JPH10105920A - Method for manufacturing thin-film magnetic head - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To provide a method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head capable of preventing occurrence of defective products due to a change in magnetic dimensions of a pole layer and improving characteristics, and protecting the upper surface of a substrate (1). A plating base 13 is laminated via the layer 2, and a resist layer 21 is formed on an upper surface thereof. In the material of such a resist layer, by exposure and development processing,
A tapered hole is used. The resist layer is exposed and developed to form a hole 21a having a tapered cross section, and the first lower pole layer 3a is formed in the hole by electroplating. Then, the resist layer is removed, the surface of the plating base is exposed, and the plating base is removed using an ion mill. At this time, since the lower magnetic pole layer has a tapered cross section, even if the material of the plating base is redeposited on the side surface of the lower magnetic pole layer, the re-adhered matter is removed by the ion mill. Therefore, defective products in which the magnetic dimensions of the pole layer have changed are not manufactured.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head used for a magnetic recording device such as an HDD or a computer. More specifically, the present invention relates to an inductive magnetic head and a readable / writable magnetic head. The present invention relates to a method for forming a magnetic pole layer and a coil layer in a write section of an MR type magnetic head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one mode of a thin film magnetic head, there is an inductive type magnetic head. FIG. 5 shows the structure of such an inductive magnetic head. As shown in the figure, a protective layer 2 is formed by sputtering alumina on the upper surface of a substrate 1 made of AlTiC or the like, and a first lower magnetic pole layer 3a and a second lower magnetic pole layer 3b are sequentially laminated on the upper surface. Form. The first lower magnetic pole layer 3a and the second
The lower magnetic pole layer 3 is formed from the lower magnetic pole layer 3b. In addition,
The reason why the layers are divided into two layers in this way is to reduce the thickness of the tip side and increase the thickness of the other parts.
If the thickness is uniform, it can be composed of one layer.

On the exposed surface of the substrate 1 and on the upper surface of the lower magnetic pole layer 3, a nonmagnetic material layer 5 serving as a gap layer is formed. Further, the first lower insulating layer 6a is formed on the upper surface of the nonmagnetic material layer 5 at a predetermined position that does not overlap the lower magnetic pole layer 3 in the vertical direction.
Further, a second lower insulating layer 6b having a predetermined pattern is formed on the upper surfaces of the nonmagnetic material layer 5 and the first lower insulating layer 6a. Then, the lower insulating layer 6 is formed from the first lower insulating layer 6a and the second lower insulating layer 6b. The reason why the two layers are divided in this way is that the height of the final surface position of the second lower insulating layer 6b is adjusted.

Further, a coil layer 8 having a predetermined number of turns and an intermediate insulating layer 9 covering the coil layer 8 are formed on the lower insulating layer 6. The coil layer 8 and the intermediate insulating layer 9 are formed in a predetermined number of layers, and the upper and lower coil layers 8 are connected to each other at predetermined positions to form one coil.

On the other hand, when patterning the coil layer 8 and the intermediate insulating layer 9, a hole 10 is formed at the center of the coil layer 8 and the intermediate insulating layer 9. An upper magnetic pole layer 11 made of a magnetic material such as permalloy and patterned into a predetermined shape is formed on the upper surface of the uppermost intermediate insulating layer 9. At this time, when the upper magnetic pole layer 11 enters the hole 10, the upper magnetic pole layer 11 contacts the lower magnetic pole layer 3 to form a yoke. Further, the upper surface of the exposed surface of each layer formed in this manner is covered with a protective film made of alumina or the like. Then, by cutting at a predetermined position (a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5), a contact surface of the magnetic recording medium is formed.

Next, a method of forming the lower magnetic pole layer 3 (first lower magnetic pole layer 3a) that is in contact with the magnetic recording medium, which is one of the objects to be improved in the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, a Ti film and a NiFe film are sequentially deposited on the surface of the protective layer 2 formed on the surface of the substrate 1 to form a plating base 13. And the plating base 13
A resist layer 14 is formed on the entire surface (FIG. 1A).

Next, the resist layer 14 is exposed and developed to form a hole 14a having a tapered cross section at the position where the lower magnetic pole layer is to be formed (FIG. 2B).
A magnetic material such as permalloy is formed by plating on the bottom surface of the hole 14a to form a film. Thereby, the first portion is formed inside the hole portion 14a.
The lower magnetic pole layer 3a is formed. Since the first lower magnetic pole layer 3a has a shape along the inner shape of the hole 14a, the cross-sectional shape is formed in an inversely tapered shape (FIG. 2C).

