Tdk Corporation

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Tetsuya Mino

Koichi Terunuma

Yasufumi Uno

Koji Matsukuma

Atsushi Yamaguchi

Seiji Yari

Katsuya Kanakubo

Daisuke Miyauchi

Noriyuki Ito

Shigeru Ichihara

Kazuya Maekawa

Masahiro Kondo

Junichi Sato

Kei Hirata

Tetsuya Roppongi

Kiyoshi Noguchi

Kazuo Ishizaki

Shuichi Okawa

Osamu Matsuda

Akio Iijima

Toru Inoue

Naoki Shirakawa

Kazuhiko Endo

Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Jun-ichi Hokushin

A method comprising: supplying a gas whose water concentration has been controlled to become smaller than 1 PPB, whose oxygen partial pressure has been controlled to become lower than 10atm by a water/oxygen molecule discharging apparatus into the interior of a reaction chamber and carrying out a dehydration/deoxidation process in the interior of said reaction chamber so as to control water vapor partial pressure to become lower than 10atm; depositing a metal film on a substrate by supplying a carrier gas or a plasma excitation gas whose water concentration has been controlled to become smaller than 1 PPB, whose oxygen partial pressure has been controlled to become lower than 10atm into the interior of said reaction chamber; forming an insulating film on the wafer by oxidizing the metal film in a low-oxygen atmosphere whose oxygen partial pressure has been controlled to become lower than 10atm.

Thin film depositing method

The soft magnetic film takes its hard axis along the direction in which a magnetic field is generated and its easy axis along a direction perpendicular to the direction of the writer magnetic field. The magnetic bias film applies a magnetic bias along the easy axis to the soft magnetic film.

Perpendicular magnetic recording element having stacked FM and AFM films applying magnetic bias along easy axis of soft magnetic film

An electroplated magnetic thin film consisting of an electroplated film of Fe&#x2014;Co alloy containing Fe by an amount of 52&#x2013;86 wt % and having a highly packed fine crystal grain structure, a flat and glossy surface, a high saturation magnetic flux density not less than 2.1 T, a low coercive force of 5&#x2013;10 Oe, and being particularly suitable as a pole portion of a thin film magnetic head is proposed. The electroplated magnetic thin film is deposited on a substrate by an electroplating process with a pulsatory current or direct current having a current density of 3&#x2013;120 mA/cmwhile using an electroplating bath containing one or both of sulfate salt and hydrochloric salt serving as supply sources of Fe ions and Co ions, saccharin sodium serving as a stress relaxation agent by an amount not less than 1 g/l, boric acid as a pH buffer agent, ammonium chloride as an electrically conductivity salt, and sodium lauryl sulfate as a surfactant.

Electroplated magnetic thin film, method of manufacturing the same, electroplating bath and 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 top pole layer in a write head includes, in a pole portion, a first layer having surfaces one of which is adjacent to a write gap layer, a second layer having surfaces one of which is adjacent to the other surface of the first layer, and a third layer having surfaces one of which is adjacent to the other surface of the second layer. The first to third layers have different saturation flux densities such that the closer the layer to the write gap layer, the higher saturation flux density.

Thin-film magnetic head and method of manufacturing same

Soft magnetic thin film and thin film magnetic head using the same

A track width defining layer for defining a write track width of a thin-film magnetic head is made of a CoNiFe film formed through electroplating. The CoNiFe film contains 60 to 75 weight % cobalt, 10 to 20 weight % nickel, and 10 to 20 weight % iron, and has a crystal structure that is a mixture of a body-centered cubic structure phase and a face-centered cubic structure phase, in which Ib/If falls within the range of 0.3 to 0.7 inclusive where Ib represents the intensity of an X-ray diffracted from a (110)-plane of the body-centered cubic structure and If represents the intensity of an X-ray diffracted from a (111)-plane of the face-centered cubic structure. The pH of a plating bath for forming the CoNiFe film through electroplating is adjusted to 3.0 to 4.0 inclusive.

