JP2006114076A - Manufacturing method of magnetic head, magnetic head, head gimbal assembly, head arm assembly, and head stack assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce cutting margin in the direction of width of a main magnetic pole when a recording medium opposing plane of the main magnetic pole is formed to a desired inverse trapezoidal shape by enlarging sufficiently difference between a lower part of a main magnetic pole layer and ion milling rate of an upper part. <P>SOLUTION: A low substrate layer 13 is constituted of a non-magnetic material of which the milling rate is faster than a magnetic metal material constituting a main magnetic pole layer 14, an upper substrate layer 15 is constituted of a material of which the milling rate is slower than the magnetic metal material constituting the main magnetic pole layer 14. Ion milling is performed for this lamination structure from a direction making an angle of approximately 40°-70° to a lamination direction. As an upper part of the main magnetic pole layer is affected by an upper substrate layer of which the milling rate is slow, the milling rate is made slower than the other part of the main magnetic pole layer. As a lower part of the main magnetic pole layer is affected by the low substrate layer of which the milling rate is fast, the milling rate is made faster than the other part of the main magnetic pole layer. Consequently, cutting margin in the direction of width of the main magnetic pole can be reduced when a recording medium opposing plane of the main magnetic pole is formed to a desired inverse trapezoidal shape. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a perpendicular magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus.

        In the perpendicular magnetic recording / reproducing method, the thermal fluctuation of magnetization when the surface recording density is increased is small as compared with the in-plane magnetic recording / reproducing method widely used conventionally. Therefore, the perpendicular magnetic recording / reproducing system has recently attracted attention as being capable of satisfying the demand for increasing the surface recording density in a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus such as a hard disk device.

        One of the problems in such a perpendicular magnetic recording / reproducing system is side erasure caused by the skew effect. Here, the skew effect is that when the magnetic head is moved in the radial direction (track width direction) of the magnetic recording medium, depending on the location of the magnetic recording medium, the magnetic pole of the magnetic head is inclined with respect to the rotation direction of the magnetic recording medium. It means to end up. Side erase refers to erasing information on a track adjacent to the track when recording is performed on the track.

        Referring to FIG. 1A, there is shown a diagram for explaining side erasure caused by a skew effect in a perpendicular magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus. In FIG. 1A, when the magnetic head is moved in the outer circumferential direction of the magnetic recording medium, the main pole is inclined with respect to the rotation direction of the magnetic recording medium, and the leading side (upstream side in the rotation direction of the magnetic recording medium) is adjacent. It will stick out on the track. In a perpendicular magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus, a single pole magnetic head is often used. In such a single-pole magnetic head, the shape of the surface of the main pole facing the recording medium greatly affects the magnetization pattern recorded on the magnetic recording medium. Therefore, if the leading side of the main pole protrudes from the adjacent track, there is a possibility that information on the adjacent track is erased.

        In order to prevent side erasure due to such a skew effect, the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium is such that the trailing side (downstream side in the rotation direction of the magnetic recording medium) is the long side and the leading side is the short side. It has been proposed to make an inverted trapezoidal shape (hereinafter, such an inverted trapezoidal shape is simply referred to as an inverted trapezoidal shape).

        Referring to FIG. 1B, there is shown a diagram for explaining that side erasure due to a skew effect can be prevented by using a main magnetic pole having an inverted trapezoidal shape on the recording medium facing surface. In FIG. 1B, when the magnetic head is moved in the outer circumferential direction of the magnetic recording medium, the main magnetic pole is inclined with respect to the rotation direction of the magnetic recording medium. However, since the shape of the main pole facing the recording medium is an inverted trapezoid, the leading side does not protrude from the adjacent track. Therefore, there is little risk of erasing information on adjacent tracks. In the single-pole magnetic head, the shape on the trailing side of the shape of the recording surface of the main magnetic pole facing the recording medium has a particularly great influence on the pattern of magnetization recorded on the magnetic recording medium. Therefore, if the width of the main magnetic pole on the trailing side does not change, there is no significant change in the magnetization pattern recorded on the magnetic recording medium even if the shape of the recording medium facing surface is such an inverted trapezoidal shape.

        Several methods have been proposed so far in which the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium is inverted. The following are three typical ones.

        First, Method 1 is as follows. First, using a resist, a tapered frame is formed on the underlayer of the main magnetic pole so that the diameter of the hole decreases as the depth increases. Then, using this frame, the magnetic metal constituting the main magnetic pole is plated. After the plating is completed, this frame is removed. As a result, a main magnetic pole having an inverted trapezoidal shape on the recording medium facing surface is formed.

Second, Method 2 is as follows (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-263705 (Patent Document 1)). First, a frame having a uniform hole diameter in the depth direction is formed on the base layer of the main magnetic pole using a resist. Then, using this frame, the magnetic metal constituting the main magnetic pole is plated. After the plating is completed, this frame is removed. After the frame is removed, ion milling is performed from a direction that forms a predetermined angle with the stacking direction. The main magnetic pole layer has a lower ion milling rate in the lower part than in the upper part, and as a result, the recording medium facing surface is shaped into an inverted trapezoidal shape. A material having an ion milling rate faster than that of Al ₂ O ₃ is used for the underlayer of the main pole. This is because the desired inverted trapezoidal shape cannot be obtained with the Al ₂ O ₃ ion milling rate. As a result, a main magnetic pole having an inverted trapezoidal shape on the recording medium facing surface is formed.

Third, Method 3 is as follows (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-20311 (Patent Document 2)). First, a magnetic metal constituting the main pole is uniformly formed on the base layer of the main pole by sputtering. Then, an upper layer is formed on the main magnetic pole layer with a material having an ion milling rate slower than that of the magnetic metal constituting the main magnetic pole. Then, a main magnetic pole pattern forming mask is formed on the upper layer. After the main magnetic pole pattern is formed using this mask, ion milling is performed from a direction that forms a predetermined angle with the stacking direction. The main magnetic pole layer is affected by the upper layer that has a slower ion milling rate, and the ion milling rate is slower in the upper part than in the lower part. As a result, the recording medium facing surface has an inverted trapezoidal shape. To be shaped. As a result, a main magnetic pole having an inverted trapezoidal shape on the recording medium facing surface is formed.
JP 2003-263705 A JP 2003-203111 A

        The methods 1 to 3 have the following problems.

        In Method 1 and Method 2, the magnetic metal constituting the main magnetic pole is plated. Plating generally has low material selectivity. Therefore, it is impossible to optimize the recording performance of the magnetic head while changing the main magnetic pole material. Therefore, Method 1 and Method 2 are not appropriate methods.

