WO1999041739A1

WO1999041739A1 - Thin-film magnetic head, method of manufacturing the same, and magnetic disk drive provided with the same

Info

Publication number: WO1999041739A1
Application number: PCT/JP1998/000619
Authority: WO
Inventors: Akira Taniyama; Takashi Kawabe
Original assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
Priority date: 1998-02-16
Filing date: 1998-02-16
Publication date: 1999-08-19

Abstract

A plating ground film of a film which is a trimmed portion of a lower magnetic pole is first formed and then a resist frame is formed which determines the portion where the ends of the lower and upper magnetic poles are aligned and the track width. The resist frame has a tapered side surface where the lower magnetic pole is formed. Next, the lower magnetic pole is formed by plating, and an insulating gap film is formed by sputtering or CVD. Then, a plating ground film of the upper magnetic pole is formed, and the upper magnetic pole is formed by plating. Because the shapes of the upper and lower magnetic poles and the track width are determined by the resist frame forming conditions (taper angle of the side surface), the shapes do not change in the subsequent steps. The gap film may be an insulating Al2O3 film conventionally used.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a thin-film magnetic head, a method of manufacturing the same, and a magnetic disk drive using the same.

The present invention relates to a thin-film magnetic head for electromagnetically recording a signal on a magnetic recording medium and a method for manufacturing the same, and further relates to a magnetic disk drive equipped with the thin-film magnetic head, and particularly to a reproducing head and a recording head. The present invention relates to a structure and a process for aligning a magnetic pole tip of a lower magnetic pole and a magnetic pole tip of an upper magnetic pole of a recording head on a floating surface of a magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head having stacked magnetic heads. Background art

As a prior art relating to a process for aligning the magnetic pole tip of the lower magnetic pole with the magnetic pole tip of the upper magnetic pole via a gap film of a recording head, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-48421 / Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-28 There is an invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-26. The invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-48421 discloses that after forming an insulating film and a metal film on an upper magnetic pole, the metal film is anodized to improve ion-milling resistance, Using the film as a mask, the upper magnetic pole, the gear film and the lower magnetic pole are processed by ion milling to produce a magnetic pole trimming structure. In the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-28626, an assembly of a portion for aligning a lower magnetic pole and an upper magnetic pole is formed by using A1203 or Si02, and then a magnetic pole end of the lower magnetic pole is plated. Next, the conductive non-magnetic material such as NiP, Au, and Cu is plated, and the magnetic pole tip of the upper magnetic pole is plated to form the magnetic pole tip of the lower magnetic pole and the upper magnetic pole through the gear film. The magnetic pole ends are aligned.

As in the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-48421, ion milling is used. By using a process that aligns the pole tip of the lower pole with the pole tip of the upper pole via the gear film, the redeposition film in which atoms of the magnetic pole material scattered by ion milling of the lower pole adhere to the end of the gear film. In this case, ion milling is performed at a milling angle to remove the redeposited film more efficiently, that is, at a milling angle at which the track width tends to be small, so that the track width is controlled after the redeposited film is removed. There is a problem that becomes difficult. In addition, as in the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-28626, when a conductive non-magnetic material is used for the gap film instead of the insulating film such as A1203 which has been conventionally used, the floating surface processing is performed. In such a case, it is necessary to consider the damage and reliability of the gear film. In other words, it is necessary to understand the amount of shaving of the conductive non-magnetic material during machining and chemical processing, and to take measures against excessive shaving.

An object of the present invention is to provide a thin-film magnetic head in which the pole tip of the lower pole and the pole tip of the upper pole are aligned through an insulating gap film.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head in which the magnetic pole tip of the lower magnetic pole and the magnetic pole tip of the upper magnetic pole are aligned.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic disk drive which is equipped with a thin-film magnetic head in which the magnetic pole tip of the lower magnetic pole and the magnetic pole of the upper magnetic pole are aligned, and which can perform magnetic recording with a narrow track width. It is.

Disclosure of the invention

In the present invention, first, a plating base film of a film to be a trimming portion of the lower magnetic pole is formed, and then a portion for aligning the magnetic pole end of the lower magnetic pole and the magnetic pole of the upper magnetic pole and a register for determining a track width are used. Form a frame. The second resist frame has a tail on the side where the lower pole is formed. Next, after further forming a lower magnetic pole plated, according to the second method of forming a plated upper pole after forming the plated base film _c further upper magnetic pole is formed by Suhatta or CVD insulation Giyabbu film The shape and track width of the upper and lower magnetic poles are Since it is determined by the formation conditions (taper angle of the side surface), there is little change in the shape in the post-process, and the A1203 film which is conventionally used as the gear film can be used. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a magnetic disk device on which a thin film magnetic head or a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head is mounted.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a thin-film magnetic head or a magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head in which a thin-film magnetic head element is formed on the side of an airflow outflow end of a slider.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head element section in which a read head and a write head to which the present invention is applied are stacked.

