International Business Machines Corporation

Jules David Friedman

Joseph Adam Aboaf

Vincent N Kahwaty

Edward V Denison

Herman Carl Kluge, Ii

Edward Virgil Dennison

Herman C Kluge

Lumdas H Saraf

A multi-element read-write magnetic recording head for recording information on a magnetic tape and for reading recorded information therefrom is provided. The recording head comprises an equal number of associated read elements and write elements to form a two-gap recording head comprising pairs of read and write elements. The two-gap recording head further comprises a first module and a second module, the first and second modules each comprising a plurality of read and write head elements. A first group of read and write heads is configured to perform in a forward direction of movement of the magnetic tape and a second group of read and write heads is configured to perform in a reverse direction of movement of the magnetic tape. One of the modules contains an equal number of forward read heads and reverse write heads and the other of the modules contains an equal number of reverse read heads and forward write heads, to provide decoupling of reading and writing functions and to enable servoing by a given read element of a write element associated therewith. Asymmetry of the magnetic recording head is provided by offsetting leads to the read elements in a given module from leads to said write elements in the same module, while maintaining orthogonality between read and write element leads near the read and write elements. The asymmetry minimizes both inductive and capacitive feedthrough into adjacent readers. As a consequence, noise produced during the writing process is reduced, providing an improved signal-to-noise ratio and thereby permitting same gap servoing.

Asymmetric recording head for same gap servo optimization

A magneto-resistive read/write tape head is provided for reading and writing to tape media along a tape head face. The tape head comprises a plurality of modules, each module comprising a read element and a write element spaced apart and terminating at the tape head face and formed over a substrate. The read element comprises a soft film bias layer and a hard film bias layer butted against the SFB layer. The write element comprises two pole tips spaced apart by a gap. The tape head further includes a plurality of activating conducting coil turns operatively associated with the write element and covered by a cross-linked photoresist and positioned between the gap and one of the pole tips and set back from the tape head face. The tape head has at least one of the following elements: (a) a wear shield between the read element and the write element for limiting wear of the gap between the two pole tips, the wear shield being grounded for decoupling read and write functions of the tape head, for allowing same module read/servo/write functions simultaneously, and for grounding static charge from the tape media; (b) a layer of electrically conductive and corrosion-resis tant material, such as rhodium, under the hard film bias layer to reduce its resistance; and (c) a non-activating dummy coil turn closer to the pole tips than the activating coil turns for defining a forward termination of the cross-linked photoresist between the activating coil turns and the tape head face to thereby provide improved ease of processability.

Piggyback magneto-resistive read/write tape head with optimized process

An arbitrary pattern write head assembly for writing timing-based servo patterns on magnetic storage media is provided, comprising: (a) a first pole piece comprising a substrate comprising a magnetic material, said substrate having a major surface; (b) a plurality of electrically conducting windings formed on the major surface; and (c) a second pole piece formed on the substrate, with a portion thereof formed above the plurality of electrically conducting windings and electrically insulated therefrom, the second pole piece having at least one opening therethrough defining a gap above the electrically conducting windings and the substrate, the second pole piece comprising at least two layers, each layer comprising a magnetic material. A method of batch fabricating servo writer heads is also provided for batch fabrication of servo writer heads at a very low cost. The method enables fabrication of heads capable of azimuthal recording commonly practiced in the video recording art. Hard nitrided Fe/NiFe poletip materials are used to minimize wear in tape head use.

Process for fabricating an arbitrary pattern write head

Arbitrary pattern write head assembly for writing timing-based servo

A method for selectively depositing contacts in semiconductor regions. One set of contact openings is protected by a barrier layer during the metallization of another set of exposed contact openings to improve the cleanliness and reliability of the contacts. The barrier layer is then removed and a second layer of metallization is deposited in both sets of openings. In the preferred embodiment a standard diffusion mask is used to define all contact regions and a screen oxide is thermally grown in each of the contact openings. A blocking photoresist mask is then applied and patterned to expose the oxide in those openings in which a first set of contacts is to be formed. The screen oxide is removed and the first layer of metallization, typically platinum silicide, is then formed. The screen oxide is then removed from the protected contact areas and the second layer of metallization, for example, chrome, aluminum, or other metals or combinations thereof are deposited in all openings, thereby forming one layer of metallurgy in the second set of openings and two layers in the first set.

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Tucson, AZ, United States of America

Jules David Friedman