        In this respect, Method 3 has no problem in terms of selectivity of the main magnetic pole material because sputtering is used to form the main magnetic pole layer. However, in Method 3, since the difference in ion milling rate between the lower part and the upper part of the main magnetic pole layer is not sufficient, the width of the main magnetic pole is used to shape the shape of the recording surface of the main magnetic pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape. You have to take a lot of direction shaving. As a result, the position of the flare point (hereinafter referred to as FP) and the length of the neck height (hereinafter referred to as NH) before and after the step of shaping the shape of the main pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape. May fluctuate significantly. This problem also applies to Method 2 in which the difference in ion milling rate between the lower and upper portions of the main magnetic pole layer is still not sufficient.

        Here, FP is a point where the width of the main magnetic pole starts to widen in the direction perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface. NH is a distance from the recording medium facing surface to the FP. Both are important factors that determine the recording performance of the magnetic head.

        Referring to FIG. 2A, there is shown a diagram for explaining that the position of FP and the length of NH fluctuate before and after the step of shaping the shape of the main pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape. ing. In FIG. 2A, when ion milling is performed in order to shape the shape of the recording medium facing surface of the main magnetic pole into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape, the position of the FP may be separated from the recording medium facing surface and the length of NH may be increased. It is shown. However, depending on the case, the position of FP may approach the recording medium facing surface, and the length of NH may be shortened. Furthermore, since the main magnetic pole is etched by ion milling, the removed particles may be reattached to the main magnetic pole, so that the position of FP and the length of NH may vary.

        As described above, when the FP position and the NH length fluctuate as described above, the recording performance of the magnetic head is greatly affected.

        Referring to FIG. 2B, there is shown a diagram for explaining what influence is exerted on the recording performance of the magnetic head when the position of FP and the length of NH change. (A) shows a case where NH becomes long, and (b) shows a case where NH becomes short.

        In FIG. 2B, (a) when NH becomes longer, residual magnetization occurs at the tip of the main pole due to shape magnetic anisotropy. As a result, the magnetic flux resulting from the residual magnetization is radiated from the front end of the main pole toward the magnetic recording medium even when a current is passed through the coil and writing is not performed on the magnetic recording medium. The radiated magnetic flux may reverse the magnetization recorded on the magnetic recording medium and erase the written information.

        Conversely, when (b) NH is shortened, there is a risk that magnetic flux will leak from other than the tip of the main pole when current is passed through the coil and writing to the magnetic recording medium. As a result, the effective track width of the magnetic head becomes wide, and side erasure may occur.

        Thus, the length of NH may not be too long or too short. NH needs to be controlled to the very optimum length in the magnetic head. However, it is very difficult to shape the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoid shape while controlling the position of FP and the length of NH. Therefore, in order to appropriately control the position of FP and the length of NH, the position of FP and the length of NH after the shape of the recording medium facing surface of the main pole is shaped into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape It is necessary to change as little as possible from the position of FP and the length of NH based on the pattern formation of the magnetic pole. For this purpose, the difference in the ion milling rate between the lower part and the upper part of the main magnetic pole layer is made sufficiently large, and the main magnetic pole is shaved in the width direction when the shape of the recording medium facing surface of the main magnetic pole is shaped into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape. It is necessary to reduce as much as possible.

        Furthermore, if the amount of shaving in the width direction of the main pole when shaping the shape of the main pole facing the recording medium into the desired inverted trapezoidal shape is reduced as much as possible, the amount of particles removed by ion milling is reduced and thus removed. Variations in the position of the FP and the length of the NH due to the particles reattaching to the main pole can be prevented as much as possible.

        The object of the present invention is to maintain the selectivity of the main magnetic pole material by using sputtering, while sufficiently increasing the difference in the ion milling rate between the lower part and the upper part of the main magnetic pole layer so that the shape of the recording surface of the main magnetic pole facing the recording medium is desired. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for reducing as much as possible the shaving margin in the width direction of the main magnetic pole when shaping into an inverted trapezoidal shape.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, an ion milling rate faster than the ion milling rate of a magnetic metal constituting the main magnetic pole layer, such as SiO ₂ , is provided as an underlayer of the main magnetic pole layer. A nonmagnetic material having low milling resistance is used. Then, the upper layer of the main magnetic pole layer is provided, and the material constituting this has an ion milling rate slower than that of the magnetic metal constituting the main magnetic pole layer such as Al ₂ O ₃ (high milling resistance) Use materials. Further, the magnetic metal constituting the main magnetic pole layer is deposited by sputtering in order to maintain material selectivity.

        In order to change the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium to the desired inverted trapezoidal shape, the difference in the ion milling rate between the main pole layer and the upper layer relative to the laminated structure of the lower layer, the main magnetic pole layer, and the upper layer, the lower layer -Ion milling is performed from a direction that makes a sufficient difference in ion milling rate of the main magnetic pole layer and forms a predetermined angle with the stacking direction. The upper part of the main magnetic pole layer is affected by the upper layer having a slow ion milling rate, and the ion milling rate is slower than that of other parts of the main magnetic pole layer. On the other hand, the lower part of the main magnetic pole layer is affected by the underlayer having a higher ion milling rate, so that the ion milling rate is faster than the other parts of the main magnetic pole layer. Thereby, the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium can be changed to a desired inverted trapezoidal shape.

        As described above, according to the present invention, a nonmagnetic material having an ion milling rate faster than the ion milling rate of the magnetic metal material constituting the main magnetic pole layer is used as the material constituting the underlayer of the main magnetic pole layer. By using a material having an ion milling rate slower than the ion milling rate of the magnetic metal material constituting the main magnetic pole layer as the material constituting the upper layer of the main magnetic pole layer, the main magnetic pole can be made more than the method 2 and method 3. The difference between the lower and upper AEON MILLAGE rates can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of shaving in the width direction of the main pole when shaping the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape, compared to methods 2 and 3. As a result, the position of the FP and the length of NH after shaping the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape are much less than the position of the FP and the length of NH based on the pattern formation of the main pole. Without change, the control of the position of the FP and the length of the NH in manufacturing the magnetic head can be enhanced. In addition, since the shaving margin in the width direction of the main pole when shaping the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape can be reduced, the processing time of ion milling can be shortened.

        Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

        In the following, first, 1. The structure of the magnetic head of the present invention will be outlined. Next, 2. The main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention will be described, and the effects will be described based on experimental results. Finally, 3. An overview of the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of the present invention, including the formation of the main magnetic pole, will be outlined.

1. First, the structure of the magnetic head of the present invention will be outlined. The magnetic head of the present invention is a single pole type perpendicular magnetic recording / reproducing magnetic head.