Next, the resist layer 14 is removed, and the plating base 13 located under the removed resist layer 14 is removed.
Is exposed (FIG. 2D). Then, the exposed portion of the plating base 13 is removed by performing an ion mill (FIG. 10E).

The upper magnetic pole layer 11 can be formed by the same processing. That is, it can be manufactured by forming a plating pace so as to cover the layers formed up to that time, and forming a plating film on a predetermined portion using a patterned resist.

Next, a method for forming the coil layer 8 which is one of the objects to be improved in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, a plating base 16 is formed on the entire upper surface of the lower insulating layer 6, and
A resist 17 is applied to the entire upper surface of the substrate 6 (FIG. 7A). Then, a part of the resist is removed in a predetermined pattern shape by an exposure and development process to form a hole 17a in the coil forming region, and the plating base 16 is exposed. The hole 17a has a spiral shape when viewed from above (FIG. 1B). Next, on the exposed surface of the plating base 16 (the bottom surface of the hole 17a), a conductive material such as copper is plated and grown by electroplating to form a film.
The coil layer 8 is formed. At this time, since the coil layer 8 has a spiral shape, the coil wire elements 8a are formed adjacent to each other with a predetermined distance therebetween (FIG. 3C). And
The resist layer 17 is removed. As a result, the plating base 16 is exposed (FIG. 2D). Further, by removing the exposed plating base 16 by an ion mill,
Short-circuiting between adjacent coil wire elements 8a of the coil layer 8 via the plating base 16 is prevented (FIG. 10E).

[0011]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, the upper magnetic pole layer 1
1, lower magnetic pole layer 3 (first lower magnetic pole layer 3a) and coil layer 8
Is formed in an inversely tapered shape, causing the following problems.

In the case of the upper and lower magnetic pole layers 11 and 3, unnecessary portions of the plating base are removed by an ion mill. That is, the exposed plating base 13 is irradiated with ions, and accordingly, the material constituting the plating base 13 pops out in all directions. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
The material repelled by the ion mill is re-attached to the side surfaces of the upper magnetic pole layer 11 and the first lower magnetic pole layer 3a (hereinafter, referred to as the “side”).
This re-adhered material is referred to as a re-adhered material 18). And
Since both pole layers 11 and 12 have a reverse tapered cross section, each pole layer 1 and 2 can be formed by an ion mill from above.
Since a shadow portion is formed on the ion mill by the upper surfaces of the first and second portions, the reattachment 18 in the shadow portion is not removed by the ion mill but remains.

Then, the track width T is reduced to the first lower pole layer 3
a becomes wider than the true track width T0 of itself.
As a result, the track width of the thin-film magnetic head changes, and data cannot be read / written with the correct track width. Then, in a magnetic recording medium such as an HDD, the tracks on which data is recorded are adjacent to each other, so that a part of both pole layers 11 and 12 protrudes from the original track and hits the adjacent track, so that the adjacent track is formed. Data recorded on the track may be changed.

In addition, the material forming the plating base 13 is different from the material forming the magnetic pole layer in the magnetic characteristics and the like, so that the magnetic characteristics in the peripheral portion are deteriorated. Further, since the plating base 13 is conductive, the plating base is over-etched to the lower layer (protective layer) and completely removed so that the pole layer is not electrically connected to other layers. ing. Then, the constituent material (alumina) of the protective layer 2 is scattered during the ion mill. Therefore,
The material constituting the reattachment 18 is Ti, NiFe
In addition to the above, alumina exists outside or in a state where it is appropriately mixed. Since alumina is a non-magnetic material, its magnetic properties are increasingly deteriorated.

Further, as the density of the magnetic recording medium increases, the track width decreases. That is, the true track width T
Due to the decrease of 0, the error of the track width T due to the attached matter 18 cannot be ignored in the above case, and the above-mentioned problem becomes remarkable.

Therefore, conventionally, the performance of each product, such as magnetic properties, is inspected, and a thin-film magnetic head outside the desired property range is discarded as a defective product. Therefore, the yield is poor, and the productivity of the thin-film magnetic head is reduced. Furthermore, the quality inspection itself must be performed precisely.

