Tdk Corporation

Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Koichi Terunuma

Noriyuki Ito

Koji Shimazawa

Tetsuya Mino

Kosuke Tanaka

Yasufumi Uno

Koji Matsukuma

Tetsuro Sasaki

Katsuya Kanakubo

Yoshihiro Tsuchiya

Akifumi Kamijima

Yoshihiro Kudo

Kenji Inage

Tohru Inoue

Ken-ichi Takano

Toru Inoue

Hitoshi Iwasaki

Kazuhiro Saito

Shigeki Tanemura

Masashi Sahashi

Hiroshi Yamazaki

Hiroaki Kawashima

Masahiro Kondo

Tomoaki Shimizu

Masanori Sakai

Makoto Yoshida

Hiroshi Ikeda

Naoki Ohta

Tetsuya Roppongi

Yuzo Kamiguchi

Isamu Sato

Yoshihiko Yano

Satoshi Miura

Yoshikazu Soeno

Haruyuki Morita

Hiromi Fuke

Joichiro Ezaki

Noboru Yamanaka

Osamu Matsuda

Toshiaki Maeda

Taro Oike

Yuzuru Iwai

Takumi Uesugi

Yoichi Ishida

Jun Shouji

Satoshi Tsukiyama

Fumihiro Hiromatsu

Yuji Ohtsubo

A magnetic head apparatus is provided which is capable of recording data in a recoding layer having high coercive force with high accuracy without heating. A magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus is also provided which has the magnetic head apparatus. A recording head has: a main magnetic pole; a recording-side front-end shield (a return magnetic pole); a recording-side rear-end shield (a return magnetic pole); a main coil for generating a perpendicular recording magnetic field at the main magnetic pole; and an auxiliary coil for generating a longitudinal alternating current magnetic field having a frequency in the microwave band at the main magnetic pole.

Magnetic head apparatus and magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus

A magnetoresistive effective film responds commensurate with an external magnetic field. Magnetic domain-controlling films apply a perpendicular biasing magnetic field to the magnetoresistive effective film. The forefronts of first electrode films constituting a pair of electrode films are overlaid on the magnetoresistive effective film, and the forefront surfaces of the first electrode films are risen at an inner angle of &#x3b8;1. Second electrode films are overlaid on the first electrode films, and the forefront surfaces of the second electrode films are risen at an inner angle of &#x3b8;2 smaller than the inner angle &#x3b8;1.

Thin film magnetic head, magnetic head device, magnetic recording/reproducing device and method for fabricating a thin film magnetic head

In a method of forming a patterned thin film, first, an etching stopper film and a film to be patterned are formed in this order on a base layer. Next, a patterned first film is formed on the film to be patterned. Next, a second film is formed over an entire surface on top of the film to be patterned and the first film. Then, by removing the first film, an etching mask is obtained from the second film formed on the film to be patterned. The film to be patterned is selectively etched through dry etching using the etching mask. A patterned thin film having a groove is thereby obtained.

Method of forming patterned thin film and method of fabricating micro device

A pair of domain control layers are disposed on both sides of the track width direction of the MR film so as to be separated from each other such that the MR film is held therebetween, and apply a longitudinal magnetic field to the MR film (free layer). The MR film is flanked by the domain control layers, each including a layer structure constituted by a base layer, a ferromagnetic layer, and a hard magnetic layer. The base layer causes the hard magnetic layer to have a magnetization direction aligning with an in-plane direction, so as to enhance the coercive force of the hard magnetic layer.

Thin-film magnetic head, head gimbal assembly, and hard disk drive

A longitudinal bias magnetic field control layer applies a counter bias magnetic field to a soft magnetic layer that is antiparallel (in opposite direction) to a longitudinal bias magnetic field. A magnitude of the counter bias magnetic field applied to the soft magnetic layer by the longitudinal bias magnetic field control layer is set smaller than that of the longitudinal bias magnetic field at a track center portion of the soft magnetic layer applied by a pair of bias magnetic field applying layers. A substantial longitudinal bias magnetic field is substantially applied to the soft magnetic layer in the same direction as that of the longitudinal bias magnetic field, and a magnitude of the substantial longitudinal bias magnetic field is maximum at both end portions of the soft magnetic layer and is weakened at the center portion of the soft magnetic layer.

Thin film magnetic head, head gimbal assembly, and hard disk drive

At both end portions of at least a soft magnetic layer of a magneto-resistive effect film, a pair of bias magnetic field applying layers are disposed for applying a longitudinal bias magnetic field to the soft magnetic layer via magnetic underlayers. Further, mutual lattice point-to-point distances in the plane where each magnetic underlayer and the corresponding bias magnetic field applying layer are mated, are substantially equalized to each other. Therefore, a coercive force Hc in an in-plane direction (direction parallel to a film surface) of each bias magnetic field applying layer can be maintained at a high level so that even when further gap narrowing or track narrowing is aimed, the bias magnetic field applying layers can act to apply an effective bias magnetic field, i.e. can act to suppress occurrence of the Barkhausen noise.