        Referring to FIG. 3, a diagram for explaining the structure of the magnetic head of the present invention is shown. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, and (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction.

        The magnetic head of the present invention is largely divided into a reproducing unit and a recording unit. The reproducing unit includes a lower read shield layer 1, a shield gap insulating film 2, an MR element 3, and an upper read shield layer 4. The recording section includes a lower write shield layer 7, a coil lead 10, a coil terminal 11, a base layer 13, a main magnetic pole layer 14, a nonmagnetic film 17, an upper write shield support layer 18, an insulating film 20, a coil 21, and a coil. Insulating film 22 and upper write shield layer 23 are included. In FIG. 3, the plain portion corresponds to an insulating material or a nonmagnetic material. Hereinafter, each unit will be described in the order of the playback unit and the recording unit.

        The reproducing unit reads the magnetization (signal) recorded on the magnetic recording medium arranged to face the recording medium facing surface of the magnetic head.

        The MR element 3 is a core element of the reproducing unit, and detects the magnetization (signal) recorded on the magnetic recording medium by a change in resistance. As can be seen from FIG. 3B, the MR element 3 is disposed in the vicinity of the recording medium facing surface. The MR element 3 is, for example, a giant magneto-resistance (GMR) element or a tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR) element.

        The lower read shield layer 1 and the upper read shield layer 4 are made of a soft magnetic material such as permalloy. The lower read shield layer 1 and the upper read shield layer 4 are formed so as to sandwich the MR element 3, so that the reading operation of the MR element 3 is influenced by magnetization (signal) from adjacent bits on the magnetic recording medium. Is prevented from receiving.

The shield gap insulating film 2 is made of an insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ and maintains electrical insulation between the MR element 3 and the lower lead shield layer 1 and the upper lead shield layer 4 which are metals. .

The shield gap nonmagnetic film 6 is made of a nonmagnetic material such as Al ₂ O ₃ or Ru, and maintains the magnetic insulation between the upper read shield layer 4 (reproducing portion) and the lower write shield 7 (recording portion). .

        The recording unit records magnetization (signal) by radiating a magnetic flux toward a magnetic recording medium disposed opposite to the recording medium facing surface of the magnetic head.

        The lower write shield layer 7 is made of a soft magnetic material such as permalloy. The lower write shield layer 7 has a function as an auxiliary magnetic pole of the main magnetic pole layer 14, and absorbs magnetic flux radiated from the main magnetic pole layer 14 to the magnetic recording medium and returning from the magnetic recording medium to the magnetic head.

        The coil lead 10 is made of a metal such as Cu, and is a wiring for introducing a current into the coil 21 from the outside.

        The coil terminal 11 is made of a metal such as Cu. The location of the coil terminal 11 is the starting point, and the coil 21 is formed so as to be wound around the upper write shield layer 23.

The underlayer 13 is a part of the present invention, and is a non-magnetic material having a faster ion milling rate (lower milling resistance) than a magnetic metal material such as an iron-cobalt alloy constituting the main magnetic pole layer 14, for example, Au , Cu, Si, AuCu, SiO _{2 and the} like. The underlayer 13 has a function of increasing the ion milling rate below the main magnetic pole layer 14 deposited on the underlayer 13. When the material is SiO ₂ , the underlayer 13 needs to be at least 500 angstroms (50 nm), preferably 800 angstroms (80 nm) or more.

The main magnetic pole layer 14 is made of a magnetic metal material having a high saturation magnetic flux density such as an iron cobalt alloy. The main magnetic pole layer 14 radiates a magnetic flux generated by passing a current through the coil 21 toward the magnetic recording medium. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the main magnetic pole layer 14 has a narrow width in the vicinity of the recording medium facing surface. By appropriately controlling the position of the FP and the length of the NH, the magnetic recording medium The magnetic flux is efficiently radiated toward the head. In addition, the main magnetic pole layer 14 has a recording medium facing surface shaped in an inverted trapezoidal shape, thereby preventing side erasure due to the skew effect. When the recording medium facing surface shape of the main magnetic pole layer 14 is shaped into an inverted trapezoidal shape, an upper layer is formed on the main magnetic pole layer 14. This upper layer is also a part of the present invention, and is a material having a slower ion milling rate (higher milling resistance) than a magnetic metal material such as an iron-cobalt alloy constituting the main magnetic pole layer 14, for example, Al ₂ O. _{3. It is} comprised by Ti, Ta, Cr, NiP, etc. The upper layer has a function of slowing the ion milling rate above the main magnetic pole layer 14 below the upper layer. By using the upper layer and the lower layer 13, it is possible to reduce as much as possible the shaving margin in the width direction of the main pole when shaping the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape. Since the upper layer can be removed in a later step, it is not always necessary to use a nonmagnetic material unlike the lower layer 13.

The nonmagnetic film 17 is made of a nonmagnetic material such as Al ₂ O ₃ , Ti, or Ta, and magnetically insulates the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the upper write shield support layer 18 in the vicinity of the recording medium facing surface, A light gap is formed.

        The upper write shield support layer 18 is made of a soft magnetic material such as permalloy. The upper write shield support layer 18 supports the upper write shield layer 23 and is integrated with the upper write shield layer 23 to form an upper write shield that functions as an auxiliary magnetic pole.

The insulating film 20 is made of an insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ and electrically insulates the coil 21 and the upper write shield support layer 18.

        The coil 21 is made of a metal such as Cu. The coil 21 is formed so as to be wound around the upper write shield layer 23 starting from the location of the coil terminal 11. The coil 21 generates a magnetic flux that the main magnetic pole layer 13 radiates toward the magnetic recording medium when current is introduced from the outside by the coil lead 10. Various materials are deposited at the location of the coil terminal 11, but care is taken so that no insulating material is deposited between them. Thereby, the electrical connection between the coil lead 10 and the coil 21 is ensured.

        The coil insulating film 22 is made of an insulating material such as a photoresist, and maintains electrical insulation between the coils.

        The upper write shield layer 23 is made of a soft magnetic material such as permalloy. The upper write shield layer 23 is supported by the upper write shield support layer 18, and forms an upper write shield that functions as an auxiliary magnetic pole together with the upper write shield support layer 18. The main magnetic pole layer 14 and the upper write shield are magnetically connected, and a current flows through the coil 21 formed so as to be wound around the upper write shield, thereby inducing a magnetic flux radiated from the main magnetic pole layer 14. . The upper write shield absorbs the magnetic flux radiated from the main magnetic pole layer 14 to the magnetic recording medium and returns to the magnetic head from the magnetic recording medium, and has the gradient shape of the writing magnetic field radiated from the main magnetic pole layer 14. Has the function of correcting.

