The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 21, 2004
Filed:
Jul. 15, 2002
Detlef Gador, Mainz, DE;
Cherngye Hwang, San Jose, CA (US);
Eun Kyoung Row, San Jose, CA (US);
Ning Shi, San Jose, CA (US);
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands N.V., Amsterdam, NL;
Abstract
A method for fabricating a transducer with landing pads without edge fences is described. Preferably an adhesion layer and then the pad layer are deposited in voids in a photoresist. The thickness of the masking layer on the surface of the pad layer should be sufficient to protect pad layer during the subsequent ashing step, but the thickness of the masking material at the sidewalls on the pad layer fences should be thin enough so that the fences are not protected during ashing. After stripping the photoresist material, the structure is ashed preferably by an oxygen-containing plasma. The ashing process, with assistance from mechanical abrasion, removes the fence structures on the pad layer, since the thinner masking layer at the sidewalls provides less protection to the fence structures than is provided to the bulk of the pad layer where the masking layer is thicker.