A thin-film magnetic head comprises a magnetoresistive film, a pair of magnetic domain control layers for applying a bias magnetic field to the magnetoresistive film, a pair of electrode layers for supplying a current to the magnetoresistive film, first and second shield layers for shielding the magnetoresistive film, a first insulating layer disposed between the magnetoresistive film and magnetic domain control layer and the first shield layer, and a second insulating layer disposed between the magnetoresistive film and electrode layer and the second shield layer. The shield layers have a distance therebetween shorter at a position where the electrode layer and magnetic domain control layer are laminated than that at a position where the magnetoresistive film is located. While the surface of the magnetic domain control layer on the first insulating layer side at the position where the electrode film and magnetic domain control layer are laminated is taken as a reference surface, the distance from the reference surface to the surface of the electrode layer on the second insulating layer side is set shorter than the distance from the reference surface to the surface of the magnetoresistive film on the second insulating layer side.

Thin-film magnetic head, thin-film magnetic head assembly, storage device, and method of manufacturing thin-film magnetic head

Provided are a thin film magnetic head capable of inhibiting an excessive temperature rise while reducing its size in accordance with a higher recording density, and obtaining a higher read output, a method of manufacturing the same, and a magnetic disk drive using the thin film magnetic head. A heat dissipation layer for transferring heat generated in a magnetic transducer film to outside is disposed adjacent to the magnetic transducer film on a side, the side being opposite to a side facing a recording medium. In a gap layer for electrically insulating between the magnetic transducer film and a pair of shield layers, a portion of the gap layer in contact with an end surface of the magnetic transducer film on a side, the side being opposite to a side facing the recording medium is formed so as to have a thin thickness ranging from 2 nm to 30 nm inclusive. Thereby, the heat generated in the magnetic transducer film can be more effectively dissipated than previously possible, and a temperature rise can be inhibited. Therefore, an increase in electrical resistance can be inhibited, and a higher read output can be obtained.

Thin film magnetic head including heat dissipation, method of manufacturing the same, and magnetic disk drive

A first and a second longitudinal bias-applying films are formed via a first mask at both sides of a magnetoresistive effective element film so that the difference in surface level between the magnetoresistive effective element film and the first and the second longitudinal bias-applying films is set within &#xb1;20 nm. Then, a first and a second electrode films are formed so as to cover edge portions of the magnetoresistive effective element film and the first and the second longitudinal bias-applying films.

Method for fabricating thin film magnetic head

Thin film magnetic head including a heat dissipation layer, method of manufacturing the same and magnetic disk drive

A magnetoresisive device comprises: an MR element having two surfaces that face toward opposite directions and two side portions that face toward opposite directions; two bias field applying layers that are located adjacent to the side portions of the MR element and apply a longitudinal bias magnetic field to the MR element; and two electrode layers that are located adjacent to one of the surfaces of each of the bias field applying layers and feed a sense current to the MR element. The electrode layers overlap the one of the surfaces of the MR element. The magnetoresistive device further comprises two nonconductive layers that are located between the one of the surfaces of the MR element and the two electrode layers and located in two regions that include ends of the MR element near the side portions thereof, the two regions being parts of the region in which the electrode layers face toward the one of the surfaces of the MR element.

Method of manufacturing magnetoresistive device capable of preventing a sense current from flowing into dead regions of a magnetoresistive element, and method of manufacturing thin-film magnetic head

A first magnetic film is formed in a primary pattern which is larger than its definitive pattern and of which edges are located within frames to be used in a frame-plating method for the second magnetic film after forming the first pole portion and the gap film. Then, the second magnetic film is formed by the frame-plating method, and the first magnetic film is etched into the definitive pattern through the second magnetic film as a mask.

Method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head

A first magnetic shielding film is disposed on one surface of a magnetoresistive effective film in a thickness direction thereof, and a second magnetic shielding film is disposed on the other surface of the magnetoresistive effective film in said thickness direction thereof. The antiferromagnetic films are disposed in between the first magnetic shielding film and the second magnetic shielding film, adjacent to and bonded through exchange interaction with at least one of the first magnetic shielding film and the second magnetic shielding film.

Magnetoresistive effective element, thin film magnetic head, magnetic head device and magnetic recording/reproducing device

An exchange-coupled film has a ferromagnetic layer sandwich comprising a first ferromagnetic layer containing a ferromagnetic material of the body-centered cubic structure and a pair of second ferromagnetic layers containing a ferromagnetic material of the face-centered cubic structure and formed on respective sides of the first ferromagnetic layer; and an antiferromagnetic layer containing a disordered alloy and formed on one of the second ferromagnetic layers. It yields sufficient exchange coupling energy even in smaller thickness of the antiferromagnetic layer than before, whereby it becomes feasible to decrease the thickness of the exchange-coupled film.

Exchange-coupled film, spin valve film, thin film magnetic head, magnetic head apparatus, and magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus

A magnetoresisive device comprises an MR element, bias field applying layers located adjacent to the side portions of the MR element, and two electrode layers that feed a sense current to the MR element. The electrode layers overlap one of the surfaces of the MR element. The total overlap amount of the two electrode layers is smaller than 0.3 &#x3bc;m. The MR element is a spin-valve GMR element. The MR element incorporates a base layer, a free layer, a spacer layer, a pinned layer, an antiferromagnetic layer, and a cap layer that are stacked in this order. The pinned layer includes a nonmagnetic spacer layer, and two ferromagnetic layers that sandwich this spacer layer.

Magnetoresistive device in a thin-film magnetic head and method of manufacturing same having particular electrode overlay configuration

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Tokyo, Japan

Koichi Terunuma