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:
Feb. 14, 2006
Filed:
Jan. 14, 2003
Ralph W. Cross, Lyons, CO (US);
Ralph W. Cross, Lyons, CO (US);
Maxtor Corporation, Longmont, CO (US);
Abstract
A process for manufacturing a GMR read element of a read/write head for a disk drive having pattern exchange biasing for longitudinal stabilization. An in situ or ex situ GMR anneal of the pinned layer occurs after only the AFM pinning layer and the first pinned layer have been deposited. After the anneal, the upper surface of the first pinned layer is milled with low energy ions to remove oxidation and SIMS inspection determines the amount of oxidation removed and the amount of surface modification required for smoothing. After this, the remaining layers are deposited through the exchange bias layer. A second anneal is then performed at a somewhat lower temperature than the GMR anneal. In this manner, the entire stack is not subjected to the GMR anneal, the upper surface of the first pinned layer can be optimized, and the interface between the free layer and the exchange biased layer is not disturbed.