Western Digital (fremont), Inc.

Masahiro Osugi

Ming Jiang

Guanghong Luo

Ronghui Zhou

Lily Yao

Danning Yang

Feng Q Liu

Jinqiu Zhang

Dujiang Wan

Xiaoyu Yang

Wai-Ming Johnson Kan

Xiaojun Zhang

Krishna Bahadur Chetry

Ning Wu

Degang Cheng

A method provides a magnetic device having an air-bearing surface (ABS) location. A layer including first and second sublayers is provided. The first sublayer includes the ABS location. The second sublayer recessed from the ABS location such that part of the first sublayer is between the second sublayer and the ABS location. The first sublayer has a rear surface oriented at a nonzero, acute angle from a surface perpendicular to the ABS location. A trench is formed in the layer. The trench has a bottom, a top and sidewalls. The sidewalls form a first angle with a direction perpendicular to the bottom at the ABS location. The sidewalls form a second angle with the direction in part of the second sublayer. The second angle is smaller than the first angle. The sidewall angle varies along the rear surface of the first sublayer. A main pole is provided in the trench.

Method for fabricating a magnetic write pole having an improved sidewall angle profile

A method for fabricating a magnetic recording transducer is described. The magnetic recording transducer has an underlayer and at least one layer on the underlayer. The layer(s) are capable of including an aperture that exposes a portion of the underlayer. The method includes providing a neutralized aqueous solution having a chemical buffer therein. The chemical buffer forms a nonionic full film corrosion inhibitor. The method also includes exposing a portion of the magnetic recording transducer including the layer(s) to the neutralized aqueous solution including the chemical buffer. In one aspect this exposure occurs through a chemical mechanical planarization.

Method for providing a magnetic recording transducer using a chemical buffer

A method fabricates a magnetic transducer having air-bearing surface (ABS) location and an intermediate layer having a trench therein. The trench has a shape and location corresponding to a main pole. The method includes depositing at least one main pole layer. A portion of the main pole layer(s) is in the trench. A refill layer is provided on the main pole layer(s). The main pole layer(s) may not be patterned after being provided and before the refill layer is provided. At least the refill layer is planarized. A full-film metal planarization is performed for at least one of the refill layer and the at least one main pole layer. The full-film metal planarization may include a bulk ion mill and/or ion beam scan.

Method for fabricating a magnetic writer using a full-film metal planarization

A process for fabricating a magnetic recording transducer for use in a data storage system comprises providing a substrate, an underlayer and a first nonmagnetic intermediate layer deposited to a first thickness on and in contact with the underlayer, performing a first scanning polishing on a first section of the first intermediate layer to planarize the first section of the first intermediate layer to a second thickness, providing a main pole in the planarized first section of the first intermediate layer, providing a first pattern of photoresist on and in contact with the first section of the first intermediate layer, the pattern comprising an aperture to define a side shield trench, performing a wet etch to remove at least a portion of the first intermediate layer thereby exposing at least one of the plurality of main pole sides, and depositing side shield material in the side shield trench.

Process for fabricating a magnetic pole and shields

A method and system for fabricating a read sensor on a substrate for a read transducer is described. A read sensor stack is deposited on the substrate. A mask is provided on the on the read sensor stack. The mask has a pattern that covers a first portion of the read sensor stack corresponding to the read sensor, covers a second portion of the read sensor stack distal from the read sensor, and exposes a third portion of the read sensor stack between the first and second portions. The read sensor is defined from the read sensor stack. A hard bias layer is deposited. An aperture free mask layer including multiple thicknesses is provided. A focused ion beam scan (FIBS) polishing step is performed on the mask and hard bias layers to remove a portion of the mask and hard bias layers based on the thicknesses.

Method and system for providing a magnetic recording transducer using an ion beam scan polishing planarization

A read sensor for a read transducer is fabricated. The read transducer has field and device regions. A read sensor stack is deposited. A mask covering part of the stack corresponding to the read sensor is provided. The read sensor having inboard and outboard junction angles is defined from the stack in a track width direction. A critical junction (CJ) focused ion beam scan (FIBS) polishing that removes part of the read sensor based on the junction angles is performed. A hard bias structure is deposited and the transducer planarized. A remaining portion of the mask is removed. A stripe height mask covering part of the read sensor and hard bias structure in a stripe height direction is provided. The read sensor stripe height is defined. A tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) FIBS polishing that removes part of the stack in the field region is performed. An insulating layer is provided.

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Fremont, CA, United States of America

Masahiro Osugi