Seagate Technology Incorporated

Carolyn Pitcher Van Dorn

Eric Walter Singleton

Shaun Eric McKinlay

Thomas Roy Boonstra

Dimitar Velikov Dimitrov

Dian Song

Daniel Sullivan

Levent Colak

Thu Van Nguyen

Lily Horng Youtt

Thu-Van Thi Nguyen

Tolerances for manufacturing reader structures for transducer heads continue to grow smaller and storage density in corresponding storage media increases. Reader stop layers may be utilized during manufacturing of reader structures to protect various layers of the reader structure from recession and/or scratches while processing other non-protected layers of the reader structure. For example, the stop layer may have a very low polish rate during mechanical or chemical-mechanical polishing. Surrounding areas may be significantly polished while a structure protected by a stop layer with a very low polish rate is substantially unaffected. The stop layer may then be removed via etching, for example, after the mechanical or chemical-mechanical polishing is completed.

Magnetoresistive sensor with stop-layers

The formation of substrate electrical connections on thin film heads is one source of resulting surface topography. In accordance with one implementation, such topography can be reduced by a process that includes depositing a first layer of basecoat, creating electrical recessed vias in one or more plating processes, and depositing a second layer of basecoat on top of the electrical vias and on top of the first layer of basecoat. In one implementation, the first and second layers of basecoat have a combined height that is substantially equal to the height of the electrical recessed vias. In one implementation, the resulting topographical features are small enough that they can be planarized without creating a lack of uniformity in the total basecoat thickness across the wafer.

Electrical connection with reduced topography

A data reader and associated method of making are generally provided. A data reader capable of sensing adjacent data bits may be configured at least with a magnetic stack disposed between first and second side shields. Each side shield may have a polish stop layer that is tuned to provide a first predetermined polish rate.

Data reader side shields with polish stop

Reader stop-layers

A magnetoresistive read sensor is described. The sensor is a magnetically responsive stack positioned between top and bottom electrodes on an air bearing surface. Current in the sensor is confined to regions close to the air bearing surface by a first multilayer insulator structure between the stack and at least one electrode to enhance reader sensitivity.

Trilayer reader with current constraint at the ABS

Growing community of inventors

Crystal, MN, United States of America

Carolyn Pitcher Van Dorn