JP2002216324A - Magnetic head and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize stabilized characteristics to meet the requirement for high sensitivity and density while avoiding defects due to the worn out sliding surface for magnetic head which uses a magnetic tape as the recording medium. SOLUTION: In a magnetic head that has a surface 10 sliding against a magnetic tape TP and made of thin film layers of a pair of magnetic shield layers 12, 13 stacked in the direction of the tape TP run and sandwiching a magnetoresistive effect head element 11, at least one of the pair of magnetic shield layers 12, 13 is made of a laminated layers 12a, 12b, 13a, 13b made of materials different in hardness.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic head for use on a magnetic tape as one of recording media and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a magnetoresistive head element (hereinafter referred to as "MR element"). (Hereinafter referred to as “MR head”) and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, for example, video tape recorders (V
In a system using a magnetic tape as a recording medium such as TR), an MR head is sometimes used as a reproducing head. This is because MR elements are generally more suitable for high-density recording than inductive magnetic head elements that perform recording and reproduction using electromagnetic induction.
This is because higher density recording can be achieved by using a head.

When used in such a system, for example, as shown in FIG. 21, the MR heads RH1 and RH2 are mounted on a rotating drum 2a and reproduce signals from a magnetic tape TP by a helical scan method. At this time, the MR heads RH1 and RH2 slide at high speed with the magnetic tape TP.

[0004] From this, the MR head is, for example, shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, a substantially arc-shaped sliding surface 52 having an MR element 51 disposed at a substantially apex is formed, and the sliding surface 52 contacts the magnetic tape TP. On the sliding surface 52, for example, if it is a shield type, the MR element 5
A pair of magnetic shield layers 53 made of a soft magnetic material is disposed so as to sandwich the pair 1, and these are sandwiched between a pair of hard non-magnetic substrates 54. That is, the sliding surface 52 has a thin-film laminated structure including the MR element 51, the pair of magnetic shield layers 53, and the pair of hard non-magnetic substrates.

[0005]

When used in a system using a magnetic tape as a recording medium, the MR head is different from a system using a hard disk as a recording medium, unlike an MR head used in a system using a hard disk as a recording medium. It is necessary to slide at high speed. Therefore, in the MR head, since the two objects slide at a high speed, the sliding surface is ground by receiving a physical impact. This occurs more or less regardless of the type of magnetic tape.

[0006] Such a state is generally called abrasion, and as the degree of abrasion progresses, the surface is rarely ground uniformly. In other words, it is more likely that a sudden grinding mark will advance by overlapping. However,
In the case of a shield type MR head, since a sudden grinding mark overlaps with the sliding surface of the MR head because of the thin film laminated structure, various materials are exposed on the sliding surface, and the materials come into contact with each other. Then, dragging, overlapping, short-circuit, etc. may occur, and stable operation and sensitivity may not be obtained.

More specifically, for example, as shown in FIG.
In the case of a shield type MR head, the interval between a pair of magnetic shield layers (upper shield and lower shield) 53 which is a gap of the reproducing head is about 0.25 μm, and the MR element 51 (horizontal bias magnetic field) Permanent magnet film 51a and SAL film 51 for applying a vertical magnetic field
b etc.) are present. Therefore, in such a thin film laminated structure, the shortest distance between adjacent conductive films is about 0.12 μm.

Therefore, when the magnetic tape runs along the laminating direction of each film at such a distance, if the magnetic tape contacts the magnetic tape or is scratched by a foreign substance, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, each material exposed on the sliding surface suffers damage 55 extending along the tape running direction, and each film is electrically short-circuited or magnetically (magnetic films are short-circuited). hand,
It is very likely that it will be a factor that hinders stable operation and sensitivity. This is true not only when running the magnetic tape, but also when running the polishing tape for forming the sliding surface.
It can happen in exactly the same way.

It is considered that such electrical and magnetic short-circuiting of each film is more likely to occur, especially in the current situation where a narrow gap is being developed in order to cope with a higher density in the future. Can be

When a sudden grinding mark overlaps with the sliding surface, for example, as shown in FIG. 25, the end of the magnetic shield layer 53 on the magnetic tape discharge side on the MR element 51 side is partially formed as a grinding mark 56. There is also a possibility that a portion where the apparent gap (distance between the magnetic shield layers) is widened as a result is removed. If such a widening of the gap occurs, the recording and reproduction in the low frequency region using the entire width of the MR element 51 is not significantly affected, but the passage of the recording pattern on the MR element 51 in the high frequency region. Depending on the position, the reproduction sensitivity, the bias state, the frequency characteristics, and the like will be different.

Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG.
By examining the distribution of waveform asymmetry within the track width of the MR head after running for 50 hours, it can be confirmed that the waveform asymmetry within the track width varies greatly. This means that, as described above, there are places where the gap length, that is, the distance between the magnetic shield layers is slightly different within the track width.

These facts indicate that the pair of magnetic shield layers 5
3 occurs due to the soft magnetic material. That is, since the magnetic shield layer 53 is formed of a material softer than the hard non-magnetic substrate 54 and the like, electrical and magnetic short-circuits of the respective films and an apparent increase in the gap length tend to occur. Therefore, in order to prevent these, it is conceivable to replace the magnetic shield layer 53 with a hard material.

However, the magnetic shield layer 53
Considering the limitation of the heat treatment by using the R element 51 and the magnetic properties required for the shield layer, there are limitations on the materials used. In other words, simply replacing the magnetic shield layer 53 with a hard material does not allow the magnetic shield layer 53 to satisfy the required magnetic characteristics and the like, and as a result, realizes an MR head having high sensitivity and high density and stable characteristics. May be difficult to perform.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned conventional situation, and realizes stable characteristics compatible with high sensitivity and high density while preventing adverse effects due to abrasion of a sliding surface. It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic head and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a magnetic head devised to achieve the above object. That is,
A magnetic head mounted on a rotary head of a system using a magnetic tape as a recording medium and having a magnetoresistive head element for reproduction, comprising a sliding surface that slides with the magnetic tape, The sliding surface is configured in a thin film laminated structure that is stacked along the running direction of the magnetic tape so that the head element is sandwiched between a pair of magnetic shield layers, and at least one of the pair of magnetic shield layers is It is characterized by being formed of a laminated film made of a plurality of types of materials having different hardnesses.