On the other hand, if the cross-sectional shape of the coil layer 8 is an inverted tapered shape, the upper surface of the coil layer 8 will cast a shadow on the ion mill on the plating base 16 below the side surface of the coil layer 8. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7E, the ion mill does not reach the plating base 16 and a part of the plating base 16 remains below the side surface of the coil layer 8 (the remaining plating base is referred to as a residue 19). ). When the distance d between the coil wire elements 8a of the coil layer 8 is reduced due to the miniaturization of the thin film magnetic head, the range where the ion mill reaches the plating base 16 (removes the plating base 16) is reduced, and the coil wire element 8a is reduced. There is a possibility that the residues 19 remaining at the root of the wire may be electrically connected to each other. Therefore, there is a possibility that adjacent coil wire elements 8 a may be short-circuited through the residue 19.

Therefore, it is conceivable to increase the number of turns of the coil layer while keeping the distance between the coil wire elements small by forming the width of the coil wire elements narrow. , The impedance of the coil layer increases. Therefore, in order to prevent such an increase in impedance, the height of the coil layer is increased.
Has an inverted tapered shape, the width of the uppermost end of each coil wire element 8a becomes wider (see a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7E). As a result, even if the arrangement pitch of the coil wire elements 8a is widened, the distance d 'between the top ends of the coil wire elements 8a is shortened, and the protruding portions at the upper ends of the coil wire elements 8a increase the shaded portions. Eventually, the distance between the residues becomes short, and the problem of short-circuit between adjacent residues cannot be solved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to completely remove re-adhering substances adhering to the side surfaces of the upper and lower magnetic pole layers and to remove the upper and lower magnetic pole layers. By completely cutting off the electrical connection between the coil wire elements of the coil layer, the occurrence rate of defective products of the thin-film magnetic head can be reduced,
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head that can improve productivity.

[0020]

As a thin-film magnetic head to which the present invention is applied, first, upper and lower magnetic pole layers in which both a reproducing section and a recording section are arranged with a predetermined gap therebetween, and between the both magnetic pole layers. There is an inductive type thin-film magnetic head that includes an installed coil layer.

In this magnetic head, a current is applied to the coil layer to generate a magnetic field in the gap between the pole layers to write on the recording medium (to be a recording portion), and to change the magnetization direction of the recording medium surface between the upper and lower pole layers. The current is detected and read out by passing a current in a predetermined direction through the coil layer (to be a reproducing unit).

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention employs the method of any one of claims 1 to 3 on the premise of a method of manufacturing such an inductive type thin film magnetic head. More specifically, claim 1 specifies the improvement of the process of manufacturing the pole layer, and claim 2 specifies the improvement of the process of manufacturing the coil layer. Claim 3 is a combination thereof.

That is, a lower magnetic pole layer is formed directly or via a predetermined layer on a substrate, and a non-magnetic material layer and a lower insulating layer constituting a gap layer, a predetermined number of coils are formed on an upper surface of the lower magnetic pole layer. A layer and an intermediate insulating layer covering the layer are laminated and formed in a predetermined order, and then a method of manufacturing an inductive type thin film magnetic head in which an upper pole layer is formed on the surface of the uppermost intermediate insulating layer. And In claim 1, a process for manufacturing at least one of the lower magnetic pole layer and the upper magnetic pole layer is as follows.

First, the surface is covered with a plating base, and on the surface of the plating base, a resist layer having an inversely tapered hole at a pole layer forming portion is provided. That is, a resist is applied to the entire surface and exposed and developed to form a reverse tapered hole at a predetermined position of the resist layer. Next, a magnetic material is plated and grown on the plating base exposed through the hole to form a pole layer having an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the hole. Furthermore, the method further includes a step of removing the exposed base by an ion mill while removing the resist (claim 1).

Further, a process for manufacturing the coil layer may be configured as follows. First, the surface is covered with a plating base, and on the surface of the plating base, a resist layer having a reverse-tapered hole at a pole layer forming portion is provided. Further, a magnetic material is plated and grown on the plating base exposed through the hole to form a coil layer having an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the hole, and then the resist is removed, The method includes a step of removing the exposed plating base by an ion mill.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the magnetic pole layer is manufactured by the method of the first aspect and the coil layer is manufactured by the method of the second aspect.