Cobalt-nickel-iron alloy thin film and method of forming the same, and thin-film magnetic head and method of manufacturing the same

The invention is a method of manufacturing thin film magnetic heads usable for magnetic recording and reproducing drive devices such as magnetic disk drive devices. The method is characterized by forming a first magnetic film in a primary pattern which is larger than its definitive pattern and of which its edges are located within frames which are used in a frame-plating method for a second magnetic film. The second magnetic film is then formed by the frame-plating method and the first magnetic film is etched into its definitive pattern by using the second magnetic film as a mask.

In a method of forming a track width defining layer including a magnetic pole portion, a base film is initially formed on a write gap layer. The base film includes a first layer made of a magnetic material having a saturation magnetic flux density of 1.8 T or more, and a second layer formed on the first layer and made of a magnetic material. The magnetic material forming the second layer is a material containing Fe or Ni as a main component and without containing Co. Then, a frame having an opening of a shape matching with the track width defining layer is formed on the second layer. Subsequently, the track width defining layer is formed within the opening by electroplating, using the base film as an electrode.

Thin-film magnetic head and method of manufacturing same, head gimbal assembly and hard disk drive

A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, includes the steps of: forming, on a lower auxiliary pole, a three-layer pole tip structure consisting of a lower pole tip element, a recording gap layer and an upper pole tip element; depositing a lower insulating layer on the three-layer pole tip structure; polishing the lower insulating layer by chemical-mechanical polishing so that a top surface of the lower insulating layer is leveled lower than a top of the three-layer pole tip structure over at least a region within which a coil conductor is formed; forming the coil conductor on the lower insulating layer; forming an upper insulating to cover the coil conductor; and forming an upper auxiliary pole so that a part of which contacts to the upper pole tip element.

Method of manufacturing thin-film magnetic head

A method of patterning at least one object layer, includes a step of forming a mask on the object layer, and a step of selectively etching the object layer using the mask. The mask is made of a magnetic metallic compound with a basic metal of nickel or cobalt containing at least group 3B element and/or group 5B element.

Patterning method using mask and manufacturing method for composite type thin film magnetic head using the patterning method

A manufacturing method of a composite type thin-film magnetic head with a reading head element and an inductive writing head element, includes a step of forming the reading head element and its lead conductor layers on a first insulation layer, a step of forming a second insulation layer to cover the reading head element and the lead conductor layers, a step of forming a second shield layer on the second insulation layer, a step of forming a third insulation layer, and a step of forming via holes and a back gap hole. The via holes and back gap hole forming step is executed by reactive ion etching (RIE) for simultaneously removing the second insulation layer and the third insulation layer located at the via holes and the third insulation layer located at the back gap hole.

Manufacturing method of composite type thin-film magnetic head

The invention provides a thin film magnetic head including a first pole portion having depressed portion that is formed therein. The depressed portion descends, backward within the first pole portion, at a first inclination angle &thgr; from a first inclination starting point P . Then, an insulating film is filled up in the depressed portion so that it can be located up to the upper side of the surface of the first pole and have an inclined surface in the side of a medium opposing surface. Additionally, a first magnetic film of a second pole portion can have a larger saturated magnetic flux density than a second magnetic film of the second pole portion, and can include an inclined portion with a second inclination angle &thgr; from a second inclination starting point P

Thin film magnetic head including a first pole portion having a depressed portion for receiving a coil

A first magnetic film to constitute a first yoke part and a first pole part is formed in a given pattern on a substrate, and a write gap film is formed on the part corresponding to the first pole portion of the first magnetic film. Then, a second magnetic film having a second pole portion and a second yoke part is formed on the write gap film by a photolithography so that the second pole portion can have a width of 1.5-2.5 &mgr;m. Thereafter, the sides of the second pole portion are etched by an ion beam etching method to narrow its width, and the write gap film is removed by using, as a mask, the second pole portion to expose the first magnetic film. Subsequently, the exposed first magnetic film is partially removed to form the first pole portion and thereby a thin film magnetic head having a pole portion with a track width of not more than 1 &mgr;m beyond the limit of the photolithography is produced.

Method of manufacturing thin film magnetic head

A thin film magnetic head includes a recording gap layer, and lower and upper magnetic pole layers made of polycrystalline magnetic substances, deposited to sandwich the recording gap layer. An average particle size D of crystal substances at least in a region of the upper magnetic pole layer, near the recording gap layer with respect to a recording track width W is set to D&lE;W/20.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Tetsuya Mino