According to the magnetic head having the above-described structure, at least one of the pair of magnetic shield layers is formed of a laminated film made of a plurality of types of materials having different hardnesses. If one is formed of a material with high hardness and low ductility to the protrusions of the magnetic tape and abrasive grains of the polishing tape, sliding surfaces such as electrical and magnetic short-circuiting of each layer of the thin film laminated structure and an increase in apparent gap length It is possible to suppress the adverse effects caused by the wear of the steel. Moreover, if the other layer of the laminated film is formed of a material having low hardness but excellent magnetic properties as a shield layer, the function as a magnetic shield layer is impaired even if the adverse effects due to wear are suppressed. I don't have to.

Further, the present invention is a method of manufacturing a magnetic head devised to achieve the above object. That is,
A method for manufacturing a magnetic head having a magnetoresistive head element for reproduction mounted on a rotating head of a system using a magnetic tape as a recording medium, the thin film stack comprising a pair of magnetic shield layers sandwiching the head element In forming a structure, at least one of the pair of magnetic shield layers is formed of a laminated film made of a plurality of types of materials having different hardnesses, and in this case, the head element side of the laminated film is formed. Is formed by sputtering, the other film is formed by plating, and then a sliding surface with the magnetic tape is formed on one end surface of the formed thin film laminated structure.

In the method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to the above procedure, of the laminated film forming the magnetic shield layer, the film located on the side of the head element is formed by sputtering. This is suitable for forming the tape from a material having low ductility to abrasive grains. In addition, since the other film is formed by plating, the film is suitable for being formed of a material having low hardness but excellent magnetic properties and the like as a shield layer. Therefore, according to the magnetic head manufactured by the manufacturing method of the above procedure, it is possible to suppress the adverse effects due to the wear of the sliding surface, and the function as the magnetic shield layer is not impaired.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a magnetic head according to the present invention and a method for manufacturing the same will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a thin film laminated structure in a magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system using the magnetic head.

First, before describing the magnetic head according to the present invention, a system using the magnetic head will be described. Here, information recording and
A magnetic tape device as a reproducing device will be described as an example.
As shown in FIG. 2, the magnetic tape device 1 is configured by combining a magnetic head device 2 and a magnetic tape TP.

The magnetic head device 2 includes a rotating drum 2a, a fixed drum coaxial with the rotating drum 2a, a motor (both not shown), and the like. Rotary drum 2a
Is designed to rotate by the operation of a motor.
Two reproducing heads RH1 and RH2 and two recording heads WH1 and WH2 are mounted. Each reproducing head RH1,
RH2 and the recording heads WH1 and WH2 have a phase difference of 180 °. Each of the reproducing heads RH1,
RH2 corresponds to the magnetic head according to the present invention. Note that each of the recording heads WH1 and WH2 may be constituted by, for example, an inductive magnetic head.

On the other hand, the magnetic tape TP is obliquely adhered to both the rotary drum 2a and the fixed drum from the supply reel 3 via the rollers 4a, 4b and 4c for approximately 180 °, and the rollers 4d, 4e, 4f and 4g are After that, it is taken up by the take-up reel 5. Thereby, the recording heads WH1,
WH2 and reproduction heads RH1 and RH2 are magnetic tape TP
Is guided in contact with the helical scan method. In addition, the capstan 6 corresponds to the roller 4f.
The capstan 6 keeps the running speed of the magnetic tape TP substantially constant.

That is, the magnetic head according to the present invention is used, for example, in the magnetic tape device 1 using the above-described magnetic tape TP as a recording medium. More specifically, it is mounted on a rotating drum 2a of the magnetic tape device 1 and slides at high speed with the magnetic tape TP by a helical scan method to reproduce a signal from the magnetic tape TP.

In order to perform such signal reproduction, the magnetic head according to the present invention utilizes the magnetoresistance effect of the MR element. That is, the magnetic head according to the present invention has M
This is an MR head having an R element.

Next, the configuration of the magnetic head according to the present invention, that is, the MR head will be described in detail. FIG. 1 (a)
As shown in FIG. 1, the MR head described here also slides at a high speed with the magnetic tape TP, and thus has a substantially arc-shaped sliding surface 10 that slides on the magnetic tape TP, as in the conventional head. are doing.

On the sliding surface 10, a pair of magnetic shield layers 12 and 13 are arranged so as to support the MR element 11 for magnetic shielding, and these are further combined with a pair of hard non-magnetic substrates. 14 and 15 are pinched. That is,
The sliding surface 10 is formed by a pair of the magnetic shield layer 1 and the MR element 11.
2 and 13 are sandwiched, and a pair of hard non-magnetic substrates 14 and 15 are sandwiched between them to form a thin film laminated structure that is stacked along the running direction of the magnetic tape TP.

In the example shown in the figure, the MR element 11 and the magnetic shield layers 12 and 13 are shown for easy understanding of the characteristics.
Although the vicinity is shown in a large scale, the portion is actually very fine compared to the hard non-magnetic substrates 14 and 15. Specifically, for example, the length t of the hard non-magnetic substrate 14 in the magnetic tape running direction on the entry side of the magnetic tape TP.
1 is about 0.8 mm, but the length t2 of the portion including the MR element 11 and the magnetic shield layers 12, 13 in the running direction of the magnetic tape is about 5 μm. Therefore, this MR
In the head, the sliding surface 10 is almost only the upper end surface of each of the hard non-magnetic substrates 14 and 15.

The configuration of the pair of magnetic shield layers 12 and 13 of the MR head according to the present embodiment has the following features.

Generally, on the sliding surface 10 where each layer constituting the thin film laminated structure is exposed, the one which affects the reproduction characteristics of the MR head is a pair of magnetic shield layers 12 and 1.
3 is a distance (gap length) between the magnetic shield layers 12 and 13 that determines the gap length. This is because most of the materials constituting the MR element 11 are 100
nm or less, and the influence of sliding of a magnetic tape, a polishing tape, or the like is relatively small. On the other hand, each of the magnetic shield layers 12 and 13 that determine the gap length has a thickness of 1 μm or more. This is because the probability of contact with a foreign matter of a magnetic tape, a protrusion of a polishing tape, or the like is extremely high and is easily affected. Therefore, in order to minimize the influence of the sliding of the magnetic tape or the polishing tape, it can be said that it is most important to consider the material and configuration of each of the magnetic shield layers 12 and 13.