FIG. 4 to FIG. 12 are diagrams showing a manufacturing process of a recording head of the magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head according to the present invention. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a magnetic disk drive equipped with a magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head. The magnetic disk drive includes a plurality of magnetic disks 2 mounted on the same hinge, a magnetic head support mechanism 1 for supporting a magnetic head for recording and reproducing signals to and from the magnetic disk 2, and a magnetic head. And a voice coil motor 5 that drives the magnetic head support mechanism 1 to rotate in the radial direction of the magnetic disk 2 via the carriage mechanism 3 and writes on the magnetic head. An electric circuit that supplies signals and receives a reproduced signal from a magnetic head, a control unit that controls each of the above parts according to a signal from a higher-level device, and a base 4 that mounts these components. It is composed of

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head viewed from the air bearing surface side. However, the head element portion 8 is formed on the element forming surface, which is the outflow end of the slider. Further, on the element forming surface, a lead 7 of the magnetic head element 8 and an external lead terminal 6 are formed. The magnetic head flies at a distance of 100 nm or less from the magnetic disk 2 on the flying surface 9 side of the slider, and writes and reproduces signals on the magnetic disk 2.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the head element section 8 of the magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head. The magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head includes at least a lower shield film 10, a magnetoresistive film 12, a magnetic domain control film 11 for controlling magnetic domains of the magnetoresistive film 12, and a magnetoresistive film 1 on the substrate. The resistance change of (2) is extracted as a change in current. A signal reading side (reproducing head) from a magnetic recording medium comprising an electrode 13 and an upper shield film 14 and at least a lower magnetic pole 14 (above the reproducing head) , Gap film 15, coil 17, upper magnetic pole 19, first insulating film 16 for electrically insulating coil 17 from lower magnetic pole 14, coil 17 And a signal writing side (recording head) on a magnetic recording medium comprising a second insulating film 18 that electrically insulates the upper magnetic pole 19.

Here, an insulating film is formed between the magnetoresistive film 12 or the electrode 13 and the lower shield film 10 and between the magnetoresistive film 12 or the electrode 13 and the upper shield film 14. Is done. According to the present invention, the ends of the upper and lower magnetic poles as viewed from the recording medium facing surface (floating surface) side of the recording head that is the signal writing side on the magnetic recording medium are aligned. A specific embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 12 as viewed from the air bearing surface.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, on the upper shield film 14 of the reproducing head made of Vermalloy (NiFe alloy) or the like, the lower magnetic pole forming mechanism made of Vermalloy or the like is placed below. The ground film 20 is formed with a thickness of 0.1 μπι or less by shattering. Next, apply resist and perform exposure and development using a mask. Thus, the first frame 21 having a tapered inner side surface is formed. The taper of the first frame 21 determines the track width on the signal writing side. Next, a lower magnetic pole projection 22 made of permalloy (NiFe alloy) or the like is formed to a predetermined thickness (about 3 / m) by plating. Here, since the metal underlayer 20 below the lower magnetic pole protrusion 22 is also a Permalloy, the lower magnetic pole of the recording head is formed by the upper shield 14, the metal underlayer 20, and the lower magnetic pole protrusion 22. The lower magnetic pole projection 22 has a protruding shape (Fig. 5). Next, after applying a resist 29, exposure and development are performed using a mask to perform buttering, and unnecessary portions of the lower magnetic pole formation plating base film 20 are removed by ion milling (FIG. 6). Then, the insulating gap film 15 such as A123 is sputtered to about 0.3 μπ! ~ 0.4 to form a film. Further, an upper magnetic pole forming plating film 24 made of permalloy or the like is formed to a thickness of 0.1 μm or less by shattering (FIG. 7). Subsequently, by applying a resist and performing exposure and development using a mask, a second frame 25 having a taper similar to that of the first frame 21 is formed. plated top pole 2 6 made by forming a thickness of 3 to 4 _mu m (Figure 8). Next, the second frame 25 is removed using a stripping solution (FIG. 9), and unnecessary portions of the plating base film 24 for upper magnetic pole formation and the gear film 15 are removed by ion milling (FIG. 10). ). Here, the portion other than the end portions 27 and 28 of the upper magnetic pole 26 on the side of the plating base film 24 does not determine the track width, so that the portion is damaged by ion milling or the gear film material is not covered. There is no problem if the alloy atoms are re-attached, but the second ion milling is for milling the metal substrate 24 and the gear film 15 from the top of the drawing, so the end of the upper magnetic pole 26 is damaged. There is no two to give. In addition, since the plating base film 24 and the gear film 15 are very thin films, the ion milling time is short, and reattachment of atoms does not pose a problem. Then, using a stripper, One frame 21 is removed (FIG. 11), and finally, the lower magnetic pole formation plating base film 20 other than below the lower magnetic pole 22 is removed by ion milling (FIG. 12). In this ion milling, too, the milling time is short and there is almost no reattachment of atoms because the plating underlayer 20 is thin. Therefore, there is no need to perform ion milling from the lateral direction in the drawing to remove the redeposited film, and the upper and lower magnetic pole ends are hardly damaged. In this process, the lower magnetic pole protrusion 22 and the upper magnetic pole 26 end are aligned (when the upper magnetic pole formation plating under film 24 is a non-magnetic material, the magnetic poles 27 and 28 in FIG. 12 are used). In the case of (3), 30 and 31) are controlled by the angle of the first frame 21 so as to be within the allowable range of the electromagnetic characteristics. Industrial applicability

