Western Digital (fremont), Inc.

Read Rite Corporation

Grandis, Inc.

Renesas Technology Corp.

Renesas Electronics Corporation

Lien-Chang Wang

Yiming Huai

Donghong Li

Eugene Youjun Chen

Yan Chen

Tao Pan

Zhupei Shi

Hugh Craig Hiner

Lieping Zhong

Ming Jiang

Ching-Huang Lu

Zhitao Diao

Yong Shen

Ronald A Barr

Kenneth E Knapp

Billy W Crue, Jr

William D Jensen

James Spallas

Benjamin P Law

Xiao Luo

Hongzhou Jiang

Jinqiu Zhang

Ying Hong

Steven C Rudy

Ronghui Zhou

Ming Zhao

Durga P Ravipati

Weimin Si

Jinwen Wang

Syed A Hossain

Lily Yao

Yun-Lin Hsiao

Jianxin Fang

Alex Panchula

Bertha Higa-Baral

Durga I Ravipati

David John Seagle

Mohamad Towfik Krounbi

Shaoping Li

Yingjian Chen

Ming Mao

Feng Q Liu

Tai Min

Gerardo Bertero

Qunwen Leng

Ut Tran

Shuichi Ueno

Yunfei Ding

Takeharu Kuroiwa

Ge Yi

Mark David Thomas

Chih-Huang Lai

Shihai He

Billy Wayne Crue

Haruo Furuta

Ryoji Matsuda

Xiaotian Zhou

Tatsuya Fukumura

Xiaoyu Yang

Changhe Shang

Wencheng Su

Henry H Yuan

Bill Crue

Qing He

Mingjun Yu

Yingbo Zhang

Yunju Ra

Guolun Hao

Song Pang

A method of forming a wrapped-around shielded perpendicular magnetic recording writer pole is disclosed. A structure comprising a leading shield layer and an intermediate layer disposed over the leading shield layer is provided, the intermediate layer comprising a pole material and a dielectric material. A trench is formed in the dielectric material. A non-magnetic layer in the trench is removed via an ion beam etching process. A seed layer is deposited in the trench and over the pole material. A magnetic material comprising a side shield layer is deposited on at least a portion of the seed layer.

Method of forming a fully wrapped-around shielded PMR writer pole

A method provides a magnetic transducer having an air-bearing surface (ABS) location. An intermediate layer having a substantially flat bottom surface is provided. A trench is formed in the intermediate layer. The trench is wider in yoke region than in the pole tip region. The trench has a first depth in the yoke region and a second depth less than the first depth in the pole tip region. A portion of the intermediate layer is at the bottom of the trench at the ABS location. A nonmagnetic layer is provided. The nonmagnetic layer fills part of the trench in the pole tip region such that the trench has a third depth less than the second depth at the ABS location. A main pole is provided. The main pole has a leading bevel adjacent to nonmagnetic layer in the portion of the pole tip region of the trench.

Method for fabricating a magnetic write pole having a leading edge bevel

Methods for manufacturing electronic lapping guides (ELGs) for writer heads that closely track the pole formation of the writer heads are provided. Once such method includes forming an ELG adjacent to a writer head that is subjected to substantially all of the sub-processing actions associated with the pole formation of the writer head, lapping the pole material, measuring a resistance of the ELG during the lapping, comparing the measured resistance with a target resistance, and terminating the lapping based on the comparison of the measured resistance with the target resistance.

Methods for manufacturing electronic lapping guides for writer heads that closely track pole formation of the writer heads

A method and system provide a magnetic transducer having an air-bearing surface (ABS) location. An intermediate is provided. The intermediate layer includes a first sublayer and a second sublayer in at least a side shield region. The first sublayer has a first sublayer top. The second sublayer is on the first sublayer top in the shield region. A trench is formed in the intermediate layer using at least one etch. A main pole is provided in the trench. The main pole has a bottom and a top wider than the bottom. The first sublayer top is between the top and the bottom of the main pole. At least a portion of the second sublayer is removed in the shield region. At least one half side shield is provided. A bottom of the at least one half side shield being between the top and the bottom of the main pole.

Method for fabricating a magnetic writer having half-side shields

A method fabricates a magnetic transducer having a nonmagnetic layer and an ABS location corresponding to an ABS. A pole trench is provided in the nonmagnetic layer. The pole trench has a pole tip region and a yoke region. At least one pole material is provided. The pole material(s) have an external protrusion that is above and external to the pole trench. A hard mask that covers at least the external protrusion is provided. A portion of the nonmagnetic layer adjacent to the pole trench is removed to form a side shield trench. At least one side shield material is provided. A portion of the side shield material(s) are adjacent to the hard mask and fill at least a portion of the side shield trench. The side shield material(s) and the pole material(s) are planarized to form at least one side shield and a main pole.

Method for providing a magnetic recording transducer using a combined main pole and side shield CMP for a wraparound shield scheme

A magnetic transducer having an air-bearing surface is described. The magnetic transducer includes a nonmagnetic layer on an underlayer, a pole having a plurality of sidewalls, a gap layer on the sidewalls, a seed layer and at least one side shield. The nonmagnetic layer has an aperture therein. The aperture is free of magnetic inclusions at the ABS. The pole is on the underlayer and within the aperture. The seed layer is for the side shield(s) and resides on the gap layer, a portion of the underlayer and a portion of the nonmagnetic layer. The side shield(s) residing on the seed layer and in the aperture. The side shield(s) are free of undercuts at the ABS.