The recording section has the same structure as described above, but there is also a composite type using an MR element for the reproducing section. this is,
An MR element layer is provided on a substrate via a predetermined layer, and after forming a nonmagnetic layer and the like, the above-mentioned upper and lower magnetic pole layers and coil layers are arranged in a predetermined order, and a recording unit is provided above a reproducing unit. There is also an MR type thin film magnetic head having a laminated structure.

In such a thin-film magnetic head, data is written by applying a current to the coil layer to generate a magnetic field in a gap between upper and lower magnetic pole layers, and data is read by using a magnetic field generated from a recording medium by an MR element. The detection is performed by utilizing the change in resistance.

Based on the method of manufacturing the MR type thin film magnetic head, the present invention employs the method of any one of claims 4 to 6 to achieve the above object. More specifically, claim 4 specifies the improvement of the process of manufacturing the pole layer, and claim 5 specifies the improvement of the process of manufacturing the coil layer. Claim 6 is a combination thereof.

That is, a lower shield layer is formed on a substrate via a predetermined layer, a lower gap layer is formed on the upper surface of the lower shield layer, and an MR film is formed on the upper surface of the lower gap layer and is electrically connected to the MR film. A terminal is formed, an upper gap layer is further formed thereon, and an upper shield layer is formed above the upper gap layer to form a reproducing section. Also,
Next, with a predetermined gap above the playback unit,
A method of manufacturing an MR type thin film magnetic head in which a predetermined number of insulating layers and coil layers are laminated and formed in a predetermined order, and an upper magnetic pole layer is further formed thereon to form a recording portion. In claim 4, a process for manufacturing at least one of the upper shield layer and the upper magnetic pole layer is as follows.

First, the surface is covered with a plating base, and on the surface of the plating base, a resist layer having a reverse tapered hole at a portion where the upper shield layer or the upper magnetic pole layer is formed is provided. That is, a resist is applied to the entire surface and exposed and developed to form a reverse tapered hole at a predetermined position of the resist layer. Next, a magnetic material is plated and grown on the plating base exposed through the hole to form a pole layer having an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the hole. further,
The method includes a step of removing the resist and removing the exposed plating base by an ion mill.

Further, the process for manufacturing the coil layer may be configured as follows. First, the surface is covered with a plating base, and on the surface of the plating base, a resist layer having a reverse-tapered hole at a pole layer forming portion is provided. Further, a magnetic material is plated and grown on the plating base exposed through the hole to form a coil layer having an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the hole, and then the resist is removed, The method includes a step of removing the exposed plating base by an ion mill.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, they are combined, and the magnetic pole layer is manufactured by the method of the fourth aspect, and the coil layer is manufactured by the method of the fifth aspect.

The resist for forming the magnetic pole layers (lower magnetic pole layer, upper magnetic pole layer, upper shield layer) in a predetermined pattern shape is subjected to exposure and development processing. Thereby, a hole having a reverse tapered cross section is formed. Then, when the pole layer is formed in the hole by, for example, electroplating, the pole layer is formed along the shape of the hole, so that the cross-sectional shape is tapered. Then, the plating base provided below the pole layer is shaved. At this time, the re-adhered material mixed with the particles constituting the plating base and the like flipped by the ion mill adheres to the side surface of the pole layer, but since the cross-sectional shape of the pole layer is tapered, the side surface of the pole layer is There is no region that is shadowed by the ion mill irradiation direction generated by the upper end surface of the pole layer. Therefore, the reattachment adhering to the side surface of the magnetic pole layer can be entirely removed by applying an ion mill. Therefore, since the magnetic dimensions of the pole layer do not change, writing on the thin-film magnetic head on which the pole layer is formed does not change the data of another track.

In the method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 2 or 5, the resist for determining the pattern shape of the coil layer is subjected to exposure and development to form a hole having a reverse tapered cross section. Is formed. And
Since the coil layer is formed inside the hole by, for example, electroplating, the coil layer is formed along the shape of the hole, and the cross-sectional shape of each coil wire element is tapered. Then, the plating base formed below the coil layer is shaved. At this time, since the cross-sectional shape of the coil layer is tapered, there is no portion of the plating base between the coil wire elements of the coil layer that shadows the coil layer with respect to the ion mill. Therefore, the ion mill reaches the entire plating base between the coil wire elements of the coil layer, and the plating base between the coil wire elements of the coil layer is completely removed. Therefore, in order to increase the number of turns of the coil layer while maintaining the distance between the coil wire elements of the coil layer, the coil layer is formed to have a small width, and even if the coil layer is formed to have a high height, The upper part does not expand in area. Therefore, no residue remains between the coil wire elements of the coil layer, and no short circuit occurs between the coil wire elements of the coil layer.

