JPS6342013A - Thin film magnetic head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obviate the generation of uneven wear, etc., on a sliding surface by forming a layer consisting of one of the oxide, nitride or carbide of metals or metalloids by a thin film on the sliding surface. CONSTITUTION:The layer consisting of one of the oxide, nitride or carbide of the metals or metalloids is formed by the thin film on the sliding surface of a thin film magnetic head which is formed by laminating a magnetic layer, coil conductor and insulating layer consisting of thin films on a substrate to form a magnetic head element and depositing a protective sheet via an adhesive agent no the magnetic head element and has the front face worked as the sliding surface. While the film thickness of the layer varies with the kinds of magnetic recording and reproducing devices, a satisfactory effect is obtainable if the film thickness is generally >=50Angstrom . The effect is higher if the thickness is >=100Angstrom . Said layer is satisfactory if the layer contains one of the oxide, nitride or carbide of the metals or metalloids as the essential component and may contain some impurities. The uneven wear on the sliding surface is thereby eliminated and the reliability and life are improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a thin-film magnetic head in which a magnetic layer, a coil conductor, and a lead edge are formed on a substrate using an N pattern, and particularly relates to the thin-film magnetic head described above. 2 (Prior art) In recent years, high-density recording has been required for image recording devices and information processing equipment such as VTRs, VI1 disc drives, and video still cameras, and with this There is a need to improve the performance of magnetic recording media and magnetic heads. for example,
Regarding magnetic heads, thin-film magnetic heads are increasingly being used in place of conventional bulk heads using magnetic materials.

These MIAfe heads have a magnetic layer on the substrate.

After forming a magnetic head element by laminating the coil conductor, insulation 1, etc. as appropriate by book-calling and forming each into a desired shape by etching, etc., a protective plate is bonded onto the magnetic head element using an adhesive. One of the most important methods is to roughly process the front surface of these blocks into a sliding surface with a shape suitable for sliding contact with a magnetic recording medium. The behavior surface (processed as above) is the substrate, fili
Sex room, insulation layer.

The adhesive layer made of adhesive, the protective layer, etc. are exposed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Generally speaking, the sliding surface of a magnetic head gradually wears out when it comes into contact with a magnetic recording medium, but the sliding surface of a thin-film magnetic head As mentioned above, multiple 1
are exposed and each of these 1 has different mechanical properties such as hardness and abrasion resistance, so the state of wear on the sliding surface becomes uneven. Stability is impaired, and uneven wear occurs, where parts of the sliding surface that have relatively low hardness and are easily worn wear out more than other parts.
Inconveniences may occur at any time when the uneven wear causes a large depression, increasing spacing loss, or damaging the medium due to attachment and accumulation of media scrapes (magnetic particles) and dirt inside. In even more severe cases, the IS contact with the medium deteriorates, leading to a situation where recording and reproduction cannot be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a highly reliable magnetic head that does not suffer from uneven wear on the sliding surface.

(Means for Solving the Problems) As a result of intensive research to achieve the above object, the applicant has found that metal or semimetal oxides formed by thin films,
Nitride or carbide layer, hardness.

It has extremely high wear resistance, is scratch resistant, has high mechanical strength, and has a smooth surface. It was discovered that speech and behavior are possible, and the material does not attract dust easily. The WJ film magnetic head of the present invention, which has been made based on this knowledge, includes a layer made of at least one of a metal or metalloid oxide, nitride, or carbide formed by a thin film on the above-mentioned sliding surface. This is a characteristic feature.

Generally, when a gap occurs between the sliding surface of the magnetic head and the magnetic recording medium, a spacing loss occurs that impairs good recording and reproduction.
If the recording wavelength is λ, then L = 54.6- (d B
＞ Represented by

λ The thickness of the oxide, nitride, or carbide layer may be appropriately determined depending on the allowable degree of the spacing loss L.