Therefore, in the MR head of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, each of the magnetic shield layers 12 and 13 is formed of a laminated film made of two kinds of materials having different hardnesses. Have been. Each of the magnetic shield layers 12 and 13 is formed of a material having a higher hardness in the film on the MR element 11 side.

That is, the magnetic shield layer 12 includes a shield film 12a located farther from the MR element 11 and a magnetic shield layer 12a.
The shield film 12b, which is located closer to the element 11 and has a higher hardness than the shield film 12a,
It has a layered structure. Also, the magnetic shield layer 13 is
A shield film 13a located on a side far from the R element 11,
The shield film 13 is located on the side close to the MR element 11 and
It has a two-layer structure with a shield film 13b made of a material having a higher hardness than a.

The magnetic shield layer 1 having such a two-layer structure
The materials used for the materials 2 and 13 may be determined based on the ductility of the protrusions of the magnetic tape, the polishing tape, the abrasive grains, and the like. Here, ductility refers to the property that an object is stretched without being destroyed even by a stress exceeding the elastic limit. Generally, a substance having a high Vickers hardness has a low ductility.
A material having high Vickers hardness and low ductility is used.

By doing so, even after sliding for a long time on the sliding surface 10 with the magnetic tape TP or after sliding with the polishing tape for forming the sliding surface 10, It is possible to suppress magnetic and electrical short circuits and maintain the straightness of the gap surface. That is, M
Since the ductility of the shield films 12b and 13b close to the R element 11 is small, the portions of the shield films 12b and 13b after sliding with the magnetic tape TP or the polishing tape as shown in FIG. Even if there is no sudden grinding mark extending, each layer (material) between the gaps
Separation becomes clear.

Materials used for the shield films 12b and 13b,
That is, examples of the material having a small ductility include a material having a high Vickers hardness, specifically, an amorphous magnetic alloy such as a Co (cobalt) -based amorphous material or an FeHfN film. By using such an amorphous magnetic alloy having a high Vickers hardness, the influence of sliding of the magnetic tape TP or the polishing tape on the sliding surface 10 can be accurately suppressed.

The shield films 12b and 13b are formed to have a thickness of about 0.5 μm or less. As a result, as will be described in detail later, while suppressing the influence of sliding, the Barkhausen noise (hereinafter, “B.
H. N. ")" Can be prevented from increasing.

Further, it is preferable that the shield films 12b and 13b are formed as sputtered films, as will be described in detail later. This is because a sputtered film usually has less ductility than a plated film.

The other shield films 12a and 13a constituting the two-layer structure are made of a soft magnetic material having excellent magnetic properties and the like as a shield film, specifically, NiFe (permalloy) as in the prior art. Etc. may be used.

Next, a method of manufacturing the above MR head will be described. 3 to 9 and 13 to 18 are views for explaining the procedure for manufacturing the MR head. Note that, in these figures, in order to clearly show the features, like FIG.
The ratio of the dimensions of each member is not always the same as the actual one.
In the following description, each member constituting the MR head,
Specific examples of the material, size, film thickness and the like will be given, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.
For example, in the following description, an example using a so-called SAL (Soft Adjacent Layer) bias type MR element having a structure similar to that practically used in a hard disk device or the like will be described. M
R) MR elements such as heads and spin valve heads can of course be used.

In manufacturing the MR head described in this embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 3, a disk-shaped substrate 141 having a diameter of, for example, 4 inches is prepared, and the surface of the substrate 141 is mirror-finished. Apply processing. This substrate 141 is to be a hard non-magnetic substrate 14 on the magnetic tape entry side, specifically, Al ₂ O ₃ —TiC (Altic), α-Fe ₂ O
₃ (α-hematite), NiZn ferrite and the like are preferable.

Then, a soft magnetic thin film 121 is formed on the substrate 141 in order to form a shield film (hereinafter referred to as a "first lower shield film") 12a of the magnetic shield layer 12 having a two-layer structure. . Soft magnetic thin film 1 used here
21 is not particularly limited as long as it shows good soft magnetism and is excellent in abrasion corrosion, such as NiFe (permalloy). Here, NiFe
The following description will be made by taking as an example a case where the soft magnetic thin film 121 is formed by a plating method using the method. However, the film thickness (for example, 2.5 μm) should be a thickness required to function as a shield of the MR head, specifically, a thickness of twice or more the longest wavelength used in the system. Good.

After the soft magnetic thin film 121 is formed, thereafter, patterning for separating the lower shield film for each head is performed. First, a resist pattern 122 having a size of, for example, about 80 μm in width and about 100 μm in height is formed at a position where an MR element is formed by using a so-called photolithography technique of performing exposure and development to a required shape after applying a resist film. leave. Then, the soft magnetic thin film 121 where the resist pattern 122 is not formed is removed by ion etching, and then the resist pattern 122 is removed with an organic solvent.

As a result, the first-layer lower shield film 123 corresponding to the resist pattern 122 is formed on the substrate 141 as shown in FIG. After forming the lower shield film 123 of the first layer, subsequently, in order to eliminate the unevenness of the portion remaining as the lower shield film and flatten the substrate surface, for example, 5 μm of Al ₂ O _{3 is applied} to the entire surface of the substrate.
Then, the surface is polished until the upper surface of the lower shield film 123 of the first layer appears. At this time, Al ₂ O ₃
It is necessary to completely fill the lower shield film 123 of the first layer.
3 or more. Note that instead of Al ₂ O ₃ , SiO 2
₂ etc. may be used. The surface may be polished roughly with diamond abrasive grains and then the surface may be conditioned by chemical polishing (buff polishing), or only chemical polishing may be performed from the beginning.
However, it is necessary to perform the process until the surface of the first lower shield film 123 is exposed over the entire surface of the substrate.

