NiZn, or CaTiO3 is used, the slider base 2 is protected by irradiating argon with energy of 0.5 keV or more and 2 keV or less to form the amorphous layer 2A. The adhesion of the film 8 was improved. At this time, in the case of the slider of any material, although the thickness of the amorphized layer 2A at the time of saturation differs depending on the material, the energy of the irradiated argon ion is 0.5 [as in the AlTiC slider. Below keV], the amorphized layer 2A is hardly formed, and when it exceeds 2 [keV], the increase in the thickness of the amorphized layer 2A is saturated.

In the experimental example, argon was used as ions for irradiating the slider base 2. However, when nitrogen was used, the amorphous layer 2 having the same depth as when argon was used was used.
A was formed, and the adhesion of the protective film 8 was improved similarly to the case where argon was used.

[0067]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By making the slider surface amorphous, the chemical reactivity of the slider surface can be increased, and the adhesion between the slider surface and the protective film can be improved regardless of the material of the slider or the protective film. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide an intermediate layer for obtaining adhesion, and therefore, a protective film can be formed on the slider surface without providing an intermediate layer. It is possible to provide a magnetic head slider which is provided with a protective film having a high insulating property and whose performance is improved by this, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a magnetic head slider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state near a surface of a slider base constituting a main part of the magnetic head slider disclosed in FIG.

FIG. 3 (A) shows a change in the chemical state of Al contained in the slider substrate in the depth direction when the surface of the slider substrate made of AlTiC is made amorphous by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is a diagram showing a result. FIG. 3B shows Al.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a result of an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis of a change in the chemical state of Al contained in the slider base in the depth direction when the surface of the slider base made of TiC is in a crystalline state.

FIG. 4 shows the incident energy of argon ions on the surface of the slider base, the thickness of the formed amorphous layer 2A, and the hard amorphous carbon film formed as a protective film in the experimental example and the comparative example. It is a chart showing the relationship with the thickness.

FIG. 5 is a diagram formed based on the chart of FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a relationship between the energy of argon when the iC slider is irradiated with argon and the depth at which the slider surface becomes amorphous.

FIG. 6 shows a durability test of Experimental Example 1 and Comparative Example 1
6 is a table showing the results of the tests performed on the samples.

FIG. 7 shows a durability test of Experimental Example 1 and Comparative Example 1
6 is a table showing the results of the tests performed on the samples.

FIG. 8 is a table showing the results of a seek test and a reduced pressure sliding test performed on an experimental example and an experimental example, and a comparative example and a comparative example.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state near the surface of a magnetic head slider according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 magnetic head slider 2 slider base 2A amorphous layer of slider base 3 magnetic head element 4 air flying surface 8 protective film

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic head slider comprising a slider substrate and a protective film provided on an air floating surface of the slider substrate, wherein a surface of the slider substrate in contact with the protective film is made amorphous. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the slider base is made of Al2O3-Ti.
2. The magnetic head slider according to claim 1, wherein the slider is formed of C. 3. The depth of the amorphized layer is 1 [n].
3. The magnetic head slider according to claim 1, wherein the length is not less than m] and not more than 10 nm. 4. A magnetic head slider according to claim 1, wherein said protective film is formed of a hard amorphous carbon film. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the protective film is 1 nm or more and 3 nm or more.
5. The magnetic head slider according to claim 4, wherein the thickness is not more than [nm]. 6. A magnetic head slider having a protective film on an air floating surface of a slider base, wherein a protective film is formed on the air floating surface after amorphizing the air floating surface of the magnetic head slider. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider. 7. When forming the protective film, the protective film is formed without exposing the air floating surface to the atmosphere after amorphizing the air floating surface of the magnetic head slider. Item 7. The method for manufacturing a magnetic head slider according to Item 6. 8. The magnetic head slider according to claim 6, wherein the air floating surface of the slider base is irradiated with ions or neutral particles to make the air floating surface amorphous. Production method. 9. When the air floating surface is made amorphous,
9. The method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider according to claim 8, wherein irradiation is performed with ions or neutral particles having an energy of 0.5 keV or more and 2 keV or less. 10. The method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider according to claim 8, wherein an inert element is used as said ions or neutral particles. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the inert element is argon or nitrogen. 12. The method according to claim 6, wherein the protective film is formed by any one of a chemical vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, an ion beam method, and a vapor deposition method.
12. The method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider according to 10 or 11.