Western Digital (fremont), Inc.

Other

Hongping Yuan

Hai Sun

Jinqiu Zhang

Xianzhong Zeng

Winnie Yu

Liubo Hong

Yizhong Wang

Yong Shen

Tsung Yuan Chen

Benjamin P Chen

Wei Zhang

Dujiang Wan

Ling Wang

Lei Wang

Yingjian Chen

Kyusik Sin

Hugh Craig Hiner

Honglin Zhu

Donghong Li

Yinshi Liu

Danning Yang

Brant Nease

Lijie Zhao

Hong Zhang

Ying Hong

Yun-Fei Li

Bing K Yen

Guanghong Luo

Guanxiong Li

Lingyun Miao

Xiaoyu Yang

Xiaohai Xiang

Hongmei Han

Rowena Schmidt

A method and system provide microelectric devices on fields on a substrate. Each field includes at least one microelectric device having a critical device feature and remaining device feature(s) distal from the critical device feature. The method and system include providing a photoresist layer for fabricating the microelectric devices and exposing the photoresist layer using a dark field mask. The dark field mask is for defining a critical mask feature corresponding to the critical device feature and exposing a first portion of the fields. The first portion includes not more than five percent of each field. The method and system further include exposing the photoresist layer using a clear field mask. The clear field mask is for defining remaining mask feature(s) corresponding to the remaining device feature(s). The clear field mask exposes a second portion of the fields that is different from the first portion.

Method and system for exposing photoresist in a microelectric device

Various embodiments of the subject disclosure provide a double patterning process that uses two patterning steps to produce a write structure having a nose shape with sharp corners. In one embodiment, a method for forming a write structure on a multi-layer structure comprising a substrate and an insulator layer on the substrate is provided. The method comprises forming a hard mask layer over the insulator layer, performing a first patterning process to form a pole and yoke opening in the hard mask layer, performing a second patterning process to remove rounded corners of the pole and yoke opening in the hard mask layer, removing a portion of the insulator layer corresponding to the pole and yoke opening in the hard mask layer to form a trench in the insulator layer, and filling the trench with a magnetic material.

Double patterning hard mask for damascene perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) writer

System and methods are provided for the manufacture of a magnetic write head including a pole and yoke region, and a nose shape transition region connecting the yoke to the pole having very small minimum radius of curvature, providing for a sharp transition. A double mask technique is used providing for the adjustment of an offset and illumination conditions between the first and second mask, which provides the capability of tuning the shape of the transition region, and achieving features that would otherwise not be achievable due to distortions caused by optical proximity effect.

Systems and methods for using double mask techniques to achieve very small features

A method for providing a perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) head is disclosed. The method comprises: providing an insulating layer; covering the insulating layer with a hard mask material; forming a pre-defined shape in the hard mask material; forming a pole trench and a yoke area in the insulating layer by a first reactive ion etching (RIE) process in which the yoke area includes a loading prevention pattern; performing a wet etching process to remove the hard mask material from the pole trench and the yoke area; performing a second RIE process to remove the loading prevention pattern of the yoke area, wherein the pole trench and the remainder of the yoke area are not removed and remain having similar side wall angles; and providing a PMR pole in which at least a portion of the PMR pole resides in the pole trench.

Method to eliminate reactive ion etching (RIE) loading effects for damascene perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) fabrication

A method for fabricating a magnetic transducer having an air-bearing surface (ABS). An underlayer having a first and second regions and a bevel connecting these regions is provided. The first region is thicker and closer to the ABS than the second region. An intermediate layer conformal with the underlayer is provided. A hard mask layer having a top surface perpendicular to the ABS is formed on the intermediate layer. Part of the hard mask and intermediate layers are removed to provide a trench. The trench has a bottom surface and sidewalls having a first angle between the bottom surface and the intermediate layer and a second angle corresponding to the hard mask layer. A pole is provided in the trench. The pole has a pole tip, a yoke distal, and a bottom bevel. At least the yoke includes sidewalls having sidewall angles corresponding to the first and second angles.

Method and system for providing a magnetic recording pole having a dual sidewall angle

Methods of patterning a material are disclosed. A first resist pattern is formed on a field. A protective layer is formed over the first resist pattern and at least a portion of the field. A second resist pattern is formed over a portion of the protective layer. A portion of a material to be patterned deposited adjacent to the first and second resist patterns is removed.

