Western Digital (fremont), Inc.

Headway Technologies, Incorporated

Brant Nease

Yingjian Chen

Danning Yang

Kyusik Sin

Lei Wang

Wei Zhang

Hongping Yuan

Hugh Craig Hiner

Benjamin P Chen

Ki Sup Chung

Terry D Moore

An adaptive feedback control method is provided for a chemical mechanical polish process to minimize a dielectric layer clearing time difference between two annular regions on a substrate. An optical system with an optical window passes below the polishing pad and detects reflected light interference signals from at least two annular regions. A pre-clearing time difference is determined and is used to calculate an adjustment to one or both of a CMP head membrane pressure and a retaining ring pressure. The pressure adjustment is applied before the end of the polish cycle to avoid the need for a second polish cycle and to reduce a dishing difference and a resistance difference in a metal layer in the at least two annular regions. In some embodiments, a second pressure adjustment is performed before the end of the cycle and different CMP head membrane pressure adjustments are made in different pressure zones.

Method for adaptive feedback controlled polishing

A method and system for manufacturing a pole on a recording head is disclosed. The method and system include sputtering at least one ferromagnetic layer and fabricating a hard mask on the ferromagnetic layer. The method and system also include defining the pole and depositing a write gap on the pole. A portion of the pole is encapsulated in an insulator.

Method for manufacturing a pole for a magnetic recording head

A method and system for manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic recording head is disclosed. The method and system include providing a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) uniformity structure having an aperture therein and forming a perpendicular magnetic recording pole within the aperture. The CMP uniformity structure may include a CMP barrier layer. The method and system further include fabricating an insulator after formation of the perpendicular magnetic recording pole and performing a CMP to remove a portion of the insulator, expose a portion of the perpendicular magnetic recording pole and planarize an exposed surface of the perpendicular magnetic recording head.

Perpendicular magnetic recording head having a pole tip formed with a CMP uniformity structure

A magnetic element includes a pinned layer, a nonferromagnetic spacer layer, and a free layer. The nonferromagnetic spacer layer resides between the pinned layer and the free layer. The free layer has a track width of not more than 0.08 micron.

Magnetic element having a smaller critical dimension of the free layer

A method and system for manufacturing a pole for a magnetic recording head. The method and system include providing an insulator and fabricating at least one hard mask on the insulator. The at least one hard mask has an aperture therein. The method and system also include removing a portion of the insulator to form a trench within the insulator. The trench is formed under the aperture. The method and system further include depositing at least one ferromagnetic material. The pole includes a portion of the ferromagnetic material within the trench.

Magnetic recording head formed by damascene process

Damascene process for fabricating poles in recording heads

The method and system for providing a magnetic element are disclosed. The method and system include providing a magnetic element stack that includes a plurality of layers and depositing a stop layer on the magnetic element stack. The method and system also include providing a dielectric antireflective coating (DARC) layer on the stop layer, forming a single layer mask for defining the magnetic element on a portion of the DARC layer, and removing a remaining portion of the DARC layer not covered by the single layer mask. The portion of the DARC layer covers a portion of the stop layer. The method further includes removing a remaining portion of the stop layer and defining the magnetic element using at least the portion of stop layer as a mask.

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Fremont, CA, United States of America

Brant Nease