That is, for example, in image recording devices such as still video cameras, the recording wavelength tends to be short, and 0.5 μm.
Wavelengths of approximately In this way, the recording wavelength is 0.
．． If the gap d is 1oooA in the case of 5 μm, the spacing loss will be 11d13. The magnetic helad in a conventional magnetic recording device has insufficient sliding stability with the magnetic recording medium, resulting in a gap d of 1oooA or more, and the aforementioned uneven wear is likely to occur, so the actual gap is even larger. However, the spacing loss was significantly larger. Therefore, in this case, if an oxide, nitride or carbide layer with a thickness of about 1oooA is formed,
The sliding surface on which this oxide, nitride, or carbide layer is formed is smooth and makes good contact with the magnetic recording medium, providing stable sliding characteristics (although uneven wear may cause gaps larger than 100% to occur). Spacing loss L
It is possible to maintain stable magnetic recording and reproducing characteristics while minimizing the loss. The desired thickness of the hood of the above-mentioned stand differs depending on the type of magnetic recording/reproducing device, but generally speaking, if the excitation is 50A or more, a certain effect can be achieved.
It is more preferable if it is 00A or more. In addition, this 1 may be one that has one of metal or metalloid oxides, nitrides, or carbides as a main component, and may contain some impurities.

(Function) As described above, according to the magnetic head of the present invention, by forming a thin oxide, nitride, or carbide layer on the sliding surface, uneven wear occurs on the sliding surface. It is possible to prevent the inability to perform stable recording and reproduction, and to greatly improve the reliability and life of the thin hood magnetic head. In addition, by providing the above @ on the sliding surface, the sliding surface becomes smooth, allowing smooth sliding contact with the magnetic recording medium and preventing the adhesion of magnetic particles, dirt, etc. Therefore, the reliability of magnetic recording and reproduction can be improved by 11 degrees.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the structure of a magnetic head according to an embodiment of the present invention based on its manufacturing method.

As shown in FIG. 1(a), when manufacturing the four-layer magnetic head of this embodiment, first a substrate made of magnetic ferrite is
A sendust alloy is deposited on top by sputtering or the like to form the lower magnetic layer @2. Next, an insulating material 5102 and a coil material CL are placed on the lower magnetic layer 2.
I is appropriately formed into a film by a known method, and etched or etched to form an insulator 3 and a coil conductor 4 as shown in the figure. Next, on top of these laminates, sendust alloy is roughly applied by sputtering or the like to form the upper magnetic layer 15, similar to the lower magnetic layer @2. In this example, these lower magnetisms, 12
, an insulator 3, a coil conductor 4, and an upper magnet @5 constitute a magnetic head element 10.

As shown in FIG. 1(b), S! Oz made a film with spatter C song etc.
protection@6 is formed. Next, a protective plate 8 made of non-magnetic ferrite is adhered onto the magnetic head element 10 having the protection @6 via an adhesive glass 7.

The mouth-shaped laminate is then ground to the point where its front surface is indicated by the dashed line in Figure 1 (b).

A sliding surface 9 is formed by polishing the sliding surface.

The upper magnetic @ exposed on the sliding surface 9 by this sliding surface processing
The thickness of the insulator 13 sandwiched between the magnetic recording medium 5 and the lower magnetic layer 2 defines a gap, and the magnetic head can record, reproduce, or erase data by slidingly contacting this gap with the magnetic recording medium. Become.

By the way, when recording and reproducing signals by bringing the sliding surface 9 into direct sliding contact with a magnetic recording medium, as time passes, the sliding surface 9 develops shock as shown by the broken line in FIG. 1(b). Mildew will occur. Therefore, in the thin film magnetic head of this embodiment, after the sliding surface 9 is formed by the sliding surface processing 'JE: as described above, a gas pressure of 1.5
Using argon gas containing 1% nitrogen of
A TiN layer 11 of 'II 1000 A is formed.

A durability test was conducted by sliding a thin film magnetic head manufactured by the above manufacturing method and having the structure shown in Figure 1 <C> against a video floppy disk using metal as a magnetic recording medium. Even after 3,000 hours, no damage was observed in the gap area, and no dents were observed on the sliding surface (TiN layer surface) due to t1 wear. On the other hand, no damage such as scratches was observed on the surface of the video floppy disk. Also during the above time, thin #! The A magnetic head consistently exhibited stable recording and reproducing characteristics.

