Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Tdk Corporation

Daigo Aoki

Kenji Honda

Naoya Hasegawa

Yoshihiro Nishiyama

Yoshihiko Kakihara

Kiyoshi Sato

Yasuo Hayakawa

Shinya Yokoyama

Yutaka Takashima

Masamichi Saito

Toshihiro Kobayashi

Toru Takahashi

Hideto Ando

Yoshito Sasaki

Shinichi Sasaki

Naohiro Ishibashi

Yukie Nakazawa

Yoshiaki Shimizu

Hideyuki Hashimoto

Kunio Koizumi

Tetsuya Kobayashi

Motoki Kirayama

There is provided a semiconductor pressure sensor which improves the sensor sensitivity and is excellent in the withstand pressure characteristic and the temperature characteristic. In the semiconductor pressure sensor in which a diaphragm is formed by a cavity provided on one of top and bottom surfaces of a silicon substrate and a plurality of piezoresistors is disposed in the diaphragm edge, a recess which has a larger area than the planar shape of the diaphragm and whose entire edge is located outward from the diaphragm edge in plan view is provided in a protective film which covers the entire surface of the silicon substrate on the diaphragm side. The protective film located on the diaphragm is preferably formed of SiO.

Semiconductor pressure sensor having a recess with a larger area than a planar shape of a diaphragm

A silicon structure includes a silicon substrate having an electric element; a wiring conductor and a bonding pad, connecting the electric element and an external circuit; a protective layer disposed on the silicon substrate; and a pad opening pattern provided in the protective layer to exposed the bonding pad, wherein a probe mark position and a wire bonding position differ, without increasing the size of the bonding pad in plan view. A substrate exposure part, which is not covered with the protective layer, is provided at part of an outer edge of the bonding pad disposed inside the pad opening pattern in the protective film, and the wiring conductor is not exposed through substrate exposure part.

Silicon structure having bonding pad

A piezoresistive pressure sensor is provided, which can prevent the occurrence of ESD breakdown due to the nearness of interconnection layers of a resistive element according to miniaturization thereof. The piezoresistive pressure sensor is so configured that respective semiconductor resistive layers on both sides of an arrangement are formed to be relatively longer than an adjacent semiconductor resistive layer, and thus a corner portion of a semiconductor connection layer that extends from the respective semiconductor resistive layers on both sides of the arrangement and a corner portion of the semiconductor interconnection layer that is nearest to the corner portion of the semiconductor connection layer, between which the ESD breakdown occurs easily, can be separated from each other.

Piezoresistive pressure sensor

In a magnetic head structure that forms a medium facing surface of a head element unit by polishing processing, a height monitor that is exposed in the vicinity of the head element unit during the polishing processing to index the height of the head element unit is provided in a planar rectangular shape.

Magnetic head structure with diagonal of rectangular-shaped height monitor extending along track width direction

A lower shield layer and an upper shield layer are formed to have a planar shape, and a detecting element is provided between the lower shield layer and the upper shield layer. End faces of the upper shield layer may extend farther in a depthwise direction from a surface facing a recording medium than end faces of the lower shield layer. A lower conductive electrode may be disposed directly adjacent to a facing inner surface of the lower shield layer. An upper conductive electrode may be disposed adjacent to a portion of the upper shield layer. Therefore, the lower shield layer and the upper conductive electrode may be insulated from each other.

Magnetic head device provided with lead electrode electrically connected to upper shield layer and lower shield layer

A lower shield layer has a substantially flat shape, and an upper shield layer has a front portion and a rear portion, where the front portion is disposed closer to the lower shield layer than the rear portion. A lower conductive electrode and an upper conductive electrode are disposed between the lower shield layer and the upper shield layer. The lower conductive electrode is electrically connected to the lower shield layer, and the upper conductive electrode is electrically connected to the upper shield layer. Since the lower and upper conductive electrodes are disposed between the upper and lower shield layers, each of the lower shield layer and the upper shield layer may be formed to have a small area and a simple shape.

Magnetic head device provided with lead electrode electrically connected to magnetic shield layer

A magnetic sensing element including a laminate and a bias layer is provided. A first reactive-ion-etching (RIE) stop layer is disposed on a free magnetic layer. Second RIE stop layers are disposed on bias layers. The first and second RIE stop layers function as stop layers when layers on the first and second RIE stop layers are removed by reactive ion etching in a production process. Reactive ion etching is completed when the first RIE stop layer and the second RIE stop layers are exposed, the first and second RIE stop layers being disposed at almost the same height. Also provided is a process for producing the magnetic sensing element.

Magnetic sensing element having reactive-ion-etching stop layer and process for producing same

A magnetic detection device has stable characteristics having an area of a resist layer covering an insulating passivation layer, forming the magnetic detection element and a connection layer on a small stepped surface with high-precision, and preventing the resist layer from peeling, thereby providing a method of manufacturing the magnetic detection device. A resist layeris overlapped through the insulating passivation layeron an interconnection layer

Magnetic detection device connecting element and detection circuit and method of manufacturing the same

On a multilayer film formed on a lower electrode layer, a resist layer having cutaway parts at a lower portion is formed, and on parts of the upper surface of the multilayer film which are not overlapped with the resist layer except for areas inside the cutaway parts, first gap layers are formed. Accordingly, a predetermined gap Tcan be formed between the first gap layers in the track width direction. Next, in the following step, two end surfaces of the multilayer film and the first gap layers in the track width direction are milled. Hence, according to the present invention, compared to the case in the past, the predetermined gap Tprovided between the first gap layers can be formed into a minute size with superior accuracy, the current path-squeezing structure can be easily formed, and a magnetic sensor having superior change in resistance (&#x394;R) and reproduction output can be manufactured.

Manufacturing method of CPP type magnetic sensor having current-squeezing path

Assuming that a distance between an upper shield layer and a lower shield layer in an area, which overlaps only a first electrode layer, but does not overlap a second electrode layer, is G, and a distance between the upper shield layer and the lower shield layer at a position in alignment with a center of a multilayered film is G, a difference in value between Gand Gis set to be not larger than a predetermined value, whereby an effective track (read) width can be reduced.

Magnetoresistive sensor capable of narrowing gap and track width

A magnetoresistive-effect device includes a multilayer film, hard bias layers arranged on both sides of the multilayer film, and electrode layers respectively deposited on the hard bias layers. The electrode layers are formed, extending over the multilayer film. Under the influence of the hard bias layers arranged on both sides of the multilayer, the multilayer film, forming the magnetoresistive-effect device, has, on the end portions thereof, insensitive regions which exhibit no substantial magnetoresistive effect. The insensitive region merely increases a direct current resistance. By extending the electrode layers over the insensitive regions of the multilayer film, a sense current is effectively flown from the electrode layer into the multilayer film. With a junction area between the electrode layer and the multilayer film increased, the direct current resistance is reduced, while the reproduction characteristics of the device are thus improved.

Magnetoresistive-effect device and method for manufacturing the same

A thin-film magnetic head includes a spin-valve thin-film magnetic element, first and second insulating layers, and first and second shielding layers. The spin-valve thin-film magnetic element includes a free magnetic layer, a nonmagnetic conductive layer, a pinned magnetic layer, an antiferromagnetic layer, a pair of bias layers, and a pair of conductive layers. The pair of conductive layers is located on one side in the thickness direction of the free magnetic layer, and the pair of bias layers is located on the other side in the thickness direction of the free magnetic layer, is disposed on both sides in the track width direction of at least a portion of the second insulating layer, and is in contact with the free magnetic layer.

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Niigata-ken, Japan

Daigo Aoki