In the process of aligning the pole tip of the lower pole and the pole tip of the upper pole via the gear film, unlike the process using milling, the pole tip is not directly damaged. In comparison, since the track width is hardly changed, the track width can be easily controlled, and an improvement in production yield can be expected. Also, since the shapes of the upper and lower magnetic poles are stabilized, it contributes to the improvement of the electromagnetic characteristics of the magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head. Further, since an insulating film can be used for the gear film, a conventional A1203 film can be used, and problems such as reliability when a conductive film is used can be solved.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A thin-film magnetic head, in which a lower magnetic pole, a gear film, a coil, and an upper magnetic pole are sequentially laminated on a substrate, and the signal is magnetically recorded on a magnetic recording medium. The width of the top side is larger than the width of

The gap film formed on the lower magnetic pole has a flat portion in contact with the upper surface of the lower magnetic pole and a slope portion extending upward from both sides of the flat portion at the same angle as the taper on the side surface of the lower magnetic pole. ,

The thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the upper magnetic pole formed on the gap film has a flat portion on the air bearing surface on a side of the gear film having substantially the same width as the upper surface of the lower magnetic pole. .

2. When the lower and upper magnetic pole forming underlayers of the magnetic material are provided below the lower magnetic pole and the upper magnetic pole, a flat portion of the upper magnetic pole forming underlayer on the air bearing surface on the lower magnetic pole side. 2. The thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein a width of the thin-film magnetic head is substantially the same as a width of an upper surface of the lower magnetic pole.

3. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the gear film is A1203.

4. A recording head is stacked on a reproducing head composed of a magnetoresistive element, and the recording head has a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head in which a lower magnetic pole, a gap film, a coil, and an upper magnetic pole are sequentially stacked. In the

The lower magnetic pole of the recording head has a larger upper surface side width than the reproducing head side width on the air bearing surface, and has a taper on a side surface,

The gap film formed on the lower magnetic pole extends upward from both sides of the flat portion in contact with the upper surface of the lower magnetic pole and at the same angle as the wafer on the side surface of the lower magnetic pole. With a long slope,

The upper magnetic pole formed on the gear film has a flat surface on the air bearing surface on the side of the gear film having a width substantially equal to the width of the upper surface of the lower magnetic pole. Magnetic head.

δ

5. When the lower and upper magnetic pole forming underlayers of the magnetic material are provided below the lower magnetic pole and the upper magnetic pole, a flat portion of the upper magnetic pole forming underlayer on the air bearing surface on the lower magnetic pole side. 5. The magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head according to claim 4, wherein a width of the thin-film magnetic head is substantially equal to a width of an upper surface of the lower magnetic pole.

6. The magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head according to claim 4, wherein said gear film is made of A1203.

7. The read head is configured such that a lower shield film, an insulating film, a magnetoresistive film, a magnetic domain control film of the magnetoresistive film, an electrode, an insulating film, and an upper shield film are sequentially laminated on a substrate. The magneto-resistance effect type thin-film magnetic head according to claim 4, characterized in that:

5 8. Form a lower magnetic pole formation plating underlayer on the substrate,

After forming a first resist frame having a tapered upper side on the inner side surface on the lower magnetic pole forming plating base film, a lower magnetic pole is formed by plating, and an insulating gap film and an upper magnetic pole are formed on the lower magnetic pole. Forming a second resist frame having a wafer extending upward on the inner side surface on the upper magnetic pole forming plating base film, and then forming an upper magnetic pole by plating;

Thereafter, the second resist frame is removed, and the upper magnetic pole formation plating underlayer film and the insulating gear film other than below the upper magnetic pole are removed by ion milling along the side surface of the upper magnetic pole,

Subsequently, the first resist frame is removed,

5 The lower magnetic pole formation plating base film other than below the lower magnetic pole is A method for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, wherein the magnetic head is removed by ion milling along a side surface.