After the surface of the substrate is flattened, subsequently, a shield film (hereinafter referred to as a "second lower shield film") 12b of the magnetic shield layer 12 having a two-layer structure is formed on the surface of the substrate. Then, a soft magnetic thin film is formed by a sputtering method. The material of the soft magnetic thin film used here is a material having less ductility than the soft magnetic thin film 121 (for example, NiFe).
For example, a Co-based amorphous material may be used. For example, in the case of CoZrNbTa, the Co-based amorphous material is 68 ≦ a ≦ 90, 0 ≦ b ≦ 10, 0 ≦ c ≦ as CoaZrbNbcTad (a, b, c, and d are atomic%).
20, 0 ≦ d ≦ 10 and a + b + c + d = 100 provide excellent soft magnetic properties, but especially 79 ≦ a ≦ 83 and 2 ≦ b ≦
6, 10 ≦ c ≦ 14, 1 ≦ d ≦ 5, a + b + c + d = 1
With a value of 00, excellent heat resistance and wear resistance can be obtained. Except for the composition here, Mo, Cr, Ti, H
f, Pd, W, V, and the like, and a combination thereof can be considered.

After a soft magnetic film made of a Co-based amorphous material is formed on the surface of the substrate by sputtering, a resist having substantially the same shape as that of the first lower shield film 123 is formed by photolithography. By removing the soft magnetic thin film in a portion where the resist pattern is not formed by ion etching while leaving the pattern, and then removing the resist pattern with an organic solvent, the lower shield film 124 of the second layer is formed.

At this time, the lower shield film 123 of the first layer
After forming a soft magnetic thin film 121 on the entire surface of the substrate, a soft magnetic film for the second lower shield film 124 is formed on the entire surface of the substrate by sputtering, and then photolithography is used. I do not care. However, in this case, the soft magnetic thin film 1 formed by the plating method is used.
Since the surface 21 often has a rough surface, a certain amount of chemical polishing (buff polishing) is performed (for example, about 10 minutes) in order to alleviate the unevenness of the surface, and then the softening for the second lower shield film 124 is performed. It is desirable to form a magnetic film.

The thickness of the soft magnetic film for the second lower shield film 124 may be determined arbitrarily. This soft magnetic film is different from the upper shield film described later in that the surface on which it is formed has no irregularities, so that a sputtered film can provide sufficient soft magnetic characteristics. In other words, when the sputtering method is used, the soft magnetic film to be formed has greatly different characteristics depending on the surface state of the surface on which the film is formed. Therefore, the thickness of the soft magnetic film can be arbitrarily determined.

The lower shield film 123 of the first layer and the lower shield film 124 of the second layer, that is, the magnetic shield layer 1
After the formation of No. 2, a non-magnetic non-conductive film 111 serving as a lower gap of the MR element 11 is formed on the surface of the substrate by sputtering or the like, as shown in FIG. Here, the material of the nonmagnetic nonconductive film 111, from the viewpoint of insulating properties and abrasion resistance, Al ₂ O ₃ are preferred. The thickness of the non-magnetic non-conductive film 111 may be set to an appropriate value according to the frequency of a recording signal or the like.
It may be set to about m. However, at this time, in the method for calculating the film thickness of the lower layer gap, G / 2− (lower layer Ta5 nm + S
AL bias layer NiFeNb 32 nm + intermediate insulating layer Ta
By deciding 5 nm + MR layer NiFe 30 nm / 2), the MR element is installed at the exact middle between the lower shield and the upper shield.

After forming the non-magnetic non-conductive film 111,
On the non-magnetic non-conductive film 111, a thin film (hereinafter referred to as “MR element thin film”) 112 for forming the SAL bias type MR element 11 is formed. Specifically, M
The R element thin film 112 is made of, for example, Ta (5 nm) / Ni.
FeNb (24 nm) / Ta (5 nm) / NiFe (2
0 nm) / Ta (1 nm) in this order by sputtering. In this case, NiFe
Is a soft magnetic film having a magnetoresistive effect, and the MR element 1
1 is a magnetic sensing part. NiFeNb becomes a soft magnetic film (so-called SAL film) for applying a bias magnetic field to NiFe. The material and thickness of the MR element are
The present invention is not limited to the above example, and an appropriate device may be used in accordance with the requirements of the system.

Thereafter, in order to stabilize the operation of the MR element, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, two rectangular permanent magnet films 113a and 113b are provided for each MR element.
Using a photolithography technique, a thin film 11 for an MR element
Embed in 2. Further, in order to reduce the resistance value of the element, a conductive material having a lower resistance value (hereinafter referred to as a “resistance reducing film”) 1 is provided on the permanent magnet films 113a and 113b.
14a and 114b are formed. FIG. 7 (including FIGS. 8, 9, 13, and 14 to be described later) shows a portion corresponding to one MR element 11, that is, a portion indicated by an arrow C in FIG. 6 in an enlarged manner.

Each of the permanent magnet films 113a and 113b has, for example, a length t3 in the major axis direction of about 50 μm and a length t3 in the minor axis direction.
4 is about 10 μm, and the interval t5 is about 5 μm. This interval t5 finally becomes the track width (for example, about 5 μm) of the MR element 11. However, the track width is not limited to the above example, and may be set to an appropriate value according to the requirements of the system. The positions where the permanent magnet films 113a and 113b are installed are as follows.
It is necessary to be on the lower shield film 124 and housed inside the lower shield film, but it is sufficient that the portion finally remaining as the shield is at least about 5 times the width (depth) of the MR element in the magnetic flux entry direction.

When embedding the permanent magnet films 113a and 113b and the low-resistance films 114a and 114b, for example, first, a mask having two rectangular openings for each MR element is formed using photoresist. Then, etching is performed to remove the MR element thin film 112 exposed in the opening. Note that the etching here may be either a dry method or a wet method, but ion etching is preferable in consideration of ease of processing and the like. Next, a permanent magnet film 113 is formed by sputtering or the like. The material of the permanent magnet film 113 has a coercive force of 1000 [O
e] Above materials such as CoNiPt and CoCrPt
Etc. are preferred. The thickness is made equal to the thickness of the MR element 11.

