Seagate Technology Incorporated

Magnetic Peripherals Inc.

Control Data Corporation

Beat G Keel

Lance Eugene Stover

John Bortins

Nurul Amin

Ying D Yan

Shanlin X Hao

Tuan P Tran

Mark James Schaenzer

Edward L Schwarz

Alan G Kracke

Nathan Curland

Brian G Ehalt

Kent N Maffitt

Tim Madsen

Zine-Eddine Boutaghou

Frank Edgar Stageberg

Subrahmanyan Nagarajan

Arthur Calderon

Gerald L Weispfenning

Simon H Liao

Paul A Jallen

Raymond W Knight

Larry D Zimmerman

Zhihao Li

Patrick C Darst

Robert Wallace Johnson

Gene P Bonnie

Halden W Larson

Gale Jallen

Ganesan Doraisami

Roger Hunnicutt

Mara M Koller

A thin film head and a method for fabricating the same comprises depositing a first non-magnetic seedlayer on a substrate, forming a bottom portion of a magnetic core on the first non-magnetic seedlayer, depositing a second non-magnetic seedlayer and forming a top portion of the magnetic core on the second non-magnetic seedlayer. A gap comprised of non-magnetic material is formed between the top and bottom portions of the magnetic core. The stability of the thin film head while in a relaxed state and its read performance are significantly improved.

Mo-Au gold seedlayer in thin film heads

An electrical lap guide (ELG) and a method of using the same to control the machining of a surface of a magnetic transducer to obtain a desired transducer height are disclosed. The transducer and ELG are fabricated in a deposition of layers on a substrate. The ELG includes a first resistor aligned with the transducer such that a machined height of the first resistor is indicative of a machined height of the transducer. Resistances of second and third resistors of the ELG are measured. A sheet resistance of the deposition of layers and a quantity of wafer processing edge movement are determined as functions of the measured resistances of the second and third resistors. An expected non-machined resistance of the first resistor is determined as a function of the determined sheet resistance and as a function of the determined quantity of edge movement. A non-machined resistance of the first resistor is measured. The expected non-machined resistance of the first resistor is compared to the measured non-machined resistance of the first resistor to determine an amount of error.

Machining guide for magnetic recording reproduce heads

A device for testing smoothness of a rotatable disc is disclosed. A slider body has a trailing edge surface and an air-bearing surface for gliding over a surface of the disc when the disc is rotating. A piezoelectric sensor is formed in the slider body, and a thermal asperity sensor is formed in the slider body and at least partially exposed to the air-bearing surface. A plurality of conductive vias extend from the trailing edge surface of the slider body into the slider body to contact the piezoelectric and thermal asperity sensors. A plurality of conductive bond pads are disposed on the trailing edge surface in contact with respective conductive vias.

Integrated piezoelectric and thermal asperity transducers for testing

Electrical lap guide wiring configuration

A thin film magnetic head includes a slider having a first air bearing surface and a second surface made of a layer of an insulating material. The second surface has a first aperture formed in the insulating layer to expose a portion of the slider below the second surface layer. A reading/writing transducer is provided in the slider adjacent to the air bearing surface and has a first connecting link extending within the slider so that an end of the first link is exposed within the first aperture of the second surface layer. A first bond pad extends on the second surface of the slider and within the first aperture of the second surface layer. The first bond pad is electrically connected to the exposed end of the first link of the read/write transducer within the first aperture of the second surface layer.

Method of making an insulator pattern for thin film head sliders

An electrical lap guide (ELG) for use in lapping a bar of magnetic transducer carrying sliders to a desired height is disclosed. A first lapped or analog ELG element is positioned in a first dice lane on the bar between first and second sliders. A first electrical connection is positioned on a surface of the first dice lane for coupling the first ELG element to external circuitry. A second reference ELG element is positioned in the first slider at a position recessed from the lapped surface. A second electrical connection is positioned on the first slider for coupling the second ELG element to external circuitry.