Method for providing a side shield for a magnetic recording transducer

A method and system provide a magnetic transducer having an air-bearing surface (ABS) and at least two read sensors. The magnetic transducer also includes a first read shield, a first read sensor, a middle shield, a second read sensor, a second read shield, a first electric gap and a second electric gap. The first read sensor is in a down track direction from the first read shield. The middle shield is in a down track direction from the first read sensor. The middle shield is between the first read sensor and the second read sensor. A first portion of the first electric gap is in a direction opposite to the down track direction from the first read sensor. The first read sensor and the second read sensor are between the first electric gap and the second electric gap in a cross-track direction.

Electric gaps and method for making electric gaps for multiple sensor arrays

A method fabricates a magnetic transducer. A sacrificial leading shield is provided on an etch stop layer. A nonmagnetic layer is provided on the sacrificial leading shield. A pole trench is formed in the nonmagnetic layer and on the sacrificial leading shield. A pole is formed. The pole has a bottom and a top wider than the bottom in a pole tip region. Part of the pole in the pole tip region is in the pole trench and at the ABS location. The sacrificial leading shield and part of the nonmagnetic layer adjacent to the pole are removed. An air bridge thus resides in place of the sacrificial leading shield between the portion of the pole and the etch stop layer. As least one shield layer is provided. The at least one shield layer substantially fills the air bridge and form a monolithic shield including a leading and side shields.

Method for providing a monolithic shield for a magnetic recording transducer

Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a magnetic storage device comprising a TMR element, which comprises a step for forming an insulting film on an interlayer insulating film provided with a wiring layer, an opening formation step for forming an opening in the insulating film so that the wiring layer is exposed therefrom, a metal layer formation step for forming a metal layer on the insulating layer so that the opening is filled therewith, a CMP step for polishing and removing the metal layer on the insulating layer by a CMP method and forming the metal layer remaining in the opening into a lower electrode, and a step for forming a TMR element on the lower electrode. Also disclosed is a magnetic storage device comprising an interlayer insulating film provided with a wiring layer, an insulating film formed on the interlayer insulating film, an opening formed in the insulating film so that the wiring layer is exposed therefrom, a barrier metal layer provided so as to cover the inner surface of the opening, a lower electrode formed on the barrier metal so as to fill the opening, and a TMR element formed on the lower electrode.

Method for manufacturing magnetic storage device and magnetic storage device

A method or forming a wrapped-around shielded perpendicular magnetic recording writer pole is disclosed. A structure comprising a leading shield layer and an intermediate layer disposed over the leading shield layer is provided, the intermediate layer comprising a pole material and a dielectric material. A trench is formed in the dielectric material. A non-magnetic layer in the trench is removed via an ion beam etching process. A seed layer is deposited in the trench and over the pole material. A magnetic material comprising a side shield layer is deposited on at least a portion of the seed layer.

A method for fabricating a side shield for a magnetic transducer is described. The transducer has a nonmagnetic layer, a pole, a gap layer between the pole sidewalls and the nonmagnetic layer, and a hard mask having a hard mask aperture. A removal mask having a removal aperture exposing part of the pole and hard mask aperture is provided. The removal mask covers part of the hard mask aperture and the part of the hard mask. A trench in the nonmagnetic layer is formed by removing part of the nonmagnetic layer. A seed layer is deposited. A deposition mask having a deposition aperture therein is provided. The deposition aperture exposes part of the trench and part of the nonmagnetic layer. Side shield material(s) are deposited. Part of the side shield material(s) external to the deposition trench are removed. A remaining portion of the side shield material forms the side shield.

A method is provided for fabricating a read element with leads that overlay a top surface of a sensor of the read element. The method includes forming a mask over a sensor layer, then using the mask to define the sensor from the sensor layer. The mask is then narrowed and a lead layer is formed that overlays both ends of the top surface of the sensor without covering a center portion of the top surface.

Self-aligned method for fabricating a high density GMR read element

A method and system for providing a magnetic memory is disclosed. The method and system include providing a plurality of magnetic storage cells in an array, a plurality of bit lines, and at least one bias structure. Each of the plurality of magnetic storage cells includes at least one magnetic element having an easy axis and being programmable by at least one write current driven through the magnetic element. The plurality of bit lines corresponds to the plurality of magnetic storage cells. The at least one bias structure is magnetically coupled with the at least one magnetic element in each of the plurality of magnetic storage cells. The at least one bias structure provides a bias field in a direction greater than zero degrees and less than one hundred eighty degrees from the easy axis.

Method and system for providing field biased magnetic memory devices

A method and system for providing a magnetic memory is described. The method and system include providing magnetic memory cells, local and global word lines, bit lines, and source lines. Each magnetic memory cell includes a magnetic element and a selection device connected with the magnetic element. The magnetic element is programed by first and second write currents driven through the magnetic element in first and second directions. The local word lines are connected with the selection device of and have a first resistivity. Each global word line corresponds to a portion of the local word lines and has a resistivity lower than the first resistivity. The bit lines are connected with the magnetic element. The source lines are connected with the selection device. Each source line corresponds to a more than one of the magnetic memory cells and carries the first and second write currents.

Method and system for providing a magnetic memory structure utilizing spin transfer

Magnetic multilayer structures, such as magnetic or magnetoresistive tunnel junctions (MTJs) and spin valves, having one or more spin diffusion layers to diffuse the electron spins outside the MTJ or spin valve structure to reduce the spin transfer switching current for switching the free layer.

Current-switched spin-transfer magnetic devices with reduced spin-transfer switching current density

Growing community of inventors

Fremont, CA, United States of America

Lien-Chang Wang