Next, a meso-bright magnetic head according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the head 11afG shown in FIG. 2, the substrate 21 is made of sapphire, and the upper and lower magnets 22.25 are made of an amorphous alloy. As shown in FIG. 2(a), on the substrate 21, an insulating layer 23 made of the lower magnetic layer 22, 5102, a coil conductor 24 made of Ctj, and the upper magnetic @25 are sequentially disposed on the substrate 21, as in the above-described embodiment. R
The magnetic head element 30 is formed by stacking the films and etching each film into a predetermined shape. A film 5102 is formed on the magnetic head element 30 by sputtering to form a protection 126, and this protection @26 is polished and planarized to the position shown by the dashed line in FIG. 2(a).

Further, as shown in FIG. 2(b), an adhesive 27 such as an epoxy resin is thinly applied onto the flattened protection plate 26, and a protection plate 28 made of sapphire is bonded by this adhesive 27. The front surface of the laminate thus formed is ground and polished to the position shown in FIG. 2(b) to form a sliding surface 29. Subsequently, MgO is deposited on this sliding surface 29 by electron beam evaporation to form an M() 0 layer 31 with a thickness of 800 nm as shown in FIG. 2(C).

Note that the inside of the vacuum chamber of the electron beam evaporator for performing the above-mentioned evaporation is maintained at 1.5×10' Torr.

When durability tests were conducted on a video floppy disk using metal as a magnetic recording medium using the thin hood magnetic head obtained as described above, results similar to those of the above-mentioned example were obtained, and the spacing Stable magnetic recording and reproduction with extremely little loss was maintained over a long period of time.

Note that the substrate in the thin AM head of the present invention.

Upper and lower magnetism 1. Insulating layer, protection 1. It goes without saying that the materials of the protective plate etc. are not limited to those shown in each of the above embodiments. Further, the specific shape and structure of the thin VIA magnetic head are not limited to those described above. For example, the substrate may be made of a ferromagnetic material, and the lower part [0027] Also, the bookmark formed on the sliding surface can be made of TIN and Mg shown in the example.
Not limited to O, but also A9, 203. king! Oz, ZnO
, Ta 20s oxide 1. A9JN, S! 3
Na, NbN.

TaN So) Relaxed nitride, Zarani S! C, at C.

Carbides such as TiC and WC also exhibit similar effects.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the twilight magnetic head of the present invention, )! Because a metal, metalloid, metal oxide, nitride, or carbide layer is provided on the dynamic surface, as it comes into contact with a magnetic recording medium, the i-transparent surface may wear unevenly and increase spacing loss. It is possible to prevent problems such as magnetic particles and the like from accumulating in the recesses, deteriorating the magnetic properties, and damaging the magnetic recording medium. In addition, the above item 1 has the advantage that its surface is smooth and there is almost no adhesion of magnetic particles, dust, etc., so if the thin vA magnetic head of the present invention is used, highly reliable recording and reproduction can be performed for a long time. It can be performed stably.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1(a) to (C) are cross-sectional views illustrating the structure of a thin hood magnetic head according to an embodiment of the present invention based on its manufacturing method. FIGS. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a book hood magnetic head according to another embodiment based on its manufacturing method. 1.21...Substrate 9.29...Sliding surfaces 10, 30...Magnetic head element 11...TIN layer 31...MgO layer 2nd N (Voluntary) Procedural amendments Dear Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office December 1986
August 8th 2, Name of the invention Thin film magnetic head 3, Relationship to the case of the person making the correction Patent applicant Location 210 Nakanuma, Minamiashigara City, Kanagawa Prefecture Name
Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. 4, Agent Address: 5-2-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 160 6. Number of inventions increased by amendment None 7. Subject of amendment Drawing Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] A magnetic head element is formed by laminating a magnetic layer, a coil conductor, and an insulating layer using thin films on a substrate, and a protective plate is adhered to the magnetic head element via adhesive, and the front surface is a sliding surface. 1. A processed thin film magnetic head, characterized in that a layer made of at least one of a metal or semimetal oxide, nitride, or carbide is formed on the sliding surface by a thin film.