After the permanent magnet film 113 is formed, a resistance reducing film 114 is further formed by sputtering or the like. The material of the low resistance film 114 is, for example, Cr, T
a and the like are preferable. And the thickness is, for example, 60n
m. These thicknesses, including the permanent magnet film 113,
It is determined by the resistance value required for the system, the track width of the MR element, and the like. Thereafter, the photoresist serving as a mask is replaced with the permanent magnet film 11 formed on the photoresist.
3 and the resistive film 114 are removed. As a result, the permanent magnet films 113a and 113b and the resistance reducing films 114a and 114b having the predetermined patterns are embedded in the magnetoresistive effect element thin film 12.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the photolithography technique is used to leave a portion (hereinafter, referred to as an "element portion") 115 which finally operates as an MR element, and
The R element thin film 112 is removed. At this time, portions serving as terminals for supplying a sense current to the element portion 115 (hereinafter, referred to as “terminal portions”) 115a and 115b
Also leave. More specifically, for example, first, the element portion 115 and the terminal portion 1 for each MR element are formed using photoresist.
A mask having openings at 15a and 115b is formed. Next, etching is performed to remove the MR element thin film 112 exposed in the opening. Note that the etching here may be either a dry method or a wet method, but ion etching is preferable in consideration of ease of processing and the like. Thereafter, by removing the photoresist used as a mask, the element portion 115 and the terminal portions 115a and 115b of the MR element thin film 112 are left.

The width t6 of the element portion 115 is, for example, about 3 μm. This width t6 finally corresponds to the length from the end to the other end of the element portion 115 on the tape sliding surface side, that is, the depth length d. Therefore, in this example,
The depth length d of the element portion 115 is about 3 μm. However, the depth length d is not limited to the above example, but may be set to an appropriate value according to the requirements of the system. For the terminal portions 115a and 115b, for example, each length t7 is set to about 1.5 mm,
Each width t8 is about 80 μm, and their interval t9
To about 40 μm.

Next, using photolithography technology, the terminal portions 115a and 115b for supplying a sense current to the element portion 115 are replaced with conductive films having lower electric resistances, and a sense current is supplied to the element portion 115. Terminals 115a 'and 115b' are formed. Specifically, first, a mask having openings in portions 115a and 115b to be terminals is formed using photoresist. Then, etching is performed to remove the MR element thin film 112 remaining in portions exposed in the openings, that is, portions 115a and 115b to be terminals. Next, with the photoresist mask left as it is,
A conductive film is formed thereon. Here, the conductive film is, for example, Ti (10 nm) / Cu (90 nm) / Ti (10
nm) in this order by sputtering. After that, the photoresist serving as a mask is removed together with the conductive film formed on the photoresist. Thus, a terminal formed of the conductive film is formed.

Then, as shown in FIG.
After the formation of a 'and 115b', a non-magnetic non-conductive film 116 to be an upper layer gap of the MR element 11 is formed by sputtering or the like. Here, the non-magnetic non-conductive film 116
For the material of Al ₂ O 3 from the viewpoint of insulation properties and abrasion resistance, etc.
O ₃ is preferred. The thickness of the non-magnetic non-conductive film 116 may be set to an appropriate value according to the frequency of the recording signal and the like, and specifically, is set to, for example, 120 nm. The method for accurately calculating the film thickness of the upper gap is such that G / 2- (MR layer NiFe 30 nm /
By determining that 2 + lower layer Ta is 5 nm), the MR element is installed at a position directly between the lower shield film and the upper shield film.

After the formation of the non-magnetic non-conductive film 116, the magnetic shield layer 13 having a two-layer structure, that is, a shield film (hereinafter, referred to as a "second upper shield film") 13b and a shield film (hereinafter, referred to as "second upper shield film") are formed. A "first upper shield film" 13a is formed.

That is, after the nonmagnetic nonconductive film 116 serving as the upper gap is formed on the substrate, first, the nonmagnetic nonconductive film 116 is formed in order to form the second upper shield film 13b. A soft magnetic thin film 131 is formed thereon. However, when the magnetic shield layer 13 is formed, the material deposited first becomes the shield film on the side closer to the MR element 11, contrary to the case of the magnetic shield layer 12 already described.
Therefore, the soft magnetic thin film 131 is made of a material having a lower ductility than the material of the first upper shield film 13a to be deposited later, for example, Co as in the case of the second lower shield film 12b.
A film is formed using a system amorphous material.

The soft magnetic thin film 131 may be formed by a sputtering method or a plating method. However, it is assumed here that the soft magnetic thin film 131 is formed by a sputtering method for the following reasons.

The surface on which the magnetic shield layer 13 is formed is made of various materials having different thicknesses, such as the MR element thin film 112 and the permanent magnet films 113a and 113b.
There are large irregularities on the surface. Therefore, as a condition required when the magnetic shield layer 13 is formed, it is indispensable that good soft magnetic characteristics can be obtained even on uneven surfaces of various sizes.

However, in the sputtering method, the characteristics greatly differ due to the surface irregularities due to the crystal growth process, and the characteristics are remarkably deteriorated especially when the irregularities are not in the uniform direction as after the formation of the MR element portion. There is a risk. On the other hand, in the plating method, it is possible to obtain good soft magnetic characteristics even on such an uneven surface.
For this reason, a plating method is generally used to form an upper shield film of an MR head, an intermediate layer of a merge type head integrated with a recording head, and the like.

When the upper shield film is formed by plating, good soft magnetic characteristics can be obtained. H. N. Is also good. For example, B.I. H. N. Comparison of the measurement results of the occurrence rate between the case where the upper shield film was formed by the sputtering method and the case where the upper shield film was formed by the plating method,
As compared with the case of the sputtering method shown in FIG.
The plating method shown in FIG. H. N. It can be confirmed that the rate of occurrence of is reduced.

However, these are the results at the wafer stage, not the results of sliding with a tape medium such as a magnetic tape or a polishing tape. When sliding with the tape medium, the soft foundation thin film formed by the plating method has a large ductility, so the interface with the tape medium becomes unclear due to the sliding with the tape medium as described above, and the frequency characteristic is deteriorated. It is possible. For example, 20M for the running time of the tape medium
When the results of recording / reproducing output at Hz are compared between the case where the upper shield film is formed by the sputtering method and the case where the upper shield film is formed by the plating method, as shown in FIG. In contrast, in the case of the plating method (see the mark in the figure), the gap length is increased by grinding due to sliding with the tape medium and the accumulation of grinding marks, etc. It can be confirmed that the output decreases due to the gap loss.

From these facts, the conditions required for the upper shield film are that the strength and the low ductility are maintained so as not to affect the sliding, and good soft magnetic characteristics can be obtained even on the uneven surface. Is required.