Resist pattern protection technique for double patterning application

A method of removing photoresist beneath an overlayer includes estimating a rapid temperature change for a photoresist layer to produce cracking in the overlayer. The temperature chance is estimated so that the cracking of the overlayer is sufficient to allow a liftoff solution to penetrate below the overlayer during a liftoff step. The method further includes baking the photoresist layer and chilling the photoresist layer after baking to produce the rapid temperature change. The method then includes lifting off the photoresist layer using the liftoff solution.

Method for lifting off photoresist beneath an overlayer

A method and system for providing a PMR pole in a magnetic recording transducer including an intermediate layer are disclosed. The method and system include providing a mask on the intermediate layer. The mask includes a line having at least one side. A hard mask layer is provided on the mask. At least a portion of the hard mask layer resides on the side(s) of the line. At least part of the hard mask layer on the side(s) of the line is removed. Thus, at least a portion of the line is exposed. The line is then removed, providing an aperture in the hard mask corresponding to the line. The method also includes forming a trench in the intermediate layer under the aperture. The trench top is wider than its bottom. The method further includes providing a PMR pole, at least a portion of which resides in the trench.

Method and system for providing a perpendicular magnetic recording head

A perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) head comprises a PMR pole having at least one side, a bottom, and a top wider than the bottom, a first portion of the at least one side being substantially vertical, a second portion of the at least one side being nonvertical, the top portion having a width not greater than one hundred fifty nanometers. The PRM head further comprises a nonmagnetic layer surrounding the bottom and the at least one side of the PMR pole, an intermediate layer substantially surrounding at least the second portion of the at least one side of the PMR pole, and a hard mask layer adjacent to the first portion of the at least one side of the PMR pole.

Perpendicular magnetic recording head

A perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) head comprises a PMR pole having at least one side, a bottom, and a top wider than the bottom, a first portion of the at least one side being substantially vertical, a second portion of the at least one side being nonvertical, the top portion having a width not greater than one hundred fifty nanometers. The PMR head further comprises a nonmagnetic layer surrounding the bottom and the at least one side of the PMR pole, an intermediate layer substantially surrounding at least the second portion of the at least one side of the PMR pole, and a planarization stop layer adjacent to the first portion of the at least one side of the PMR pole.

A method and system for exposing a plurality of fields on a substrate. The substrate has a center and an edge. The fields include a plurality of rows. The method and system include determining an exposure sequence for the plurality of fields. Each of the plurality of fields has a distance from the center and a placement in the exposure sequence. The placement of a field in the exposure sequence is based on the distance and excludes placing each of the plurality of fields in a row of the plurality of rows next to an adjacent field in the row in combination with placing each of the plurality of rows next to an adjacent row. The method and system also include exposing the plurality of fields in the exposure sequence in order of the placement.

Method and system for exposing a photoresist in a magnetic device

A method of lifting off photoresist beneath an overlayer includes providing a structure including photoresist and depositing an overlayer impenetrable to a liftoff solution over the photoresist and a field region around the structure. The method also includes forming a mask over the structure and ion milling to remove the overlayer in the field region not covered by the mask. The method then includes lifting off the photoresist using the liftoff solution.

Method and apparatus for lifting off photoresist beneath an overlayer

A method and system for providing a PMR pole in a magnetic recording transducer including an intermediate layer are disclosed. The method and system include providing a mask including a line on the intermediate layer. The method further include providing a hard mask layer on the mask and removing the line. Thus, an aperture in the hard mask corresponding to the line is provided. The method and system also include forming a trench in the intermediate layer under the aperture. The trench has a bottom and a top wider than the bottom. The method further includes providing a PMR pole, at least a portion of which resides in the trench.

A method and system for providing a PMR pole in a magnetic recording transducer including an intermediate layer are disclosed. The method and system include providing a mask including a line on the intermediate layer. The line has at least one side, a top, and a bottom. The side(s) have an undercut such that the top of the line is wider than the bottom. The method further include providing a hard mask on the PMR transducer. The hard mask includes an aperture corresponding to the line. Thus, an aperture in the hard mask corresponding to the line is provided. The method and system also include forming a trench in the intermediate layer under the aperture. The trench has a bottom and a top wider than the bottom. The method further includes providing a PMR pole, at least a portion of which resides in the trench.

Method and system for providing a perpendicular magnetic recording head utilizing a mask having an undercut line

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.

Growing community of inventors

Fremont, CA, United States of America

Hongping Yuan