JPH1196715A - Magnetic head slider - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a magnetic head slider which may be produced by simple working stages and has floating performance of a high degree of freedom by providing its surface facing magnetic recording media with a plurality of projections equal to or lower than the air bearing surface of a slider. SOLUTION: The front surface of a slider body 2 is provided with two rails 5 of a projecting shape from the rear end of the slider body provided with a thin film type magnetic conversion element 3 near to the front end which is an air taking-in part. The positions corresponding to the extension ends of the rails 5 are provided with the projections 10 in such a manner that the area density thereof is made coarser as the number of the projections is smaller toward the air taking-in parts. The projections 10 are formed by molding the rough shape of the slider body 2, then subjecting this body to a photolithography stage. As a result, the magnetic head slider which has the air dynamic characteristics similar to those in the case the slider has differences in level or tapers, etc. Further, the desired air dynamic characteristics are thus obtd. by the various densities, etc., of the projections.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flying magnetic head slider used for a magnetic recording device such as a hard disk drive (HDD).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hard disk drives are used as recording / reproducing devices for personal computers and word processors. As is well known, a hard disk drive device records and reproduces data on and from a magnetic recording medium (hereinafter, a magnetic disk) using a magnetic head. In this device, wear caused by contact between the magnetic head and the magnetic disk is reduced. In order to prevent this, a floating magnetic head slider is often used.

Here, the floating type magnetic head slider is
At the time of recording / reproducing information, it means that the magnetic head slider flies slightly above the surface of the magnetic disk by the air flow.

That is, a floating magnetic head slider used in a hard disk drive device has an air bearing formed on a surface facing the magnetic disk so that the slider and the magnetic disk are kept out of contact with each other with a fine gap maintained. ,
Slide the magnetic head.

On the other hand, since the magnetic disk has a disk shape and the magnetic head slider swings about an arm, when the magnetic head slider moves on the magnetic disk, an air bearing formed between the magnetic disk and the slider is formed. The air inflow direction and the air inflow speed change depending on the position. That is, the skew angle changes and the state of the airflow changes. Therefore, the magnetic head slider is required to exhibit a stable flying function within the change of the air flow. In recent years, there has been a strong demand for higher density and higher capacity of hard disk drive devices, and accordingly, it has been necessary to reduce the flying height of a magnetic head slider. It is necessary to make the distance closer, so that the magnetic head slider needs to have an appropriate levitation force and maintain a certain stable levitation posture. For this reason, the aerodynamic characteristics of a magnetic head slider are important factors that affect its performance,
It is necessary to adopt the one that matches the characteristics of the hard disk drive device.

In the prior art, therefore, a desired flying function is exerted on the magnetic head slider by providing a taper or a step on the surface (floating surface) of the magnetic head slider facing the magnetic disk. For example, if a concave surface is formed on the air bearing surface and surrounds three sides with the rear part open in the air inflow direction, the air flow rate changes rapidly at the air flow end of the concave surface, and the magnetic head slider moves in the direction of the magnetic disk. A pushing force is generated. As described above, in the prior art, the adjustment of the aerodynamic characteristics of the magnetic head slider has been performed by changing the shape of the uneven surface and the depth of the uneven surface. The conventional magnetic head slider 100 has, for example, as shown in FIG.
A rail 101 extending in the longitudinal direction is provided, a taper 102 is formed at the tip end side of the rail 101, and asymmetric steps 103, 104, and 10 are formed on the side surface of the rail 101.
One provided with 5,106 is known. The magnetic head slider 100 shown in FIG.
Air flows in obliquely from the directions 105 and 106 to correct a change in the air layer due to a change in the skew angle, thereby keeping the gap between the magnetic head slider 100 and the magnetic disk constant.