9. The method for manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 8, wherein the insulating gear film is A1203.

δ 10. A reproducing head in which a lower shield film, an insulating film, a magnetoresistive film, a magnetic domain control film of the magnetoresistive film, an electrode, an insulating film, and an upper shield film are sequentially laminated on a substrate; A method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive thin film magnetic head comprising a recording head in which a lower magnetic pole, a gap film, a coil and an upper magnetic pole are sequentially laminated on an upper shield film of

0 A lower magnetic pole formation plating underlayer is formed on the upper shield film of the reproducing head, and a first resist frame having a taper with an upwardly expanding inner side surface is formed on the lower magnetic pole forming plating underlayer. After that, a lower magnetic pole is formed by plating, an insulating gap film and a plating base film for forming the upper magnetic pole are formed on the lower magnetic pole, and a tape extending upward on the inner side surface is formed on the plating base film for forming the upper magnetic pole. After forming the 52nd resist frame having the upper magnetic pole, the upper magnetic pole is formed by plating.

Thereafter, the second resist frame is removed, and the plating base film for forming the upper magnetic pole and the insulating gear film other than below the upper magnetic pole are removed by ion milling along the side surface of the upper magnetic pole,

Subsequently, the first resist I /-is removed,

0 A method for manufacturing a magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head, comprising removing the lower magnetic pole formation plating base film other than below the lower magnetic pole along a side surface of the lower magnetic pole by ion milling. ·

11. The method for manufacturing a magnetoresistive thin-film magnetic head according to claim 10, wherein the insulating gear film is A1203.

5 1 2. Multiple magnetic disks mounted on the same spindle, and the magnetic disks A magnetic head for recording / reproducing signals to / from a disk, a magnetic head supporting mechanism for supporting the magnetic head, and the magnetic head via the magnetic head supporting mechanism. A moving mechanism that moves in the radial direction of the magnetic disk, an electric circuit that supplies a write signal to the magnetic head, and receives a reproduction signal from the magnetic head, and a control unit that controls the components according to a signal from a higher-level device And a base on which these components are mounted.

The magnetic head is a thin-film magnetic head in which a lower magnetic pole, a gap film, a coil, and an upper magnetic pole are sequentially laminated on a substrate, and the lower magnetic pole has an air bearing surface on an upper surface side compared to a width on the substrate side. The gap film having a large width and a taper on the side surface has the same angle as the taper of the side surface of the lower magnetic pole from both sides of the flat portion and the flat portion in contact with the upper surface of the lower magnetic pole. And a slope extending upward.

The magnetic disk device according to claim 1, wherein the upper magnetic pole formed on the gap film has a flat surface on the air bearing surface on the side of the gap film having substantially the same width as the upper surface of the lower magnetic pole.

13. When a lower film and an upper magnetic pole forming underlayer of a magnetic material are provided below the lower magnetic pole and the upper magnetic pole of the thin-film magnetic head, the lower portion of the upper magnetic pole forming lower film on the air bearing surface 13. The magnetic disk device according to claim 12, wherein the width of the flat portion on the magnetic pole side is substantially the same as the width of the upper surface of the lower magnetic pole.

14. The magnetic disk drive according to claim 12, wherein the gear film of the thin-film magnetic head is A1203.

15. A plurality of magnetic disks mounted on the same spindle, a magnetic head for recording / reproducing signals to / from the magnetic disk, a magnetic head support mechanism for supporting the magnetic head, Forward the magnetic head through the magnetic head support mechanism A moving mechanism that moves in the radial direction of the magnetic disk, an electric circuit that supplies a write signal to the magnetic head and receives a reproduced signal from the magnetic head, and a control that controls each of the components according to a signal from a higher-level device Unit and a base on which these components are mounted,

The magnetic head has a recording head laminated on a reproducing head composed of a magnetoresistive element, and the recording head has a magnetoresistance in which a lower magnetic pole, a gap film, a coil and an upper magnetic pole are sequentially laminated. Effect type thin film magnetic head,

The gear film formed on the lower magnetic pole has a flat portion in contact with the upper surface of the lower magnetic pole and a slope portion extending upward from both sides of the flat portion at the same angle as the tail on the side surface of the lower magnetic pole. ,

16. In the case where the lower and upper magnetic pole forming underlayers of the magnetic material are provided below the lower magnetic pole and the upper magnetic pole of the recording head, the upper magnetic pole forming underlayer film on the air bearing surface is provided. 16. The magnetic disk according to claim 15, wherein the width of the flat portion on the lower magnetic pole side is substantially the same as the width of the upper surface of the lower magnetic pole. 17. The magnetic disk drive according to claim 15, wherein the magnetic disk drive is 1203.