[0036]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, a lower pole layer 3 (first
The manufacturing process of each layer other than the lower magnetic pole layer 3a), the upper magnetic pole layer 11, and the coil layer 8 can be performed in a conventional manner. Therefore, each of the improved portions will be described in detail. An example in which the present invention is applied to the inductive magnetic head shown in FIG. 5 will be described.

** Improvement of the manufacturing process of the magnetic pole layer FIG. 1 shows a method of forming the lower magnetic pole layer 3. In addition,
As shown in FIG. 5, in the actual product, the lower magnetic pole layer 3 is formed by laminating the first lower magnetic pole layer 3a and the second lower magnetic pole layer 3b so that the thickness is changed between the tip side and the back side. , FIG.
Strictly speaking, the first lower magnetic pole layer 3 in FIG.
Although it is a, it is simply referred to as the lower magnetic pole layer 3 for convenience.

As shown in the figure, a protective layer 2 is formed on the upper surface of a substrate 1, and a Ti film and NiF are formed on the upper surface of the protective layer 2.
The plating base 13 is formed by laminating the e films. Here, in the present invention, AZ-5214E8 (manufactured by Hoechst) or SIPR is provided on the upper surface of the plating base 13.
A resist such as -9598 (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) capable of forming an inversely tapered hole by exposure and development is applied over the entire surface, and a resist layer 21 is formed by lamination (FIG. 1A). ).

A hole 21a having a predetermined pattern is formed in the resist layer 21 by a plurality of predetermined exposure and development processes. The cross-sectional shape of the hole 21a is formed in a reverse tapered shape (FIG. 2B). The formation position of this hole 21a is
This is the position where the lower magnetic pole layer 3 is formed. Note that a resist capable of forming a hole having an inverted tapered shape is usually used for lift-off.

In this state, the substrate 1 is immersed in a plating solution, and a plating film is formed on the upper surface of the plating base 13 exposed through the hole 21a by an electroplating method.
Is molded. At this time, since the lower magnetic pole layer 3 is formed along the shape of the hole 21a, the cross-sectional shape of the lower magnetic pole layer 3 is formed in a tapered shape (FIG. 2C).

Thereafter, the resist layer 21 is removed, and the surface of the plating base 13 located below the resist layer 21 is exposed (FIG. 2D). Then, the exposed plating base 13 is removed by applying an ion mill from above, whereby the lower magnetic pole layer 3 having a predetermined pattern is formed in an insulated state (FIG. 10E). At this time, the lower magnetic pole layer 3
Since the cross-sectional shape is a tapered shape, there is no region shadowed by the ion mill on the side surface of the lower magnetic pole layer 3. Therefore, the plating base 13 existing near the lower end edge of the lower magnetic pole layer 3 can also be removed by the ion mill.
Even if the material is repelled by the ion mill and reattached to the side surface of the lower magnetic pole layer 3, such reattachment can be removed again by the ion mill. as a result,
As shown in the figure, it is possible to manufacture the lower magnetic pole layer 3 in which there is no reattachment and the plating base is also removed cleanly.

The upper magnetic pole layer can be formed by the same method as the above-described method of forming the lower magnetic pole layer 3. That is, when the manufacture of the uppermost intermediate insulating layer 9 is completed, a plating base is formed on the entire exposed surface, a resist layer having a reverse tapered hole is formed, and then electroplating is performed. The upper magnetic pole layer can be formed by forming a plating film in the hole. And
The cross-sectional shape of the upper magnetic pole layer manufactured in this manner also has a tapered shape.

FIG. 2 shows the shape of the upper magnetic pole layer 11 and the lower magnetic pole layer 3 manufactured by the method described in the above embodiment as viewed from the surface (sliding surface) facing the medium.
As shown in the figure, the upper and lower magnetic pole layers 11 and 3 are tapered in longitudinal section through the gap 5, there is no reattachment or the like, and a material for forming the magnetic pole layer is used. The track width formed and defined by the upper and lower magnetic pole layers 11 and 3 has a true value, and since the magnetic characteristics do not include impurities, desired characteristics can be obtained.

