Hitachi, Ltd.

Hgst Netherlands, B.v.

Takao Yonekawa

Hiroyuki Suzuki

Hideaki Tanaka

Yuzuru Hosoe

Akira Kato

Yoshibumi Matsuda

Masukazu Igarashi

Yotsuo Yahisa

Naoki Kodama

Tsuneo Suganuma

Atsushi Kato

Koji Sakamoto

Kouichi Nishioka

Mitsuhiro Shoda

Katsuo Abe

Tokuho Takagaki

Ichiro Oodake

Norihiro Ookawa

Naoto Endo

Joe Inagaki

Kouji Okazaki

Enji Fujita

Atsushi Katou

According to one embodiment, a magnetic data system includes a magnetic disk medium, a magnetic head having a writer element and/or a reader element, an exothermic resistor element for thermal fly-height control (TFC), a contact detection sensor having a resistor element and at least one contact detection electrode, and an insulating film on a medium facing side of the magnetic head to protect the contact detection sensor, the insulating film having a thickness greater than the contact detection electrode, a drive mechanism for passing the magnetic disk medium over the magnetic head, and a controller electrically coupled to the magnetic head for controlling operation of the magnetic head, wherein the controller adjusts magnetic spacing between the magnetic head and the magnetic disk medium via thermal distortion of the exothermic resistor element. The contact detection sensor may be used as a second TFC resistor element.

Low clearance magnetic head having a contact detection sensor

A method for manufacturing a magnetic sensor that decreases area resistance and decreases MR ratio of the sensor by eliminating any oxide formation in the capping layer of the sensor. The method includes forming a sensor stack having a multi-layer capping structure formed there-over. The multi-layer capping structure can include first, second, third and fourth layers. The second layer is constructed of a material that is not easily oxidized and which is different from the first layer. The sensor can be formed using a mask that includes a carbon hard mask. After the sensor stack has been formed by ion milling, the hard mask can be removed by reactive ion etching. Then, a cleaning process is performed to remove the second, third and fourth layers of the capping layer structure using an end point detection method such as secondary ion mass spectrometry to detect the presence of the second layer.

Method of manufacturing a magnetic read sensor having a low resistance cap structure

A magnetic recording medium has a substrate made of a nonmetal nonmagnetic material whose coefficient of linear expansion lies within a range from 0.000013/deg to 0.0001/deg. A magnetic layer is formed on the substrate as a thin polycrystalline film or a thin amorphous film. The magnetic layer has Co as a main component, which exhibits a negative magnetostrictive constant so that its coercive force rises in the direction of compressive strain. The magnetic layer is subjected to an in-plane compressive strain from the substrate due to a difference between the coefficient of thermal expansion of the substrate and the magnetic layer so that high coercivity is obtained in the magnetic layer.

Magnetic recording medium

A magnetic recording medium and magnetic recording apparatus which can provide a high output level and a low noise level are disclosed. A magnetic recording medium includes a multilayer structure of magnetic alloy thin films containing Co, and at least one paramagnetic intermediate region or oxygen-rich region disposed between the magnetic layers. The intermediate region reduces the magnetic interaction between the magnetic layers without the degradation of crystallinity of the magnetic layers. As a result, a magnetic recording medium having such a structure shows low noise performance and a high recording density.

Magnetic recording medium and magnetic recording apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Odawara, Japan

Takao Yonekawa