        The magnetic head as described above is processed into a slider, and a head gimbal assembly (a combination of a slider and a suspension), a head arm assembly (a combination of a head gimbal assembly and an arm), and a head stack assembly (a combination of several head arm assemblies). And is used in a magnetic recording / reproducing device such as a hard disk device.

2. Next, the main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention will be described.

        Referring to FIG. 4A, a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention is shown. Hereinafter, the process from the step of forming the base layer 13 of the main magnetic pole layer 14 on the insulating layer to the step of shaping the shape of the recording surface of the main magnetic pole facing the recording medium into an inverted trapezoid will be described.

        First, in step 401, a nonmagnetic material having an ion milling rate (low milling resistance) higher than the ion milling rate of the magnetic metal material constituting the main magnetic pole layer 14 is formed on the insulating layer. A film is formed as the underlayer 13.

        Next, in Step 402, a magnetic metal material constituting the main magnetic pole layer 14 is formed on the underlayer 13 formed in Step 401 by sputtering.

        Next, in step 403, an ion milling rate slower than the ion milling rate of the magnetic metal material constituting the main magnetic pole layer 14 is provided on the main magnetic pole layer 14 formed in step 402 (high milling resistance). The material is deposited as the upper layer 15 of the main pole.

        Next, in step 404, the main magnetic pole layer 14 is patterned by ion milling, RIE (Reactive Ion Etching), or the like. The mask may use the upper layer 15 itself or may be formed on the upper layer 15.

        Finally, in step 405, the difference in ion milling rate between the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the upper magnetic layer 15 with respect to the laminated structure of the lower layer 13, the main magnetic pole layer 14, and the upper layer 15, and the ions of the lower layer 13 and the main magnetic pole layer 14. By performing ion milling from a direction that makes a sufficient difference in the milling rate and forms a predetermined angle (specifically, about 40 ° to about 70 °) with the stacking direction, the shape of the main pole facing the recording medium is formed. Use inverted trapezoidal shape.

        In step 405, the upper part of the main magnetic pole layer 14 is affected by the upper layer 15 having a slower ion milling rate, so that the ion milling rate is slower than the other parts of the main magnetic pole layer 14. On the other hand, the ion milling rate at the lower part of the main magnetic pole layer 14 is faster than the other parts of the main magnetic pole layer 14 due to the influence of the base layer 13 having a high ion milling rate. As a result, the shaving margin in the width direction of the main pole can be reduced as much as possible when shaping the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape.

        If ion milling is used in step 404, step 404 and step 405 may be performed continuously.

        Hereinafter, embodiments of the main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention will be described.

        Referring to FIG. 4B, a diagram for explaining the main magnetic pole forming method of the first embodiment of the present invention is shown. In the first embodiment, the base layer 13 and the main magnetic pole layer 14 are formed on the insulating layer, and the upper layer 15 is formed by plating as a mask for patterning the main magnetic pole layer 14. In this case, Cr, NiP or the like is used as the material of the upper layer 15. Then, the difference in ion milling rate between the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the upper ground layer 15 and the difference in ion milling rate between the underlayer 13 and the main magnetic pole layer 14 are sufficiently large and form an angle of about 40 ° to about 70 ° with the stacking direction. Perform ion milling from the direction. When performing ion milling, for example, the substrate may be swung or rotated. Moreover, you may combine rocking | fluctuation, rotation, and a static state.

        In the first embodiment, since the upper layer 15 is also used as a mask, a step of forming a mask for patterning the main magnetic pole layer 14 on the upper layer 15 by plating can be omitted. Also, the difference in the ion milling rate between the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the upper base layer 15 and the difference in the ion milling rate between the base layer 13 and the main magnetic pole layer 14 that suddenly form an angle of about 40 ° to about 70 ° with the stacking direction. Since ion milling is performed from the direction in which the magnetic field is sufficiently generated, the patterning step of the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the step of shaping the shape of the recording surface of the main magnetic pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape can be continuously performed. Therefore, one step can be omitted.

        Referring to FIG. 4C, a diagram for explaining the main magnetic pole forming method of the second embodiment of the present invention is shown. In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the base layer 13 and the main magnetic pole layer 14 are formed on the insulating layer, and the upper layer 15 is used as a mask for patterning the main magnetic pole layer 14. It forms by plating (Cr, NiP, etc. are used as a material of the upper layer 15 in this case similarly to 1st Embodiment). However, the subsequent steps are different from those of the first embodiment. That is, first, the main magnetic pole layer 14 is patterned by performing ion milling from the direction in which the angle formed with the stacking direction is about 30 ° to about 45 °. Next, an angle of about 50 ° to about 70 ° with respect to the stacking direction in which a difference in ion milling rate between the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the upper ground layer 15 and a difference in ion milling rate between the underlayer 13 and the main magnetic pole layer 14 are sufficiently generated. Ion milling is performed from the formed direction to shape the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape. When performing ion milling, for example, the substrate may be swung or rotated. Moreover, you may combine rocking | fluctuation, rotation, and a static state.

        In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, since the upper layer 15 is also used as a mask, a step of forming a mask for patterning the main magnetic pole layer 14 on the upper layer 15 by plating. Can be omitted. First, ion milling is performed from a small angle of about 30 ° to about 45 ° to pattern the main magnetic pole layer 14, and then ion milling is performed from a large angle of about 50 ° to about 70 ° to perform the main magnetic pole. Since the shape of the recording medium facing surface is shaped into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape, the number of processes is increased as compared with the first embodiment, but the control of the width of the main magnetic pole becomes more accurate.

        Referring to FIG. 4D, there is shown a diagram for explaining a main magnetic pole forming method according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, unlike the first and second embodiments, the base layer 13, the main magnetic pole layer 14, and the upper layer 15 are formed on the insulating layer, and the main magnetic pole layer 14 is patterned. A mask 24 is formed on the upper layer 15 by plating. As in the first embodiment, the difference in the ion milling rate between the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the upper base layer 15 and the difference in the ion milling rate between the underlayer 13 and the main magnetic pole layer 14 are sufficiently large. Ion milling is performed from a direction forming an angle of about 70 °. When performing ion milling, for example, the substrate may be swung or rotated. Moreover, you may combine rocking | fluctuation, rotation, and a static state.

In the third embodiment, since the mask 24 is separately plated on the upper layer 15, the number of lamination steps is increased by one as compared with the first embodiment and the second embodiment. However, since the upper layer 15 can be formed by sputtering instead of plating, it is superior to the first and second embodiments in terms of the selectivity of the material of the upper layer 15. That is, Al ₂ O ₃ , Ti, Ta, and the like cannot be deposited by plating. Therefore, in the first and second embodiments, the upper layer 15 cannot be made of a material, but the third layer In the embodiment, the upper layer 15 can be made of these materials. Also, the difference in the ion milling rate between the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the upper base layer 15 and the difference in the ion milling rate between the base layer 13 and the main magnetic pole layer 14 that suddenly form an angle of about 40 ° to about 70 ° with the stacking direction. Since ion milling is performed from the direction in which the magnetic field is sufficiently generated, the patterning step of the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the step of shaping the shape of the recording surface of the main magnetic pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape can be continuously performed. Therefore, one step can be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 4E, a diagram for explaining a main magnetic pole forming method according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown. In the fourth embodiment, as in the third embodiment, the base layer 13, the main magnetic pole layer 14, and the upper base layer 15 are formed on the insulating layer, and a mask for patterning the main magnetic pole layer 14 is provided. Formed on the base layer 15 by plating. First, the upper layer 15 is patterned by RIE. When Al ₂ O ₃ is used as the upper layer 15, for example, chlorine is used as the RIE etching gas. Next, the amount of chlorine and the substrate temperature are increased, and the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the underlayer 13 are patterned by RIE. Next, an angle of about 50 ° to about 70 ° with respect to the stacking direction in which a difference in ion milling rate between the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the upper ground layer 15 and a difference in ion milling rate between the underlayer 13 and the main magnetic pole layer 14 are sufficiently generated. Ion milling is performed from the formed direction to shape the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape. When performing ion milling, for example, the substrate may be swung or rotated. Moreover, you may combine rocking | fluctuation, rotation, and a static state.

        In the fourth embodiment, since the mask 24 is separately formed on the upper layer 15, similarly to the third embodiment, the first embodiment and the second embodiment are similar in terms of the material selectivity of the upper layer 15. It is superior to the embodiment. First, patterning of the main magnetic pole is performed by RIE, and then the difference in the ion milling rate between the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the upper layer 15 in a direction that forms an angle of about 50 ° to about 70 ° with the stacking direction, Since the ion milling is performed from the direction in which the difference in ion milling rate between the base layer 13 and the main magnetic pole layer 14 is sufficiently generated, the shape of the recording surface of the main magnetic pole facing the recording medium is shaped into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape. Similarly, the control of the width of the main pole becomes accurate.

In the fourth embodiment, the main magnetic pole is patterned by RIE. This is due to the following reason. That is, first, when the mask 24 is separately provided on the upper layer 15 as in the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment, unlike the first embodiment and the second embodiment, First, the upper layer 15 must be etched. Then, Al ₂ O ₃ , Ti, Ta, etc. used as the material of the upper layer 15 can be etched more easily by RIE than by ion milling. For this reason, it is advantageous to use RIE. Second, when the mask 24 is separately provided on the upper layer 15 as in the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment, it is higher than in the case of the first embodiment and the second embodiment. The etching amount increases by the amount of the formation 15. In ion milling, particles removed by etching reattach, which affects the control of the FP position and NH length, but in RIE, particles removed by etching rarely reattach. Therefore, even when the etching amount is large, there is almost no influence on the control of the position of FP and the length of NH. For this reason, it is advantageous to use RIE.

        However, also in the fourth embodiment, without performing etching by RIE, as in the second embodiment, first, ion milling is performed from a direction that forms an angle of about 30 ° to about 45 ° with the stacking direction. Patterning of the main magnetic pole layer 14 is performed, and then the difference in the ion milling rate between the main magnetic pole layer 14 and the upper layer 15 in a direction that forms an angle of about 50 ° to about 70 ° with the stacking direction, underlayer 13 −main magnetic pole It is possible to shape the shape of the main pole facing the recording medium to a desired inverted trapezoid shape by performing ion milling from the direction in which the difference in ion milling rate of the layer 14 is sufficiently generated.

        Next, the effect of the main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention will be described based on experimental data.

        Referring to FIG. 5A, there is shown a graph showing the relationship between the ion milling processing time and the angle of the inverted trapezoid of the recording medium facing surface of the main pole in the main pole forming method of the present invention, Method 2 and Method 3. ing.

Here, the fourth embodiment is used as the main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention. Method 2 and Method 3 are the methods described in [Background Art]. In the present invention, Method 2 and Method 3, the ion milling process performed to shape the shape of the main magnetic pole facing the recording medium into a desired inverted trapezoidal shape has an angle formed with the stacking direction while rotating the substrate. It was performed from the direction of 60 °. The thickness of the main magnetic pole layer is about 3000 angstrom (300 nm), and the material of the main magnetic pole is an iron cobalt alloy having the same composition. In the present invention, the underlayer is SiO ₂ (film thickness is about 2000 angstroms (200 nm)), and the upper layer is Al ₂ O ₃ . The underlayer in Method 2 is AuCu (film thickness of about 1000 angstrom (100 nm)). In Method 3, the base layer is Al ₂ O ₃ and the upper layer is Al ₂ O ₃ . The above points are common to all the following experimental results (however, in FIG. 5C, the SiO ₂ film thickness of the underlayer in the present invention is changed).

        In FIG. 5A, Method 2 can form only an ion milling time of about 5 minutes and an inverted trapezoidal angle of about 4 °. Similarly, Method 3 can form only an ion milling time of about 5 minutes and an inverted trapezoidal angle of about 6 °. If the processing time of ion milling is about 10 minutes, an inverted trapezoidal angle of about 10 ° can be formed, but as shown in FIG. 5B, the cutting margin naturally increases.

        In contrast, in the present invention, an ion milling process time of about 5 minutes and an inverted trapezoidal angle of about 10 ° can be formed. Also, compared to Method 2 and Method 3, the rise of the inverted trapezoidal angle with respect to the ion milling processing time is steep, and it is shown that the inverted trapezoidal angle can be set with less ion milling processing time. Yes. This is because, in the present invention, a nonmagnetic material having an ion milling rate faster than the ion milling rate of the magnetic metal material constituting the main magnetic pole layer is used as the material constituting the underlayer of the main magnetic pole layer. By using a material having an ion milling rate slower than the ion milling rate of the magnetic metal material constituting the main magnetic pole layer as the material constituting the upper magnetic layer, there is a large difference in the ion milling rate between the lower part and the upper part of the main magnetic pole layer. It is thought that it was possible to provide.

Although using a AuCu to the approach 2 underlayer (thickness of about 1000 Angstroms (100 nm)), the AuCu to consider that the lower milling resistance than SiO _2, if the underlying layer is a SiO _2, further It seems that the angle of the inverted trapezoid is difficult to attach.

        Referring to FIG. 5B, a graph showing the relationship between the main magnetic pole width in the main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention, Method 2 and Method 3 and the angle of the inverted trapezoid of the main pole facing the recording medium. It is shown.

        In FIG. 5A, in method 2, in order to make an inverted trapezoid having an angle of about 4 °, a cutting margin of about 0.4 μm must be removed. Similarly, in method 3, in order to make an inverted trapezoid having an angle of about 10 °, it is necessary to remove a cutting margin of about 0.4 μm.

        On the other hand, in the present invention, the cutting margin required to make an inverted trapezoidal angle of about 10 ° is about 0.2 μm, which is half of Method 3. Further, compared to the method 2 and the method 3, the rising of the inverted trapezoidal angle with respect to the necessary cutting margin is steep, and it is possible to form the inverted trapezoidal angle with a small amount of cutting margin. Accordingly, in the present invention, the position of the FP and the length of the NH after shaping the shape of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium into the desired inverted trapezoidal shape are the positions of the FP and the NH based on the pattern formation of the main pole. There is not much change from the length, and the control of the position of the FP and the length of the NH in manufacturing the magnetic head can be enhanced.

        Referring to Table 1, there is shown a table showing the movement amount of FP or the change amount of the length of NH in the main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention, method 2 and method 3.

        Table 1 shows data when the margin in the width direction of the main pole is about 2 μm. Referring to FIG. 5B, the angle of the inverted trapezoid of the main pole in the present invention, Method 2, and Method 3 when the cutting margin is about 2 μm is about 10 °, about 3 °, and about 5 °, respectively. In Table 1, the amount of movement of FP or the amount of change in the length of NH in method 2 and method 3 is about 24 times and about 13 times that of the present invention, respectively. Therefore, in the method 2 and the method 3, in order to set the same trapezoidal angle of the main magnetic pole as that of the present invention, it is necessary to perform further milling processing, further increase the amount of shaving, and further the amount of movement of FP or the length of NH. It is expected that the amount of change will increase. Considering that the length of NH is usually about 0.1 μm, it can be said that the amount of movement of FP or the amount of change in length of NH in Method 2 and Method 3 has reached a considerable level.

        Referring to FIG. 5C, there is shown a graph showing the relationship between the film thickness of the underlayer and the angle of the inverted trapezoid of the surface of the main pole facing the recording medium in the main pole forming method of the present invention. The processing time for ion milling in FIG. 5C is about 5 minutes.

As shown in FIG. 5C, in the main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention, depending on the film thickness of the underlayer, the same ion milling processing time or the angle of the inverted trapezoid formed with the same cutting margin differs. As the film thickness of the underlayer increases, the angle of the inverted trapezoid formed with the same ion milling processing time or the same cutting margin increases. Since it is preferable to make an angle larger than 6 °, from the result shown in FIG. 5C, when the underlayer is SiO ₂ , the film thickness needs to be at least 500 angstroms (50 nm), preferably 800 angstroms (80 nm) or more. .

3. Finally, the overall method of manufacturing the magnetic head of the present invention including the formation of the main magnetic pole will be outlined.

        Referring to FIG. 6A, there is shown a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the magnetic head manufacturing method of the present invention.

        First, in step 601, a reproducing portion (lower read shield layer 1, shield gap insulating film 2, MR element 3, upper read shield layer 4) is completed (corresponding to FIG. 6B referred to below). Thereafter, the production of the recording unit begins. Next, in step 602, the lower write shield layer 7 is formed (corresponding to FIGS. 6C to 6D referred to below). Next, in step 603, the coil lead 10 and the coil terminal 11 are formed (corresponding to FIG. 6E referred to below). Next, in step 604, the base layer 13 of the main magnetic pole is formed (corresponding to FIGS. 6F to 6G referred to below). Next, in step 605, a main magnetic pole is formed (corresponding to FIG. 6H referred to below). Next, in step 606, the upper light shield support layer 18 is formed (corresponding to FIGS. 6I to 6K referred to below). Next, in step 607, the coil 21 is formed (corresponding to FIGS. 6L to 6M referred to below). Finally, in step 608, the upper write shield layer 23 is formed to complete the recording unit (corresponding to FIG. 6N referred to below).

        The main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4E corresponds to step 604 and step 605 in FIG. 6A. Hereinafter, each step will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Step 601 Completion of playback unit)
Referring to FIG. 6B, a diagram for explaining one step (plating of the upper lead shield layer 4) in the method of manufacturing a magnetic head of the present invention is shown. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view (the same applies to FIGS. 6C to 6N).

        In a state where the lower lead shield layer 1, the shield gap insulating film 2, and the MR element 3 are formed on the insulating layer (not shown) deposited on the substrate (not shown), the shield gap insulating film 2 is Next, the upper lead shield layer 4 (permalloy or the like) is plated. Thereby, the reproducing unit is completed.

(Step 602 Formation of lower light shield layer)
Referring to FIG. 6C, a diagram for explaining one step (sputtering of the shield gap nonmagnetic film 6) in the magnetic head manufacturing method of the present invention is shown.

A shield gap nonmagnetic film 6 (Al ₂ O ₃ , Ru, etc.) for magnetically insulating the upper read shield layer 4 and the lower write shield layer 7 is sputtered on the plated upper read shield layer 4 in FIG. 6B. .

        Referring to FIG. 6D, there is shown a diagram for explaining one step (plating of the lower write shield layer 7, sputtering of the nonmagnetic film 8, CMP) in the method of manufacturing the magnetic head of the present invention.

A lower write shield layer 7 (permalloy or the like) is plated on the shield gap nonmagnetic film 6 sputtered in FIG. 6C. Then, in order to flatten the surface on which the lower write shield layer 7 is plated, a nonmagnetic film 8 (Al ₂ O ₃ or the like) is uniformly sputtered over the entire wafer until at least the lower write shield layer 7 is exposed. , CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) is performed.

(Step 603 Formation of coil leads and terminals)
Referring to FIG. 6E, there is shown a diagram for explaining one step (sputtering of the insulating film 9, plating of the coil lead 10 and plating of the coil terminal 11) in the magnetic head manufacturing method of the present invention.

An insulating film (Al ₂ O ₃ or the like) 9 is uniformly sputtered over the entire surface of the flattened surface in FIG. 6D. Then, on this insulating film 9 (to electrically insulate the lower write shield layer 7), a coil lead 10 (Cu or the like) is L-shaped from the upper left of the magnetic head to the point where the coil is wound. Plating is performed with a mold pattern (see FIG. 6E (c)). Then, the coil terminal 11 (Cu or the like) is plated on the coil lead 10 so as to be electrically connected to the coil lead 10 at the starting point of the coil winding.

(Step 604 Formation of the underlayer of the main pole)
Referring to FIG. 6F, there is shown a diagram for explaining one step (sputtering of the insulating film 12, CMP) in the method of manufacturing a magnetic head of the present invention.

In FIG. 6E, in order to flatten the surface on which the coil lead 10 and the coil terminal 11 are formed, the insulating film 12 (Al ₂ O ₃ or the like) is sputtered and CMP is performed until at least the coil terminal 11 is exposed. . The reason why CMP is performed at least until the coil terminal 11 is exposed is that if the insulating film 12 remains on the coil terminal 11, the coil lead 10 and the coil 21 are electrically insulated. . This step is a preparation step for forming the underlayer 13.

        Referring to FIG. 6G, a diagram for explaining one step (sputtering of the underlayer 13) in the method of manufacturing a magnetic head of the present invention is shown.

In FIG. 6F, a mask is applied to the location of the coil terminal 11 on the flattened surface, and then the base layer 13 (SiO ₂ or the like) is sputtered. The reason why the base layer 13 is not sputtered at the location of the coil terminal 11 is that when the base layer 13 is an insulating material, when the base layer 13 is deposited on the coil terminal 11, the coil lead 10 and the coil 21 are electrically connected. It is because it will be insulated. As described above, the underlayer 13 increases the ion milling rate under the main magnetic pole layer 14 deposited on the underlayer 13.

(Step 605 formation of main magnetic pole)
Referring to FIG. 6H, a diagram for explaining one step (main magnetic pole formation) in the magnetic head manufacturing method of the present invention is shown.

The formation of the main magnetic pole is as described above. A main magnetic pole layer 14 (such as an iron cobalt alloy) is formed on the underlayer 13. Then, an upper layer 15 (Al ₂ O ₃ or the like) is formed on the main magnetic pole layer 14. Then, using the upper layer 15 or a plating film formed on the upper layer 15 as a mask, the main magnetic pole layer 14 is patterned into a shape as shown in FIG. 6H (c). Then, the shape of the recording medium facing surface of the main magnetic pole layer 14 is shaped into an inverted trapezoid by ion milling from a direction that forms a predetermined angle with the stacking direction. The upper layer 15 slows the ion milling rate of the upper part of the main magnetic pole layer 14 below the upper layer 15. With the upper layer 15 and the underlayer 13, it is possible to reduce as much as possible the shaving margin in the width direction of the main pole when shaping the shape of the recording medium facing surface of the main pole into a desired inverted trapezoid shape.

(Step 606 Formation of upper light shield support layer)
Referring to FIG. 6I, there is shown a diagram for explaining one step (sputtering of the insulating film 16, CMP) in the magnetic head manufacturing method of the present invention.

In FIG. 6H, in order to flatten the surface on which the main magnetic pole is formed, an insulating film 16 (Al ₂ O ₃ or the like) is uniformly sputtered over the entire wafer, and CMP is performed until at least the main magnetic pole layer 14 is exposed. CMP is performed at least until the main magnetic pole layer 14 is exposed. If the insulating film 16 remains on the main magnetic pole layer 14 at the location of the coil terminal 11, the coil lead 10 and the coil 21 are electrically insulated. Because it will end up.

        Referring to FIG. 6J, a diagram for explaining one step (sputtering of the nonmagnetic film 17) in the magnetic head manufacturing method of the present invention is shown.

A nonmagnetic film 17 (Al ₂ O ₃ or the like) is sputtered on the planarized surface in FIG. 6I. As can be seen from FIG. 6J (b), the nonmagnetic film 17 is not deposited by masking the tip portion of the main pole and the portions other than the portions before and after the location of the coil terminal 11. Next, the upper write shield support layer 18 is deposited at these locations. However, if the nonmagnetic film 17 is deposited at these locations, the magnetic connection between the upper write shield and the main magnetic pole layer 14 cannot be maintained. Because. Further, when the nonmagnetic film 17 is also an insulating material, the electrical connection between the coil 21 and the coil lead 10 cannot be maintained. The nonmagnetic film 17 forms a write gap on the recording medium facing surface.

        Referring to FIG. 6K, there is shown a diagram for explaining one step (the turning of the upper write shield support layer 18) in the magnetic head manufacturing method of the present invention.

        An upper write shield support layer 18 (permalloy or the like) is plated on the place where the nonmagnetic film 17 is not deposited in FIG. 6J and the most distal portion of the main pole (see FIG. 6K (b)). The upper write shield support layer 18 deposited on the main magnetic pole layer 14 is magnetically connected to the main magnetic pole layer 14, and the upper write shield support layer 18 deposited at the coil terminal 11 is used for the coil lead. 10 is electrically connected.

(Step 607 formation of coil)
Referring to FIG. 6L, a diagram for explaining one step (sputtering of the insulating film 19, CMP) in the method of manufacturing a magnetic head of the present invention is shown.

In FIG. 6K, an insulating film 19 (Al ₂ O ₃ or the like) is uniformly sputtered over the entire surface of the wafer in order to planarize the surface on which the upper write shield support layer 18 is formed. Then, CMP is performed until at least the upper light shield support layer 18 is exposed in all places where the upper light shield support layer 18 is plated in FIG. 6K. This is for maintaining the magnetic connection between the upper write shield layer 23 and the upper write shield support layer 18, and further, at the location of the coil terminal 11, the electrical connection between the coil 21 and the coil lead 10 is maintained. Because.

        Referring to FIG. 6M, a diagram for explaining one step (sputtering of insulating film 20, plating of coil 21, forming of insulating film 22 for coil) in the method of manufacturing a magnetic head of the present invention is shown.

An insulating film 20 (Al ₂ O ₃ or the like) that electrically insulates the upper write shield support layer 18 and the coil 21 is sputtered on the planarized surface in FIG. 6L. Then, a coil 21 (Cu or the like) is plated on the insulating film 20. Then, in order to ensure electrical insulation between the coils 21, the coil 21 is covered with a coil insulating film 22 (such as a photoresist). Note that the insulating film 20 is not formed at the coil terminal 11, and the upper write shield support layer 18 and the coil 21 are in direct contact with each other. Thereby, the electrical connection between the coil 21 and the coil lead 10 is maintained.

(Step 608: formation of the upper light shield layer)
Referring to FIG. 6N, there is shown a diagram for explaining one step (plating of the upper write shield layer 23) in the method of manufacturing the magnetic head of the present invention.

        The upper light shield layer 23 (permalloy or the like) is plated so as to come into contact with the upper light shield support layer 18 exposed on the surface in FIG. 6M. Thereby, the upper light shield layer 23 and the upper light shield support layer 18 are integrated to form an upper light shield.

        Thus, the magnetic head of the present invention is completed.

        The magnetic head manufacturing method described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6N and the structure of the magnetic head described with reference to FIG. 3 are merely examples, and the main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention is different from the magnetic head. It is possible to appropriately manufacture a magnetic head having a different structure by being incorporated in the manufacturing method.

It is a figure for demonstrating the side erase resulting from a skew effect in a perpendicular magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating that the side erase resulting from a skew effect can be prevented if the main magnetic pole which has a reverse trapezoid shape on the recording medium opposing surface is used. It is a figure for demonstrating that the position of FP (flare point) and the length of NH (neck height) change before and after the process of shaping the shape of the recording medium facing surface of the main pole into a desired inverted trapezoid shape. is there. It is a figure for demonstrating what kind of influence will arise on the recording performance of a magnetic head, when the position of FP and the length of NH change. (A) shows a case where NH becomes long, and (b) shows a case where NH becomes short. It is the figure which showed the structure of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, and (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure of the main magnetic pole formation method of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the main magnetic pole formation method of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the main magnetic pole formation method of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the main magnetic pole formation method of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the main magnetic pole formation method of the 4th Embodiment of this invention. In the main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention (fourth embodiment), method 2 (see background art), and method 3 (see background art), the ion milling processing time and the reverse of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium It is the graph which showed the relationship with the angle of a trapezoid. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the main magnetic pole width in the main magnetic pole forming method of the present invention, Method 2 and Method 3 and the angle of the inverted trapezoid of the recording surface of the main pole facing the recording medium. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the film thickness of the underlayer and the angle of the inverted trapezoid of the surface of the main pole facing the recording medium in the main pole forming method of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the magnetic head manufacturing method according to the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (plating of the top read shield layer 4) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (sputtering of the shield gap nonmagnetic film | membrane 6) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (plating of the lower write shield layer 7, the sputter | spatter of the nonmagnetic film | membrane 8, CMP) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (sputtering of the insulating film 9, plating of the lead 10 for coils, plating of the terminal 11 for coils) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (sputter of the insulating film 12, CMP) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (sputtering of the base layer 13) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (main magnetic pole formation) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (sputter of the insulating film 16, CMP) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (sputtering of the nonmagnetic film | membrane 17) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (turning of the upper write-shield support layer 18) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (sputter of the insulating film 19, CMP) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (sputtering of the insulating film 20, plating of the coil 21, formation of the insulating film 22 for coils) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view. It is a figure for demonstrating one process (plating of the upper write shield layer 23) in the manufacturing method of the magnetic head of this invention. (A) is a recording medium facing surface, (b) is a cross section cut by a surface perpendicular to the recording medium facing surface and parallel to the stacking direction, and (c) is a top view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower read shield layer 2 Shield gap insulating film 3 MR element 4 Upper read shield layer 6 Shield gap nonmagnetic film 7 Lower write shield layer 8 Nonmagnetic film 9 Insulating film 10 Coil lead 11 Coil terminal 12 Insulating film 13 Underlayer 14 main magnetic pole layer 15 upper layer 16 insulating film 17 nonmagnetic film 18 upper write shield support layer 19 insulating film 20 insulating film 21 coil 22 coil insulating film 23 upper write shield layer 24 mask 401 to 405 steps 601 to 608 steps

Claims (17)

In the method of manufacturing a magnetic head for perpendicular magnetic recording, in which the shape of the recording medium facing surface of the main pole is an inverted trapezoidal shape,
A first step of depositing a nonmagnetic material having an ion milling rate faster than a magnetic metal material constituting the main magnetic pole as an underlayer of the main magnetic pole;
A second step of depositing, as a main magnetic pole layer, a magnetic metal material constituting the main magnetic pole on the underlayer by sputtering;
A third step of depositing, on the main magnetic pole layer, a material having an ion milling rate slower than the magnetic metal material constituting the main magnetic pole as an upper layer of the main magnetic pole;
A method of manufacturing a magnetic head, comprising: a fourth step of performing ion milling on a laminated structure including the underlayer, the main magnetic pole layer, and the upper layer from a direction that forms a predetermined angle with a lamination direction. .   2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a fifth step of forming the main magnetic pole forming mask by plating on the upper layer after the third step and before the fourth step. Manufacturing method of magnetic head.   In order to perform patterning with the mask after the fifth step and before the fourth step, a sixth step is performed in which ion milling is performed on the stacked structure at an angle smaller than the predetermined angle. The method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to claim 2, further comprising:   3. The magnetic head according to claim 2, further comprising a seventh step of performing RIE on the stacked structure in order to perform patterning using the mask after the fifth step and before the fourth step. Manufacturing method. 5. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the material constituting the upper layer is selected from a group including Al ₂ O ₃ , Ti, Ta, Cr, and NiP. 6. Manufacturing method.   2. The method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein, in the third step, the upper layer is formed by plating as the mask for forming the main magnetic pole.   In order to perform patterning with the mask after the third step and before the fourth step, an eighth step of performing ion milling on the stacked structure at an angle smaller than the predetermined angle is performed. The method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to claim 6, further comprising:   8. The method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to claim 6, wherein the material constituting the upper layer is selected from a group including Cr and NiP.   The method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle is 40 to 70 °. 10. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the nonmagnetic material constituting the underlayer is selected from a group including Au, Cu, Si, AuCu, and SiO _2. Manufacturing method.   The method of manufacturing a magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the underlayer has a thickness of at least 50 nm. In a magnetic head for perpendicular magnetic recording having a main pole,
An underlayer composed of a nonmagnetic material having a faster ion milling rate than the magnetic metal material constituting the main magnetic pole;
A main magnetic pole layer formed on the underlayer and made of the magnetic metal material;
The main magnetic pole has a laminated structure including the base layer, the main magnetic pole layer, and an upper layer formed on the main magnetic pole layer and made of a material having an ion milling rate slower than that of the magnetic metal material. On the other hand, a magnetic head characterized in that the shape of the surface facing the recording medium is an inverted trapezoid by performing ion milling from a direction forming a predetermined angle with the stacking direction. The magnetic head according to claim 12, wherein the nonmagnetic material forming the underlayer is selected from the group including Au, Cu, Si, AuCu, and SiO ₂ .   The magnetic head according to claim 12, wherein the underlayer has a thickness of at least 50 nm. A slider obtained by processing the magnetic head according to any one of claims 12 to 14,
A head gimbal assembly having a suspension to which the slider is attached. A head gimbal assembly according to claim 15;
A head arm assembly having an arm to which the head gimbal assembly is attached. A plurality of head arm assemblies according to claim 16;
A head stack assembly having a coil of a voice coil motor to which the plurality of head arm assemblies are attached.

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