Small foot machining guide for recording heads

A lapping guide system, method and article of manufacture is disclosed. A method of fabricating a lapping guide for use in conjunction with the machining of a magnetic recording transducer includes the following steps. A plurality of lap switch fingers of the lapping guide and a bottom pole of the transducer are fabricated at the same time and from the same material. Each lap switch finger has the same topology as the topology of the bottom pole. An insulating layer is fabricated on the plurality of lap switch fingers of the lapping guide and on the bottom pole of the transducer. A top conductor is fabricated on the insulating layer above a plurality of lap switch fingers, while a top pole is fabricated on the insulating layer above the bottom pole. The top conductor and top pole are fabricated at the same time and from the same material.

Lapping guide system, method and article of manufacture

Machining guide method for magnetic recording reproduce heads

Insulator pattern for thin film head sliders

A thin film transducer having electrical connections for the discharge of electrostatic charges between coil and core is disclosed. The invention provides for conductive surfaces electrically connected to the coil and core, respectively. These surfaces are selectively positioned so as to define an air gap having a breakdown voltage below that of the insulation layer separating coil and core in the transducer.

Thin film magnetic head having core to coil over-voltage protection

A servo head in a disc file data storage system includes a servo transducer and a coil which are connected so that noise induced by a nearby writing data head cancels. The servo transducer, mounted on a slider, reads information stored on a servo disc. The coil, also mounted on the slider, is connected to the servo transducer to produce an output signal so that noise signals induced in the servo transducer by operation of the data head tend to be canceled by noise signals induced in the coil by operation of the data head.

Self bucking servo transducer

A thin film magnetic read/write head is manufactured using Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 dams. The Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 dams are formed using a sacrificial layer which is deposited upon a bottom pole layer. An Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 layer is deposited over the sacrificial layer. When the sacrificial layer is removed, the Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 layer forms dams between which a top pole piece is deposited. The sacrificial layer is removed using lapping and a selected chemical etch; etch of the sacrificial layer which lifts-off overlying partial lapping or chemical etch followed by chemical Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 ; depositing photoresist dams and chemically, etching the encapsulation layer and the sacrificial layer; or removal through physical or thermal shock of the Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 layer sputtered at zero bias followed by a selective chemical etch of the sacrificial layer. The thin film magnetic head of the present invention has pole tips which provide an outside pole face contour that is significantly different from a pole tip contour along a gap region. This reduces an undershoot effect in readback pulses in a readback signal. The altered contour can be used on both top and bottom pole tips to eliminate both leading and trailing undershoots. Additionally, in shielded probe heads for vertical recording a gap region contour can be altered to achieve a similar reduction in leading undershoot.

Thin film head with contoured pole face edges for undershoot reduction

In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus and process for convenient electrical access following application of an overcoat layer to the core of a thin film transducer for measuring core-to-coil impedance and breakdown voltage during manufacture and final testing is disclosed. The invention may employ existing process feedback circuitry at the wafer level typically severed in the machining process or the invention provides for a permanent dedicated terminal on the support structure.

Thin film magnetic head having electrical connection to core

A thin film magnetic read/write head deposited upon a non-magnetic substrate reduces leading edge undershoots in readback pulse signal. A magnetic layer is deposited between the thin film magnetic read/write head and the non-magnetic substrate. Undershoots are reduced by making the leading edge of the thin film head less sensitive to the magnetization transitions in a magnetic storage medium.

Leading edge undershoot elimination in thin film heads

A servo head in a disk file data storage system includes at least one shield which acts to block radiation emanating from a nearby data head and thus reduce noise induced in the servo head. The shield is located on either side of an essentially flat conducting coil in a servo transducer, or a data transducer or both. The shield may be either a single layer of material or multiple layers.

Shielded servo heads with improved passive noise cancellation

Growing community of inventors

Prior Lake, MN, United States of America

Beat G Keel