** Coil Layer Manufacturing Process FIG. 3 shows a step of forming a coil layer of a thin-film magnetic head. As shown in the figure, a plating base 16 is formed on the entire surface of the lower insulating layer 6 (in the case of the lowermost coil layer) or the intermediate insulating layer 9 (in the case of the second or more coil layer) by vapor deposition or the like. . Further, a resist layer 31 having a predetermined thickness is formed on the upper surface of the plating base 16. As the resist used here, a resist capable of forming an inversely tapered hole in the same manner as described above is used (FIG. 1A).

The resist layer 31 is exposed and developed to form a hole 31a having a predetermined pattern. The hole 31a is formed to have a reverse tapered cross-sectional shape and a single continuous spiral shape (FIG. 2B).

The coil layer 8 is formed in the hole 31a by electroplating. At this time, since the coil layer 8 is formed along the shape of the hole 31a formed in the resist layer, the coil layer 8 has a spiral shape in plan view. Coil wire element 8 constituting the coil layer 8
a is formed so that its cross-sectional shape is a tapered shape (FIG. 3C).

Then, the resist layer 31 is removed while the coil layer 8 remains, and the surface of the plating base 16 is exposed (FIG. 4D). Then, the exposed plating base 16 is removed by applying an ion mill from above. This prevents the coil wire elements 8a of the adjacent coil layers 8 from being electrically connected to each other, and forms one continuous wire (FIG. (E)).

As described above, since the cross-sectional shape of the coil wire element 8a constituting the coil layer 8 is tapered, there is no shadowed area of the plating base 16 when performing ion milling. Therefore, the coil wire element 8a of the coil layer 8
Base 1 exposed between coil wire element 8a
6 can be completely removed, leaving no residue. Therefore, even if the coil wire elements 8a of the coil layer 8 are formed closer to each other than before, the coil wire elements 8a are not electrically connected to each other. Further, since the area of the upper surface of the coil layer 8 is smaller than the area of the lower surface of the coil layer 8, even if the coil layer 8 is formed to be higher, the width of the upper surface of the coil layer 8 does not increase.

Therefore, the location where the adjacent coil wire elements 8a come closest to each other is the lowermost position. Therefore, even if the arrangement pitch between the coil wire elements 8a is shortened and the cross-sectional shape of the coil wire elements 8a is made vertically long. The exposed plating base can be reliably removed by the ion mill. That is, since a coil layer higher than the conventionally formed coil layer can be formed, each coil wire element constituting the coil layer can be formed thin without increasing the impedance. Further, since the coil wire elements do not short-circuit, the characteristics of the thin-film magnetic head become stable.

In each of the above embodiments, a method based on the inductive magnetic head shown in FIG. 5 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The method can also be used when manufacturing an MR type magnetic head.

FIG. 4 shows the structure of an MR type magnetic head which is an example of a thin film magnetic head. A method for manufacturing an MR type magnetic head will be described with reference to FIG. A protective layer 42 is formed on the surface of a substrate 41 such as AlTiC. And
A lower shield layer 43 is formed at a predetermined position on the surface of the protective layer 42. At a predetermined position above the lower shield layer 43, alumina is formed to a predetermined thickness to form a predetermined lower gap layer G1. Further, a strip-shaped MR film 4 is formed at a predetermined position on the upper surface.
4 (usually composed of a multilayer film (SAL / Ta / MR)), and terminals (magnetic domain control films + terminals) 45a and 45b connected to both ends thereof are formed. Further, a predetermined thickness of alumina is formed above the MR film 44 and the terminals 45a and 45b to form an upper gap layer G2.
An upper shield layer 46 is formed on the upper surface. This is MR
The reproducing unit of the magnetic head of the type is constituted.

Further, in the MR type magnetic head according to the present embodiment, the recording section is formed integrally with the reproducing section. The recording section can have substantially the same configuration as that of the inductive head described above. By passing a current in a predetermined direction through the coil layer, a predetermined direction is formed between the upper and lower magnetic pole layers opposed to each other with a gap therebetween. The magnetic field is generated and written on a recording medium.

Specifically, the upper shield layer 46 in the reproducing section also serves as the lower magnetic pole layer in the recording section. Therefore,
After sequentially laminating a gap layer, a lower insulating layer, and the like on the upper shield layer 46, a predetermined number of coil layers 47 and an intermediate insulating layer covering the coil layers 47 are formed in a pattern, and the upper magnetic pole layer 4 is formed thereon.
8 are formed so as to overlap each other. Further, the entire upper surface is covered with the processing protection film 49.

The upper shield layer 46 and the upper magnetic pole layer 48 of the MR thin film magnetic head correspond to the lower magnetic pole layer and the upper magnetic pole layer of the inductive thin film magnetic head. Further, the coil layer 47 in the MR type thin film magnetic head corresponds to the coil layer in the inductive type thin film magnetic head. Therefore, in the method of manufacturing the MR type thin film magnetic head, the upper shield layer 46 and the upper magnetic pole layer 48 can be formed by the same method as the method of forming the lower magnetic pole layer and the upper magnetic pole layer in the inductive magnetic head. . The coil layer 47 in the MR thin film magnetic head is formed by a method similar to the method of forming the coil layer in the inductive thin film magnetic head. That is, the present invention can also be applied to patterning a predetermined layer among the upper shield layer, the upper magnetic pole layer, and the coil layer in the MR type magnetic head by using a reverse tapered hole.

[0055]

As described above, in the method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention, the cross-sectional shape of the hole formed by exposing and developing the resist layer is formed so as to have an inverted tapered shape. Since the sectional shapes of the upper and lower magnetic pole layers and the coil layers formed in the holes are also tapered, the following effects can be obtained.

When the plating base is removed by the ion mill, the re-adhered matter attached to the side surface of the upper magnetic pole layer can be further removed by the ion mill. Therefore, the magnetic dimensions of the upper and lower magnetic pole layers do not change, and defective products for writing data to adjacent tracks are not manufactured. Therefore, the yield of the thin-film magnetic head can be improved and the productivity can be improved as compared with the conventional case.

Since the width of the upper surface of the coil layer is smaller than the width of the lower surface of the coil layer, there is no area on the plating base that is shadowed by the coil layer with respect to the ion mill except for the area in close contact with the coil layer. . Therefore, by increasing the number of turns of the coil layer, even if the distance between the coil wire elements of the coil layer is shortened, the ion mill reliably removes the plating base between the lower surfaces of the coil layers. Therefore, a defective product in which the coil wire elements of the coil layer are electrically connected to each other is not manufactured. Therefore, the productivity of the thin-film magnetic head can be improved as compared with the related art.

In particular, even if the coil layer is formed high, the width of the upper surface of the coil layer is smaller than the area of the lower surface of the coil layer. Therefore, the plating base is removed in accordance with the distance between the lower surface and the lower surface of the coil layer. be able to. Therefore, the width of the coil wire element can be reduced to increase the number of turns of the coil layer. At this time, the height of the coil layer can be increased to prevent an increase in the impedance of the coil layer. Therefore, even if the thin-film magnetic head is downsized, the number of turns of the coil layer can be increased to manufacture a thin-film magnetic head having good characteristics.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process chart showing a method of forming a lower magnetic pole layer exposed on a medium facing surface in a method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a surface of a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention that contacts a magnetic recording medium.

FIG. 3 is a process diagram showing a method of forming a coil layer in the method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention.

FIG. 4A is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an MR type magnetic head. (B) is a front view of the MR type magnetic head.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a conventional thin film magnetic head.

FIG. 6 is a process chart showing a conventional method for forming a lower magnetic pole layer.

FIG. 7 is a process chart showing a conventional method for forming a coil layer.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a conventional problem.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 substrate 4 lower magnetic pole layer 5 nonmagnetic material layer 7 lower insulating layer 8 coil layer 8a coil wire element 9 intermediate insulating layer 11 upper magnetic pole layer 13 plating base 21 resist layer 21a hole 31 resist layer 31a hole 16 plating base 41 substrate 43 Lower shield layer 44 MR film 45 Terminal 46 Upper shield layer 47 Coil layer 48 Upper magnetic pole layer

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A lower magnetic pole layer (3) is formed directly or via a predetermined layer on a substrate (1), and a nonmagnetic material layer (5) constituting a gap layer is formed on an upper surface of the lower magnetic pole layer. A lower insulating layer (6), a predetermined number of coil layers (8), and an intermediate insulating layer (9) covering the same are laminated and formed in a predetermined order, and then an upper magnetic pole is formed on the surface of the uppermost intermediate insulating layer. In a method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head in which a layer (11) is formed, a process of manufacturing at least one of the lower magnetic pole layer and the upper magnetic pole layer includes first covering a surface with a plating base (13); On the surface of the base, a resist layer (21) having a hole (21a) having an inversely tapered shape at a pole layer forming portion is provided, and a magnetic material is plated and grown on the plating base exposed through the hole. Has an outer shape that matches the inner shape of the hole That pole layer is formed, then the resist to remove the said method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head is characterized in that the plating base to include a step of removing by ion milling to expose. 2. A lower magnetic pole layer is formed directly or via a predetermined layer on a substrate, and a nonmagnetic material layer and a lower insulating layer constituting a gap layer are formed on an upper surface of the lower magnetic pole layer; A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head in which a layer and an intermediate insulating layer covering the layer are laminated in a predetermined order, and then an upper pole layer is formed on the surface of the uppermost intermediate insulating layer. First, a surface of the plating base is covered with a plating base (16), and a resist layer (31) having a reverse tapered hole (31a) at a pole layer forming portion is provided on the surface of the plating base, A magnetic material is plated and grown on the plating base exposed through the hole to form a coil layer having an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the hole, and then the resist is removed and the exposed layer is removed. Me Method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head is characterized in that the base to include a step of removing by ion milling. 3. The method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 2, further comprising the step of manufacturing at least one of the lower magnetic pole layer and the upper magnetic pole layer by first covering a surface with a plating base (13). On the surface of the plating base, a resist layer (21) having a hole (21a) having an inversely tapered shape at a portion where a magnetic pole layer is formed is provided, and a magnetic material is grown by plating on the plating base exposed through the hole. Forming a magnetic pole layer having an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the hole portion, and then removing the resist and removing the exposed plating base by an ion mill. A method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head. 4. A lower shield layer (43) is formed on a substrate (41) through a predetermined layer, a lower gap layer (G1) is formed on an upper surface of the lower shield layer, and a lower gap layer (G1) is formed on an upper surface of the lower gap layer. MR film (44) and its M
Terminals (45a, 45b) conducting to the R film are formed, an upper gap layer (G2) is formed thereon, and an upper shield layer (46) is formed above the upper gap layer to form a reproducing section. Then, with a predetermined gap above the playback unit,
A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, wherein a predetermined number of insulating layers and a coil layer (47) are laminated in a predetermined order, and an upper magnetic pole layer (48) is further formed thereon to form a recording section. The process of manufacturing at least one of an upper shield layer and the upper magnetic pole layer is as follows. First, the surface is covered with a plating base, and a reverse tapered hole is formed on the surface of the plating base, where the upper shield tank or the upper magnetic pole layer is formed. A magnetic layer is formed by plating a magnetic material on the plating base exposed through the hole to form a pole layer having an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the hole, and then the resist is formed. And a step of removing the exposed plating base by an ion mill. 5. A lower shield layer is formed on a substrate via a predetermined layer, a lower gap layer is formed on an upper surface of the lower shield layer, and an MR film is formed on an upper surface of the lower gap layer and is electrically connected to the MR film. Forming a terminal, further forming an upper gap layer above the upper gap layer, forming an upper shield layer above the upper gap layer to form a reproducing section, and then leaving a predetermined gap above the reproducing section. ,
A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, wherein a predetermined number of insulating layers and a coil layer are laminated in a predetermined order, and an upper pole layer is further formed thereon to form a recording portion. First, a surface is covered with a plating base, a resist layer having a reverse tapered hole in a pole layer forming portion is provided on the surface of the plating base, and a magnetic layer is formed on the plating base exposed through the hole. Forming a coil layer having an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the hole by plating and growing the body; and removing the resist and removing the exposed plating base by an ion mill. A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, comprising: 6. The method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 5, further comprising a step of manufacturing at least one of the lower magnetic pole layer and the upper magnetic pole layer by first covering a surface with a plating base. On the surface of the plating base, a resist layer (21) having a hole (21a) having an inversely tapered shape at a portion where a magnetic pole layer is formed is provided, and a magnetic material is grown by plating on the plating base exposed through the hole. Forming a magnetic pole layer having an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the hole portion, and then removing the resist and removing the exposed plating base by an ion mill. A method for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head.