In consideration of the above points, the soft magnetic thin film 131
Is formed by a sputtering method using a Co-based amorphous material. However, if the sputtered film becomes thicker at that time, the operation is performed by the sputtered film alone. H. N. May be increased. FIG. 12 shows the thickness of the amorphous film and the B.V. H.
N. It is an explanatory view showing the relationship with the incidence rate. As is clear from the figure, the thickness of the amorphous film is 0.5 μm
The following is better. H. N. It is understood that this is desirable in terms of the occurrence rate. Although this result is expected to differ depending on the amorphous material, it is considered that if the thickness of the amorphous material having low ductility is about 0.5 μm, it is sufficient to suppress dragging of the gap surface. Therefore, the soft magnetic thin film 131 has a thickness of, for example, 0.5 μm.
m.

After the formation of the soft magnetic thin film 131, subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9, a film 132 serving as a base for NiFe plating is formed by a sputtering method, and a portion necessary as an upper shield film is opened. Resist pattern 13
3 is formed by a photolithography technique. And
NiFe plating is performed, and the first upper shield film 13 is formed.
A soft magnetic thin film for forming a is formed. At this time, the thickness of the NiFe plating needs to be 1 μm or more so that magnetic saturation does not occur, as in the case of the lower shield film (soft magnetic thin film 121). Specifically, for example, it can be considered to be about 2.5 μm.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 13, ion etching is performed on the entire surface to form the base film 132 and the soft magnetic thin film 13 other than those required as the upper shield film.
Remove one. Thus, the magnetic shield layer 13 composed of the second upper shield film 134 formed by sputtering an amorphous material and the first upper shield film 135 formed by NiFe plating is formed.

That is, since the magnetic shield layer 13 has a two-layer structure, the second upper shield film 134 near the MR element 11 is formed by a sputtering method excellent in strength and low ductility. The upper shield film 135 of the eye is formed by a plating method capable of obtaining good soft magnetic characteristics.

In this way, as shown in FIG. H. N. It can be seen that the occurrence rate is suppressed to substantially the same level as in the case of forming only by plating. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the result of the recording / reproducing output with respect to the running time of the tape medium (see a circle in the figure) is maintained at substantially the same level as in the case of the sputtered film, and the gap length does not increase. You can see that. Therefore, B. H.
N. And the optimization of the recording / reproducing output after running the tape medium.

The magnetic shield layer 13 composed of the second upper shield film 134 and the first upper shield film 135
14, the external connection terminals 16a and 16b for connecting to an external circuit are connected to the above-mentioned terminals 115a 'and 115 by using a photolithography technique.
formed on the end of b '. Specifically, for example, first, a mask having an opening in a portion to be the external connection terminals 16a and 16b is formed using photoresist. Subsequently, etching is performed to remove the non-magnetic and non-conductive film 116 at the portions exposed to the openings, that is, the portions to be the external connection terminals 16a and 16b.
The end of b 'is exposed. Then, while the photoresist mask is left as it is, a conductive film is formed thereon. Here, the conductive film is formed by, for example, electrolytic plating using a copper sulfate solution so that Cu has a thickness of about 6 μm. The conductive film may be formed by a method other than the electrolytic plating as long as it does not affect other films. After that, the photoresist that was the mask was
It is removed together with the conductive film formed on the photoresist. Thus, the external connection terminals 16a and 16b are formed. The external connection terminals 16a, 1
The length t12 of 6b is, for example, about 50 μm. Also,
The width t13 of the external connection terminals 16a and 16b is the same as the width t8 of the terminals 115a 'and 115b', for example, about 80 μm.

After the external connection terminals 16a and 16b are formed, a protective film 136 is formed on the entire surface to shut off the entire MR element from the outside. Specifically, for example, Al ₂ O ₃ is formed to a thickness of about 4 μm by sputtering. As the material of the protective film 136, any material other than Al ₂ O ₃ can be used as long as it is a non-magnetic and non-conductive material. However, in consideration of environmental resistance, abrasion resistance and the like, Al ₂ O ₃
Is preferred. The method of forming the protective film 126 is as follows.
It may be by a method other than sputtering,
For example, it may be formed by vapor deposition or the like. Then, the protective film 136 covering the entire surface is polished until the external connection terminals 16a and 16b are exposed on the surface. In this polishing, for example, after roughly polishing the surface of the external connection terminals 16a and 16b with diamond abrasive particles having a particle diameter of about 2 μm until the surfaces of the external connection terminals 16a and 16b are exposed, the surface is mirror-finished by buff polishing with silicon abrasive particles. To finish.

After the formation of the protective film 136 in this manner, the substrate is cut into strips as shown in FIG. 15 for a large number of groups of the MR elements 11 formed on the substrate 141. A block 21 in which the MR elements 11 are arranged in a horizontal direction is formed. The number of MR elements 11 arranged in the horizontal direction is preferably as large as possible in consideration of productivity. Although only five are shown in the figure for simplicity, more than five may be used in practice. The width t14 of the block 21 is 2 mm.

When the block 21 cut into strips is formed, a substrate 151 having a thickness t15 of about 0.7 mm is attached to the cut block 21 as shown in FIG. For bonding the substrate 151, an adhesive such as a resin may be used. At this time, the substrate 1
The height t16 of 51 is made smaller than the height t14 of the substrate 141 so that the external connection terminals 16a and 16b are exposed, so that electrical connection to them can be made. This substrate 1
The same material as the substrate 141 is used for 51.

After the attachment of the substrate 151, the sliding surface 10 is formed as shown in FIG. That is, the sliding surface 1
Grinding is performed on the surface which becomes 0 so as to form a substantially circular arc. Specifically, the front end of the MR element 11 is exposed on the sliding surface 10 and the depth d of the MR element 11 is
Until the initial stage (for example, 7 μm), that is, M
Cylindrical polishing is performed on the element array 22 after the substrate 151 is attached, to a position near the end of the R element 11 on the sliding surface 10 side. Thereby, the sliding surface 10 is formed into a substantially arc-shaped curved surface. Since the polishing at this time is in the roughing stage, the depth of the MR element 11 which is finally required + 1 μm
Up to the extent.