[0007]

The magnetic head slider 100 of the prior art has a concave or convex surface formed on the air bearing surface in order to exhibit a stable floating performance as described above, and the magnetic head slider 100 flies depending on the shape of the uneven surface. The characteristics were stabilized. The magnetic head slider having the above-mentioned uneven surface on the air bearing surface exhibits stable aerodynamic characteristics and is almost satisfactory in performance. However, the magnetic head slider 100 of the related art needs to be formed with a concave surface or a convex surface, each having a step, and there is a dissatisfaction that a processing step is complicated and manufacturing is difficult. For example, in the case of providing three steps of irregularities on the air bearing surface of the magnetic head slider 100, the steps of photolithography and etching must be performed at least twice, and the steps are complicated. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic head slider that can be manufactured by a simple processing step and has a high degree of freedom in flying performance, focusing on the above-described problems of the conventional technology. .

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic head slider mounted on a magnetic disk drive, wherein the surface of the magnetic head slider facing the magnetic recording medium is provided with the slider. A magnetic head slider comprising a plurality of protrusions having a height equal to or lower than the air bearing surface.

The magnetic head slider of the prior art exerts a predetermined aerodynamic characteristic by the shape, area and step of the uneven surface, whereas the magnetic head slider of the present invention mainly has the distribution of protrusions and A predetermined aerodynamic characteristic is exhibited depending on the size. for that reason,
The air entrapped on the surface facing the magnetic disk collides with the projection and changes the flow velocity and direction, causing a change in pressure and generating a desired buoyancy.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the magnetic head slider according to the first aspect, wherein the protrusion is located on the air intake side of the magnetic head slider, and the occupied area of the protrusion is reduced toward the end. The magnetic head slider according to claim 1.

In the magnetic head slider according to the present invention, the protrusion is provided at a portion on the air intake side, and the occupied area of the protrusion decreases toward the end. Therefore, the projection as a whole exhibits the same function as a taper that opens toward the air intake side, and air can be smoothly taken in on the surface facing the magnetic recording medium.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, which is an improvement of the above-mentioned aspect, the projections are cylindrical.
4. A magnetic head slider according to (1).

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the magnetic head slider according to the first aspect, wherein eight to twenty projections are provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the magnetic head slider according to the first aspect, wherein the surface area of the top of the projection is 0.03 mm ² or less.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a magnetic head slider according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the air bearing surface of the magnetic head slider of FIG. FIG. 3A shows FIG.
FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of a protrusion of the magnetic head slider of FIG. 7A, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the protrusion of the magnetic head slider of another embodiment. 4 to 9 are front views of the floating surface of a magnetic head slider according to another embodiment. FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the position of the magnetic head slider with respect to the magnetic disk (the distance r from the center on the magnetic disk) and the flying height FH for the magnetic head slider of the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the position of the magnetic head slider with respect to the magnetic disk (the distance r from the center on the magnetic disk) and the strength of air stiffness for the magnetic head slider of the embodiment of FIG.

The magnetic head slider 1 according to the present embodiment comprises:
As in the case of the known device, the slider body 2 and the thin-film magnetic transducer 3 are provided.

The thin-film magnetic transducer 3 is a thin-film magnetic head similar to that of the prior art, and is formed on one end face of the slider body 2 in the longitudinal direction. Since air is taken in the magnetic head slider 1 from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, the thin-film magnetic transducer 3 is located on the rear end surface of the slider body 2.

The thin film type magnetic transducer 3 is formed by laminating a lower magnetic core, an upper magnetic core, and a body coil (all not shown) by a vacuum thin film forming technique or the like, and constitutes a magnetic circuit portion. . It also has a magnetic gap that functions as a recording / reproducing gap, and the magnetic gap is
It is configured to present on the air bearing surface.

That is, the slider body 2 is made of Al ₂ O ₃ —TiC
It is made of a base ceramic and has a low rectangular parallelepiped shape. On the surface of the slider body 2, a ridge-shaped rail 5 called a slider rail is provided.
Are provided in parallel in the longitudinal direction. The rail 5 is provided from the rear end of the slider body 2 on which the thin-film magnetic transducer 3 is provided to near the front end serving as an air intake, but in the vicinity of the front end serving as an air intake. There is no rail 5. A characteristic configuration of the magnetic head slider 1 of the present embodiment is that a protrusion 10 is provided at a position corresponding to an extension of the rail 5. That is, in the magnetic head slider 1 of the present embodiment, a plurality of protrusions 10 are provided instead of the taper 102 at a portion where the taper 102 is provided in the magnetic head slider 100 of the related art.

In the magnetic head slider 1 according to the present embodiment, the number of the protrusions 10 decreases as the position approaches the air intake portion of the magnetic head slider 1, and the area density becomes coarse. Specifically, at the front end of the air bearing surface of the magnetic head slider 1, three rows of projections 10 are provided on the left and right, respectively. The projections 10 are arranged in rows of four near the thin-film magnetic transducer 3, three in the next row, and two in the frontmost row.

The size of each projection 10 is such that the area of the top is 0.
It is as small as 03 mm ² or less, and the shape of the top surface is circular. However, since the protrusion 10 is formed by ion milling or the like as described later, the cross-sectional shape is a trapezoidal shape.

The magnetic head slider 1 of the present embodiment has
It has the same characteristics as the head slider of FIG. 12 described in the prior art. That is, in the magnetic head slider 1 of the present embodiment, instead of the taper 102 of the conventional magnetic head slider, the projection 10 whose area density becomes coarser toward the air intake portion is provided.
In the present embodiment, the protrusion 10 has the same function as the taper,
The magnetic head slider 1 is levitated.

Next, a method of manufacturing the magnetic head slider 1 will be described. In the magnetic head slider 1, a rough shape of the slider main body is formed by a known method, and thereafter, a projection is provided by a photolithography process. Specifically, the magnetic head slider 1 is manufactured by the following steps. That is, similarly to the known method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider, a large number of thin film type magnetic transducers 3 are formed on a flat ceramic substrate by a vacuum thin film forming technique or the like, the substrate is cut out into a rod shape, and the rail 5 is machined. To form The rail 5 formed at this time extends over the entire surface in the longitudinal direction.

Then, by a photolithography process,
Etching mask 1 having projection pattern on rail surface
2 is provided. The etching mask 12 masks the rail 5 to be left and the groove 8 between the rails 5 and the circular shape of the projection 10. Subsequently, portions other than the masked portion are removed by a known etching technique. As an etching method, a reactive ion etching method (Rea
ctive Ion Etching RIE), reactive ion beam etching (Reactive Ion Beam Etching RIBE), or ion milling.

Finally, the etching mask 12 is removed by known means to obtain the magnetic head slider 1 of the present embodiment. According to the method of manufacturing a head for a magnetic head slider of the present invention, a magnetic head slider having the same performance as that provided with an air bearing having a concave or convex surface having a plurality of steps by processing a single slider floating surface is provided. Can be manufactured.

In the embodiment described above, the magnetic head slider 1 having the same flying performance as the shape shown in FIG. 12 has been described. However, the above description is merely an example, and the present invention is applicable to any shape. It can be applied to a magnetic head slider. The design guidelines for applying the present invention to an actual magnetic head slider are as follows. That is, when the area of the protrusion 10 is sufficiently small,
Since air is a continuous fluid, the pressure distribution on the slider floating surface changes slowly. When a plurality of sufficiently small protrusions are continuously present on the surface of the slider, the pressure of the protrusions is set to an intermediate pressure between the conventional concave surface and the convex portion by adjusting the area and interval of the protrusions. be able to. If the area of the protrusion is sufficiently small, the partial pressure change does not affect the flying characteristics of the magnetic slider.

The magnetic head slider shown in FIGS. 4 to 10 shows a modification of the present invention, and the present invention can be applied to any of them. That is, the magnetic head slider 15 shown in FIG.
Are changed. More specifically, in the above embodiment, the number of protrusions is changed to form the protrusions with different densities.
Is a structure in which the size of the protrusions 10 is varied to form a density. Magnetic head slider 15 of the present embodiment
In this case, the size of the protrusion becomes smaller and the area density becomes coarser as it approaches the air intake portion.

The magnetic head slider 16 shown in FIG.
Is an example in which a protrusion 11 is provided in a groove portion 8 between the rails 5 and in a position near an air intake portion. In addition, the protrusion 11 employed in the present embodiment has a square pillar shape. The sizes a and b of the two surfaces of the projection and the distance c between them are 0.1 mm to 0.1 mm.
It is about 5 mm.

The magnetic head slider 17 shown in FIG.
It is of the type connected by two. In the magnetic head slider 16, the protrusion 10 is arranged near the side rail 22 and near the side of the rail 5. The shape of the protrusion 10 is cylindrical, and the diameter a of the protrusion and
The gap b between the protrusions is about 0.15 mm.

The magnetic head slider 18 shown in FIG.
Also has a side rail 22, but the projection 10
Are evenly provided near the side rails 22.

The magnetic head slider 19 shown in FIG.
Is made thinner toward the rear end of the rail 5, and has a side rail 22 as in the previous embodiment. In the present embodiment, the protrusion 10 is provided in a middle portion of the air bearing surface in a small island manner.

The magnetic head slider 20 shown in FIG.
Is an example in which projections 10 are provided at corners between rails 5 and side rails 22.

In each of the modifications described above, the protrusion 10
Although the distribution pattern is changed, different aerodynamic characteristics can also be exhibited by changing the height of the projections. For example, in the process of manufacturing the projections, the etching time is extended and the erosion is deepened, so that the lower projections 23 as shown in FIG.
Can also be formed. In addition, when the shape of the air bearing surface is created by photolithography and the recess is created by ion milling or ion etching, if the area of the projection is sufficiently small, the projection is considerably eroded, and the height of the apex of the projection is increased. Can be processed so as to be intermediate between the concave portion and the convex portion.

[0034]

Next, embodiments of the present invention and effects thereof will be described. As an example of the present invention, the magnetic head slider 1 described with reference to FIGS. When the performance was measured, the relationship between the position of the magnetic head slider 1 with respect to the magnetic disk (the distance r from the center on the magnetic disk) and the flying height FH was as shown in the graph of FIG. The position of the magnetic head slider 1 with respect to the magnetic disk (distance r from the center on the magnetic disk)
And the relationship with the air stiffness was as shown in the graph of FIG.

[0035]

The magnetic head slider of the present invention exhibits excellent aerodynamic characteristics. The magnetic head slider of the present invention has excellent characteristics similar to those of a conventional magnetic head slider having a step, a taper, and the like. This has the effect of being simple.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a front view of a floating surface of the magnetic head slider of FIG. 1;

3A is a sectional view of a protrusion of a magnetic head slider of FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is a sectional view of a protrusion of a magnetic head slider of another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a floating surface of a magnetic head slider according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a floating surface of a magnetic head slider according to another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a floating surface of a magnetic head slider according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a floating surface of a magnetic head slider according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a floating surface of a magnetic head slider according to another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a floating surface of a magnetic head slider according to another embodiment.

10 shows the position of the magnetic head slider with respect to the magnetic disk (the distance r from the center on the magnetic disk) and the flying height F of the magnetic head slider of the embodiment of FIG.
6 is a graph showing a relationship with H.

11 is a graph showing the relationship between the position of the magnetic head slider with respect to the magnetic disk (the distance r from the center on the magnetic disk) and the strength of air stiffness for the magnetic head slider of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a magnetic head slider according to a conventional art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Magnetic head slider 2 Slider main body 3 Thin film type magnetic transducer 5 Rail 10 Projection 11 Projection 12 Etching mask 15 Magnetic head slider 16 Magnetic head slider 17 Magnetic head slider 18 Magnetic head slider 19 Magnetic head slider 20 Magnetic head slider 22 Side rail 23 Protrusion

Claims (5)

[Claims] In a magnetic head slider mounted on a magnetic disk drive, a surface facing a magnetic recording medium is provided.
A magnetic head slider comprising a plurality of protrusions having a height equal to or lower than an air bearing surface of the slider. 2. The magnetic head slider according to claim 1, wherein the projection is located at a portion on the air intake side of the magnetic head slider, and the area occupied by the projection decreases toward the end. 3. The magnetic head slider according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion has a columnar shape. 4. The magnetic head slider according to claim 1, wherein 8 to 20 projections are provided. 5. The surface area of the top of the projection is 0.03 mm ²
The magnetic head slider according to claim 1, wherein: