Read-Rite Smi Corporation

Naoto Matono

Tomihito Miyazaki

Tatsuya Shiromoto

Kenji Komaki

Hirohiko Kamimura

Ryuichiro Yoshizaki

A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head includes forming a recording gap layer of a non-alumina base nonmagnetic material on a lower magnetic pole layer, the lower magnetic pole layer being composed of materials that are milled at the same rate. An upper magnetic pole layer is formed on the recording gap layer, and a single piece of equipment is used to trim the lower magnetic pole layer and pattern the recording magnetic gap layer such that the lower magnetic pole layer has a width that is substantially the same as that of the upper magnetic pole layer. The recording gap layer and the upper and lower half-gap layers are then removed over a region of the underlying substrate. Prescribed areas of tan air-bearing surface (ABS) are then etched to form a slider shape having a protruding part and a depressed part, the ABS and the side surface having a common edge such that the depressed part along the common edge extends into, but not beyond, the region.

Method of manufacturing a magnetic head device

Prevention of the formation of unwanted profiles in the ABS surface by etching of the slider ABS surface, even when gap layers are formed from non-alumina-base nonmagnetic materials differing from the component material of the substrate. Numerous thin film magnetic head elements, consisting of multiple layers including magnetic gap layers composed of nonmagnetic materials, are formed in a lattice array on the surface of a wafer. In the process of formation of these elements, the component materials of the magnetic gap layers existing in the region to be etched in order to form the slider shape are removed in advance. The wafer on the surface of which the elements are formed is cut into individual head blocks, and the surfaces opposing the magnetic recording media, consisting of a cut surface of said head block, are formed into a slider shape by etching.

Thin film magnetic head including nonmagnetic and magnetic layers with similar milling rates

A compound thin film magnetic head in which the upper shield of the readout MR head also serves as the lower magnetic film of the write inductive head. The upper shield has a layered structure including a shield part of soft magnetic material functioning as a shield to magnetically shield the MR head, a lower pole part and transition part of soft magnetic material functioning as a write magnetic pole opposing the upper pole of the inductive head, and a nonmagnetic separation layer to magnetically separate these. Between the lower pole part and the transition part, an additional nonmagnetic separation layer can be provided. The shield part can be configured from multiple magnetic films formed in layers and enclosing a nonmagnetic separation layer.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Naoto Matono