When the polishing in the roughing stage is completed, the azimuth angle θ required by the system is applied as shown in FIG. Cut.

After separation into the respective MR heads, the final surface of the sliding surface 10 is individually formed using a polishing tape.
That is, mechanical processing using a polishing tape is performed so that the depth width of the MR element 11 finally required for each head is obtained and the MR element 11 is located near the vertex of the arc of the sliding surface 10. Apply.

As the polishing tape, for example, a polyester base coated with diamond abrasive grains having an average particle diameter of 0.1 μm and chromium oxide having an average particle diameter of 0.1 μm is used. Although a mechanical forming method using a polishing tape is shown here, the present invention is not limited to this method, and a thin film process such as chemical grinding or ion etching may be used.

When the final surface of the sliding surface 10 is formed by using a polishing tape, the surface condition of the sliding surface 10 greatly differs depending on the structures and materials of the magnetic shield layers 12 and 13. In particular, it is conceivable that the running direction of the polishing tape is opposite to the running direction of the magnetic tape. In this case, the running direction greatly differs depending on the configuration and material of the magnetic shield layer 13 composed of the upper shield films 134 and 135. This is because the sliding between the sliding surface 10 and the polishing tape is performed in a state in which the sliding between the sliding surface 10 and the magnetic tape is further accelerated, and the impact given to the surface of the sliding surface is larger than that of the magnetic tape. It is.

This is verified by the measurement result of the width of the MR element 11 in the depth direction. Specifically, MR element 1
The width 1 in the depth direction cannot be directly measured because it is sandwiched between the substrates 141 and 151, and is usually determined by a resistance value. For this reason, when a final sliding surface is formed by using a polishing tape, for example, if the upper shield film is dragged or the like and an electrical short circuit occurs, the resistance value M
This makes it impossible to determine the depth of the R element. Specifically, when the upper shield film is formed only by NiFe plating, as shown in FIG. 19A, the occurrence rate of an electric short circuit occurring during the formation of the sliding surface is high, and the depth of the MR element 11 varies. It becomes a cause to be. On the other hand, as described in the present embodiment, when the magnetic shield layer 13 composed of the upper shield films 134 and 135 of the two-layer structure is used, as shown in FIG. Since the rate of occurrence of an electrical short-circuit occurring during the formation is reduced, the final formation of the surface of the sliding surface 10 can be performed with good yield and goodness.

Further, when a final sliding surface is formed by using a polishing tape, for example, dragging or the like occurs in the upper shield film and the shield interface near the gap becomes unclear.
The symmetry of the output waveform within the playback track width (asymmetr
y) may vary (see FIG. 26).
In the case where the magnetic shield layer 13 is made of 4,135, as shown in FIG. 20, it can be confirmed that the variation in the waveform symmetry is reduced and changes are uniform.

The MR obtained by the above manufacturing method
According to the head, that is, the MR head of this embodiment, the magnetic shield layers 12 and 13 have different hardnesses.
Shield films 12b and 13b made of a low-ductility soft magnetic sputter film on the side near the MR element 11 and soft magnetic plating excellent on the soft magnetic properties on the side far from the MR element 11 The shield films 12b and 13b are made of films. Therefore,
The shield films 12b and 13b can minimize adverse effects due to abrasion of the sliding surface, that is, minimize the occurrence of electrical and magnetic short-circuiting of each layer of the thin-film laminated structure and an increase in apparent gap length. A stable high output can be obtained even after sliding with the tape medium for a long time. Moreover, even if the adverse effects due to wear are suppressed by the shield films 12b and 13b, the other shield films 12a and 13b
Since a is formed of a material having excellent soft magnetic properties, the function as a magnetic shield layer is not impaired. H. N. Can be prevented from increasing.

That is, according to the MR head and the method of manufacturing the same according to the present embodiment, it is possible to realize an MR head having stable characteristics compatible with high sensitivity and high density while preventing the adverse effects caused by wear of the sliding surface. Becomes

In this embodiment, each member constituting the MR head, its material, size, film thickness, etc.
Although a specific example has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and an appropriate device may be used according to the requirements of the system. For example, in the present embodiment, a so-called shield type SAL having a structure similar to that of an MR head practically used in a hard disk device or the like is used.
Although the bias type MR head has been described, the bias method and the like are not limited to this. Further, the present invention can be applied to not only a magnetic scan type magnetic tape device but also a fixed type magnetic tape device which slides at high speed. Further, as the MR element, a device having a large resistance change rate such as a GMR (Giant MR) or a spin valve can be applied.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the two magnetic shield layers 12, 13 sandwiching the MR element 11 have a two-layer structure has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. It suffices if at least one of the magnetic shield layers is formed of a laminated film. That is, as described in this embodiment, when the running direction of the polishing tape and the running direction of the magnetic tape are opposite to each other, it is desirable that both magnetic shield layers 12 and 13 have a two-layer structure. For example, when the running directions are the same, even if only the magnetic shield layer on the entry side of the tape medium is formed of a laminated film, high sensitivity and high density can be achieved while preventing the adverse effects due to abrasion of the sliding surface. It is possible to realize an MR head having stable characteristics. In particular, since the lower shield film of each magnetic shield layer is formed before the formation of the MR element 11, there is no limitation on the heat treatment, the formation method, and the like. It is only necessary that at least one of the magnetic shield layers is formed of a laminated film, since the necessity of performing the operation is small.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the magnetic shield layers 12 and 13 have a two-layer structure has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of types having different hardnesses are provided. As long as it is formed of a laminated film made of a material, it may have a multilayer structure. As the multilayer structure, for example, a structure in which a sputtered film made of an amorphous material is sandwiched between plated films having excellent soft magnetic properties can be considered.

[0086]

As described above, according to the magnetic head and the method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention, at least one of the magnetic shield layers is formed by a laminated film made of a plurality of types of materials having different hardnesses. In addition, it is possible to minimize the occurrence of an electrical or magnetic short circuit on the sliding surface, an apparent increase in the gap length, and the like, and the function as the magnetic shield layer is not impaired. Therefore, the present invention is suitable for realizing a magnetic head having stable characteristics compatible with high sensitivity and high density while preventing adverse effects due to abrasion of the sliding surface.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a shape of a sliding surface in a magnetic head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of a system using a magnetic head according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram (part 1) for explaining a manufacturing procedure of the magnetic head according to the present invention, in which (a) forms a soft magnetic film on a substrate and then forms a photoresist pattern in a shield shape; It is a top view showing the state where it did, and (b) is the side view.

FIG. 4 is a diagram (part 2) for explaining the manufacturing procedure of the magnetic head according to the present invention, and (a) is a plan view showing a state after a second soft magnetic film having low ductility is formed; FIG.
(B) is a side view thereof.

FIG. 5 is a diagram (part 3) for explaining a manufacturing procedure of the magnetic head according to the present invention, and (a) is a plan view showing a state after a thin film for a magnetoresistive element is formed; ,
(B) is a side view thereof.

FIG. 6 is a view (No. 4) for explaining the procedure for manufacturing the magnetic head according to the present invention, and is a plan view showing a state in which a permanent magnet film is embedded in a thin film for a magnetoresistive element.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams (No. 5) for explaining the manufacturing procedure of the magnetic head according to the present invention, and FIG. 7A is an enlarged plan view of a portion corresponding to one head element in FIG.
(B) is the XX sectional drawing.

8A and 8B are diagrams (part 6) for explaining the manufacturing procedure of the magnetic head according to the present invention. FIG. 8A shows a portion corresponding to one head element in the etching state of the thin film for the magnetoresistive element. FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view, and FIG.
It is -X sectional drawing.

FIG. 9 is a view (No. 7) for explaining the manufacturing procedure of the magnetic head according to the present invention, wherein (a) shows a soft magnetic thin film serving as an upper shield film formed on the thin film for a magnetoresistive element; FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a portion corresponding to one head element in the state shown in FIG.

FIG. H. N. It is an explanatory view showing an example of the measurement result of the occurrence rate of (a), (a) is a diagram when a shield film is formed by a sputtering method, (b) is a diagram when a shield film is formed by a plating method, ( (c) is a diagram showing a case where the shield film has a two-layer structure.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a relationship between a running time of a tape medium and a recording / reproducing output of a magnetic head.

FIG. 12 shows the amorphous thickness of the shield film and B.V. H.
N. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a relationship with the occurrence rate of the spelling.

FIG. 13 is a view (No. 8) for explaining the manufacturing procedure of the magnetic head according to the present invention; FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a portion corresponding to one head element, and FIG.

FIG. 14 is a view (No. 9) for explaining the manufacturing procedure of the magnetic head according to the present invention; FIG. 14A is a view illustrating a step of forming a protective film and polishing the protective film until an external connection terminal is exposed; It is a top view showing the state where it did, and (b) is the XX sectional view.

FIG. 15 is a view (No. 10) for explaining the manufacturing procedure of the magnetic head according to the present invention, which is a schematic view showing a state in which the hard nonmagnetic substrate on which the head element is formed is cut into blocks.

16 is a view (No. 11) for explaining the procedure for manufacturing the magnetic head according to the present invention, and is a perspective view showing a state where a hard non-magnetic substrate is attached to the block of FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a view (No. 12) for explaining the manufacturing procedure of the magnetic head according to the present invention, and is a perspective view showing a state where the upper surface of the block in FIG. 14 is processed into an arc shape;

FIG. 18 is a diagram (No. 13) for explaining the manufacturing procedure of the magnetic head according to the present invention, and is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the block in FIG. 15 is divided for each head element.

19A and 19B are explanatory diagrams illustrating an example of a measurement result of an occurrence rate of an electrical short circuit after sliding with a tape medium. FIG. 19A is a diagram illustrating a case where a shield film is formed by a plating method, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case where the shield film has a two-layer structure.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a measurement result of symmetry of an output waveform within a reproduction track width when a shield film has a two-layer structure.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an example of a rotary drum on which a magnetic head according to the present invention is mounted.

FIG. 22 is a sectional view showing an example of a thin-film laminated structure in a conventional magnetic head.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged gap portion in a thin film laminated structure in a conventional magnetic head.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram (part 1) illustrating a specific example of damage to a sliding surface of a magnetic head after sliding with a tape medium.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram (part 2) illustrating a specific example of damage to a sliding surface of a magnetic head after sliding with a tape medium.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a measurement result of symmetry of an output waveform within a reproduction track width in a conventional magnetic head.

[Explanation of symbols]

2: magnetic head device, 2a: rotating drum, 10: sliding surface, 11: MR element, 12, 13: soft magnetic thin film, 12a
... First lower shield film, 12b. Second lower shield film, 13a. First upper shield film, 13b.
Upper shield films of the layers, 14, 15 ... hard non-magnetic substrate,
RH1, RH2: reproduction head (MR head), TP: magnetic tape

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5D034 BA02 BA16 BA19 BB08 CA01 DA07 5D111 AA12 AA23 DD06 DD12 DD23 EE02 GG12 JJ23 KK07 KK09

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic head mounted on a rotary head of a system using a magnetic tape as a recording medium and having a magnetoresistive head element for reproduction, wherein a sliding surface sliding on the magnetic tape is provided. Along with the sliding surface, the sliding surface is configured in a thin-film laminated structure that is stacked along the running direction of the magnetic tape so that the pair of magnetic shield layers sandwich the head element. At least one of
A magnetic head comprising a laminated film made of a plurality of types of materials having different hardnesses. 2. The magnetic shield layer formed of the laminated film, wherein the head element side of the laminated film is formed of a material having high hardness.
The magnetic head as described. 3. The magnetic head according to claim 2, wherein the material having a high hardness is an amorphous magnetic alloy. 4. The magnetic head according to claim 3, wherein the amorphous magnetic alloy has a thickness of about 0.5 μm or less. 5. A method for manufacturing a magnetic head mounted on a rotating head of a system using a magnetic tape as a recording medium and having a magnetoresistive head element for reproduction, wherein the head element is a pair of magnetic shields. In forming a thin-film laminated structure in which layers are sandwiched, at least one of the pair of magnetic shield layers is formed of a laminated film made of a plurality of types of materials having different hardnesses. The film positioned on the side of the head element is formed by sputtering, and the other film is formed by plating. Thereafter, a sliding surface with the magnetic tape is formed on one end surface of the formed thin film laminated structure. A method for manufacturing a magnetic head, comprising: