JP3368247B2 - Thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic recording head used in a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus, and more particularly to a thin film single pole magnetic recording head suitable for recording in a perpendicular magnetic recording system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among various information recording methods in recent years,
The magnetic recording system has many advantages over other systems in terms of its high speed, large recording capacity, high reliability, and cost, and is used in a wide range of fields. In recent years, the recording density of this magnetic recording system has been remarkably improved to about double, but in the longitudinal recording system which is mainly used at present, the recording magnetization is oriented in the in-plane direction of the recording medium, so that it is high. In the recording density, the influence of the demagnetizing field is large, and it is theoretically difficult to realize a high recording density which will be required further in the future. On the other hand, in the perpendicular magnetic recording method in which the recording magnetization is oriented in the normal direction of the recording medium surface, that is, in the perpendicular direction, information is stably recorded even at a higher recording density than in the longitudinal recording method. Realization of high recording density can be expected.

This perpendicular magnetic recording system can be roughly divided into two magnetic head / recording medium systems depending on the combination of the magnetic head and the magnetic recording medium used. One is a system that uses a ring head similar to the conventional longitudinal recording system and a single-layer film medium of a perpendicular magnetization recording film for the magnetic head.
In the case of this system, it is possible to use the conventional magnetic head as it is, and although it is easy to make a technical transition from the current longitudinal recording system to the perpendicular magnetic recording system,
Since this ring head cannot generate a sufficient vertical magnetic field, it is considered difficult to sufficiently bring out the excellent high-density recording characteristics of the perpendicular magnetic recording system.

On the other hand, as another system, a single magnetic pole head is used for the magnetic head, and a soft magnetic film equivalent to the material used for the magnetic head is combined as the lower layer of the perpendicular magnetization recording film for the recording medium. This is a system using a layered perpendicular magnetic recording medium. In the case of this system, the main magnetic pole film, which is arranged almost vertically on the surface of the recording medium, is excited by a coil to generate a head magnetic field in the vertical direction. By strongly magnetostatically coupling with the soft magnetic film, the head magnetic field generated in the main magnetic pole film becomes steep and strong, so that ideal perpendicular magnetic recording is possible. However, since the structure is different from the ring head which is widely used at present, the head structure and the manufacturing process must be newly reviewed.

In the case of a thin film ring head, it is possible to improve it to a single pole head by improving the thickness of one ring yoke and the size of the gap with respect to the gap. On the other hand, in the single pole head, as shown in FIG.
As shown in Fig. 4, a structure that achieves excellent recording efficiency by arranging a conductor that becomes a conductor coil of a helical structure around the main magnetic pole film and exposing the conductor coil that consists of them to the outermost surface facing the recording medium. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-1
It is proposed in Japanese Patent No. 10717. In a conventional thin film head, a structure in which a coil recedes from an outermost surface facing a recording medium to the inside is generally used.
In the structure of the head proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 17, the coil wound in the helical structure is exposed to the outermost surface facing the recording medium to strongly excite the tip of the main magnetic pole film and reduce the leakage of magnetic flux. This shows excellent recording efficiency.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the future,
For a recording medium used to realize a higher recording density, even if the ratio of unit information is small, the recorded information is stable for a long time. Therefore, even in the perpendicular magnetic recording method, the longitudinal recording method is used. Similarly to, it is necessary to increase the coercive force of the recording medium. Further, the magnetic head used in this case is required to generate a strong head magnetic field.

To meet such requirements, the structure of the thin film head should be improved by using a material having a high saturation magnetic flux density capable of generating a stronger magnetic field or by further increasing the number of turns of the coil of the magnetic head. Can be considered. However, even if it is necessary to develop a material having a high magnetic flux density, it is extremely unlikely that a material having several times the current characteristics will be developed in the near future due to material limitations. In addition, simply increasing the number of turns of the coil increases the inductance of the magnetic head and limits the operation of the magnetic head in the high frequency region.
It becomes a constraint of high transfer rate which is important together with high density recording. Further, even if the material is improved or the number of coil turns is increased, unless the structure in which the magnetic flux leaks to the tip of the main pole close to the recording medium facing surface is small, the performance as a material having excellent magnetic characteristics is fully utilized. It's difficult.

On the other hand, regarding the head structure, since the coil of a general magnetic head is receded from the outermost surface facing the recording medium, the head magnetic field is actually present at the tip of the main magnetic pole that determines the recording magnetization. Since it spreads and the recording ability deteriorates, a structure for improving this is required.
To solve this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-110717 proposes a structure in which the main magnetic pole film is sandwiched between coils at the exposed position on the outermost surface facing the recording medium as shown in FIG. With this structure, the magnetic field excited by the coil can be recorded on the recording medium before its distribution spreads, so that the recording can be efficiently performed even with a small number of coil turns.

However, in this structure, the number of turns of the coil is as small as two times, a large recording current is required for recording, and there are problems such as heat generation of the element and current limitation of the driving power supply circuit. In addition, if the number of turns of the coil is increased with this structure, the number of manufacturing steps increases, the number of places where the coil conductors are connected increases, which hinders the miniaturization of the element, or increases in contact resistance or reliability. Is also a concern.

On the other hand, the single-pole magnetic recording head for perpendicular magnetic recording generally has a problem that it is easily affected by an external magnetic field. This is because the single-pole magnetic recording head is opened in a magnetic circuit manner, and when a magnetic field from the outside propagates to the auxiliary magnetic pole, etc., this magnetic field concentrates on the main magnetic pole thin film, so that the single-pole magnetic recording head. Despite the non-operating state, the concentrated magnetic field erases the information on the recording medium. As shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, structures for obstructing the effects of a direct external magnetic field and an external magnetic field taken into a soft magnetic layer of a magnetic recording medium are disclosed in JP-A-5-101341 and JP-A-9-147319, respectively. Taught in the publication.

In order to avoid such a problem, control of the magnetic characteristics of the magnetic head and the recording medium may be considered in addition to these, but they are controlled after maintaining the performance of the recording apparatus. There are also restrictions. Furthermore, there are inherently large restrictions on the material, and a structure that gives the magnetic shield effect to the structure is desirable for the practical application of the single-pole magnetic recording head. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head which is easy to manufacture and has high recording sensitivity.

[0012]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present invention takes the following means. One feature of the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the present invention is that conductor coils having a structure wound in a plurality of planes are arranged so as to sandwich the main magnetic pole thin film in the two thickness directions, and the conductor coils are further arranged. The winding direction of the conductor coil and the polarity of the current are so exposed that the outermost surface of the head facing the recording medium is exposed or extremely exposed to, for example, 5 μm or less, and magnetic fields of opposite polarities are applied to the main magnetic pole film. The magnetic recording head has a structure in which the tip of the main magnetic pole film is efficiently excited, and the main magnetic pole thin film and the conductor coil are surrounded by a soft magnetic thin film that also functions as a magnetic shield, that is, an auxiliary magnetic pole. Is.

That is, according to the first aspect, the soft magnetic thin film
A main magnetic pole thin film made of a film and a thin film conductor coil made of a thin film;
Thin film single magnet composed of an auxiliary magnetic pole made of soft magnetic material
A polar magnetic recording head with one or more turns
Which has a spiral thin film conductor coil
The film conductor coils are arranged on both sides of the main pole thin film in the film thickness direction.
The main magnetic pole thin film between the thin film conductor coils.
Connection between both sides in the thickness direction is made in one place, or connection is made
A thin-film conductor coil characterized in that
The main magnetic pole thin film and the thin film conductor coil sandwiching the main magnetic pole thin film.
The structure made of il is on both sides of the main pole thin film in the film thickness direction.
The auxiliary magnetic pole is provided via a non-magnetic insulating layer, and
Of the above main surface on the same plane of the surface of the recording head facing the recording medium.
The end surface of the magnetic pole thin film and the end surface of the auxiliary magnetic pole are formed.
And the auxiliary magnetic pole with respect to the main magnetic pole thin film.
We propose a thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head characterized by acting as a magnetic shield .

Further, the thickness of the main magnetic pole thin film is set to the recording track.
We propose a thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head characterized by a narrow width .

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The gist of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to embodiments and modifications thereof. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a main part of a thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a line segment A--A in FIG. A cross-sectional structure in a plane including is shown. However, the insulating layer is omitted in FIG. This thin film single-pole magnetic recording head comprises a main magnetic pole thin film 5 made of a soft magnetic thin film and first and second thin film conductor coils 3 and 6 (however, a part of the second thin film conductor coil 6 in FIG. 1). And a magnetic core made of a predetermined soft magnetic material (that is, the first auxiliary magnetic pole 2 and the second auxiliary magnetic pole 7; however, a part of the second auxiliary magnetic pole 7 is cut away in FIG. 1). ) And. Specifically, there are two or more sets (for example, two sets as shown in the figure), and they have a substantially loop shape and the number of turns is one.
The first and second thin-film conductor coils 3 and 6 having a spiral shape with more than one turn are provided, and the spiral-shaped first and second thin-film conductor coils 3 and 6 are formed in the film thickness direction of the main magnetic pole thin film 5. Further, the first and second thin film conductor coils 3 and 6 arranged on both sides are connected to each other at both sides in the film thickness direction of the main magnetic pole thin film 5 at a predetermined position or not connected. A thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head having the above structure.

Further, in this thin film single pole magnetic recording head, as shown in FIG. 2, each portion of the head is formed in a laminated structure. In general, the slider 1 is used as a substrate, and the first
The auxiliary magnetic pole 2 is formed, and subsequently, the first thin film conductor coil 3, the first main magnetic pole thickening thin film 4a, the main magnetic pole thin film 5, the second main magnetic pole thickening thin film 4b, the second thin film conductive coil 6, and the 2 Auxiliary magnetic poles 7 are sequentially laminated on each other with a nonmagnetic insulating layer 10 as a protective film interposed therebetween.

In such a thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head, the first and second thin-film conductor coils 3 and 3 having a spiral structure are wound in a plane substantially parallel to the main magnetic pole thin film 5 made of a soft magnetic thin film. 6 are laminated with main magnetic pole thin films sandwiching the film thickness, and the first and second thin film conductor coils 3,
The winding directions of the first and second thin film conductor coils 3 and 6 or the polarities of the recording currents are set so that 6 generate magnetic fields having opposite polarities. The magnetic field generated by this becomes a magnetic field parallel to the in-plane direction of the main magnetic pole thin film film at a position separated from the center of the conductor coil (herein referred to as "cusp type magnetic field"),
The tip of the main magnetic pole thin film 5 can be strongly magnetized. Further, by exposing the outer edges of the outermost winding portions of the first and second thin film conductor coils 3 and 6 up to the recording medium facing surface 11, the main magnetic pole thin film 5 as in JP-A-11-110717.
You will be able to efficiently excite the cutting edge of.

In the winding of this embodiment, first and second thin film conductor coils 3 and 6 having a spiral structure which are opposite to each other with respect to the main magnetic pole thin film 5 are used, and the first and second thin film conductor coils 3 are used. , 6 are electrically joined to each other through the conductor coil pillar 9 serving as a connecting portion. With this structure, no special wiring is required even for connection with an external circuit (not shown), and a "cusp-type magnetic field" can be easily generated. Moreover, since the number of turns of the conductor coil in the entire thin film magnetic recording head can be increased without complicating the process for connecting the conductor coil, the efficiency with respect to the recording current can be improved.

The characteristics of this head improved as described above are represented graphically in FIG. For example, the graph in Figure 3
The calculation result of the magnetic field strength perpendicular to the perpendicular recording medium facing surface generated from the tip of the main magnetic pole thin film of the thin film magnetic recording head with respect to the recording current is shown as the strength of the conventional technology (thin film magnetic recording head of JP-A-11-110717). It is a graph compared with a calculation result. The saturation magnetic flux density of the soft magnetic thin film of the main magnetic pole thin film is set to the same value as 1.2T, and the number of turns of the conductor coil is
In the thin film single-pole magnetic recording head of the present invention, the width of the conductor coil is 3 μm, the pitch is 6 μm, and the number of turns of the coil is 6. On the other hand, in the structure of the head of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-110717, when the width of the conductor coil is 5 μm and the number of turns is 2, the change of these graph curves causes
It can be seen that the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the present invention has an effect that the rising of the recording magnetic field with respect to the recording current is steep by about 1.5 times as compared with the conventional technique.

The improvement corresponding to the increase in the number of turns of the conductor coil has not been obtained. The reason for this is that the conductor coil pitch is wide, and therefore the first and the first poles are located at a position distant from the tip of the main magnetic pole thin film 5. 2 This is because the portions other than the outermost edges of the thin film conductor coils 3 and 6 are arranged. This is because the current efficiency of the recording magnetic field is not good, but the first and second
It is expected that this problem can be easily solved by narrowing the pitch of the thin film conductor coils 3 and 6.

The detailed manufacturing method and procedure of the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the present invention are as follows. A soft magnetic thin film such as CoZrNb amorphous or NiFe is formed on a substrate (slider) 1 by a "sputtering method" or the like, and this is dry-etched into a predetermined shape to form a first auxiliary magnetic pole 2. Then, an insulating layer 10 made of alumina or the like is formed around the first auxiliary magnetic pole 2 by sputtering and flattened.

Subsequently, the first auxiliary magnetic pole 2, the main magnetic pole thin film 5 and the main magnetic pole thickening thin film 4a strengthen the magnetic coupling to form a magnetic pole pillar 8 for forming a magnetic circuit with a closed magnetic circuit and high efficiency.
The insulating layer 10 is formed while avoiding this portion for forming a. After forming the insulating layer 10 by sputtering, a conductor material having a low specific resistance such as Cu is sputtered, and dry etching is performed using the patterned photoresist as a mask to form the first thin film conductor coil 3. Further, an insulating layer 10 made of alumina or the like is formed around the first thin-film conductor coil 3 by sputtering while avoiding the magnetic pole pillar 8a, and flattened.

The first thin film conductor coil 3 and the second thin film conductor coil 3
When the thin film conductor coil 6 is formed, the same groove as the pattern of the conductor coil is formed in the insulating layer 10 in advance, and a metal material such as Cu is deposited on the insulating layer 10 by the "sputtering method" or the "plating method". After that, it is also possible to form the first and second thin film conductor coils 3 and 6 as illustrated by performing flattening using polishing or the like.

Next, the first and second thin film conductor coils 3, 6
The insulating layer 10 is formed so as to avoid the portions of the conductor coil pillar 9 and the magnetic pole pillar 8a, which are the connection portions for electrically connecting the two. Following this process, CoZr
The magnetic pole pillar 8a is formed by lifting off a soft magnetic thin film such as Nb amorphous.

The first main magnetic pole thickening thin film 4a is formed on the insulating layer 10 for the purpose of focusing the head magnetic field closer to the tip of the main magnetic pole thin film 5. Similar to the first and second auxiliary magnetic poles 2 and 7, the first and second thin film conductor coils 3 and 6, the periphery of the first main magnetic pole thickening thin film 4a also has a first thin film conductor around it after patterning. The insulating layer 10 is formed so as to avoid the portion of the conductor coil pillar 9 that is responsible for electrical conduction between the coil 3 and the second thin-film conductor coil 6, and planarization is performed.

Further, a main magnetic pole thin film 5 is formed on the first main magnetic pole thickening thin film 4a which is flattened as described above.
The main magnetic pole thin film 5 has the same C as the first auxiliary magnetic pole 2 described above.
It is formed by forming and patterning an oZrNb amorphous film or a FeSiN film having a saturation magnetic flux density higher than that. The circumference of the main magnetic pole thin film 5 also includes the first and second auxiliary magnetic poles 2 and 7 and the first and second thin film conductor coils 3 and 6.
After patterning in the same manner as described above, the insulating layer 10 is formed around the conductor coil pillar 9 so as to be flattened.
The second main magnetic pole thickening thin film 4b is formed on the main magnetic pole thin film 5.
To form. The second main magnetic pole thickening thin film 4b is formed by the "lift-off method" in which a soft magnetic film such as a CoZrNb amorphous film is sputtered after patterning a resist.

Main magnetic pole thin film 5 and second main magnetic pole thickening thin film 4
After forming b, the insulating layer 10 is formed so as to avoid the conductor coil pillar 9 portion and the magnetic pole pillar 8b portion. Subsequent to this process, a conductor material such as Cu is lifted off to form the conductor coil pillar 9. Subsequently, the second thin film conductor coil 6 and the insulating material around the second thin film conductor coil 6 are flattened in the same manner as the first thin film conductor coil 3 and the insulating layer 10 around the first thin film conductor coil 3 except for the magnetic pole pillar 8b. As a result, the first thin film conductor coil 3 and the second thin film conductor coil 6 are electrically connected.

Further, the insulating layer 10 is entirely provided with the magnetic pole pillars 8.
After avoiding the portion b, the soft magnetic film such as a CoZrNb amorphous film is lifted off to form the magnetic pole pillar 8b. Subsequently, the second auxiliary magnetic pole 7 is formed in the same manner as the above-mentioned first auxiliary magnetic pole 2. In addition,
The first and second auxiliary magnetic poles 2 and 7 can be omitted depending on the application example. Finally, the coil end portion 1 as each electrode portion of the first thin film conductor coil 3 and the second thin film conductor coil 6
Terminals are formed on each of 4a and 14b by a method such as pattern plating, and an oxide such as alumina is formed as a protective film (that is, the insulating layer 10) by sputtering, and then polishing or the like is performed. The terminal is made with.

The above procedure is an example of a method of manufacturing the thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head exemplified in the first embodiment. Although the manufacturing method illustrated here mainly uses a thin film dry process, the present invention is applied by applying a plating process used in a standard manufacturing process of an ordinary thin film ring head or a CMP process for planarization. It is also possible to manufacture the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head. Further, the first and second thin film conductor coils 3 and 6 of the thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head of the present invention are provided so as to be exposed on the outermost surface 11 facing the recording medium. It is also conceivable to use a material having excellent corrosion resistance as the material for the conductor coils 3 and 6 for the outermost periphery or the whole exposed to the tip of the conductor coil.

The gap between the main magnetic pole thin film 5 and the first and second auxiliary magnetic poles 2 and 7 forming the magnetic core is appropriately determined in consideration of the recording magnetic field distribution. In this case, the value of this gap does not have to be the same on the left and right sides of the main magnetic pole thin film 5 in FIG. Similarly, the first and second auxiliary magnetic poles 2 and 7 do not necessarily have to be exposed on the surface of the recording medium facing surface 11 of the magnetic recording head, and in consideration of the recording magnetic field distribution, the recording medium facing surface of this magnetic recording head is considered. It may be arranged so as to be retracted from the surface 11 by an appropriate amount.

(Operation and Effect 1) In the first embodiment, two spiral thin-film conductor coils arranged in parallel with the substrate so as to sandwich the main magnetic pole thin film vertically face the perpendicular magnetic recording medium. Due to the structure exposed on the outermost surface, the tip of the main magnetic pole thin film can be efficiently excited, and high recording sensitivity can be expected. The direction of the "cusp-type magnetic field" generated by the two spiral coils as described above is given in the same plane as the thin film at the tip of the main magnetic pole thin film, so that it is essentially perpendicular to the perpendicular recording medium surface. It is easy to apply a strong magnetic field. Further, since the thin-film conductor coil has a spiral structure, it is easy to increase the number of turns, and it is easy to make a technical transition from a thin-film ring head having a coil of the same structure.

Further, since the thin-film conductor coil is divided into two parts, the inductance can be reduced to about half as compared with the spiral coil having the same number of turns, so that improvement in characteristics at high frequencies can be expected. In addition, a structure including a main magnetic pole thin film and a thin film conductor coil is arranged above and below in the film thickness direction, that is, a structure that is generally included in an auxiliary magnetic pole in this thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head. By doing so, it can be expected that the effect of the magnetic shield against the external stray magnetic field can be exerted.

Further, among these auxiliary magnetic poles, by considering the soft magnetic thin film, which is the first auxiliary magnetic pole 2 on the substrate side, as the upper layer shield, like the existing merge type MR head,
By forming a magnetoresistive effect element between this soft magnetic thin film and another shield, it is possible to integrate it with the read-only head. On the other hand, it is also possible to regard the soft magnetic thin film, which is the second auxiliary magnetic pole 7 on the upper side, which is located away from the substrate 1, as a lower layer shield and similarly integrate it with a read-only head. In the latter case, a giant or anisotropic magnetoresistive effect element is manufactured in the latter half of the manufacturing process, which makes it less susceptible to heat during the process.
There are advantages in terms of material selection and process flexibility.

The form of the structure illustrated in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 and 2) can be modified and implemented as in modifications 1 to 4 described below. (Modification 1) FIG. 4 is a structural sectional view showing a thin film single-pole magnetic recording head as Modification 1 of the first embodiment.
This is a case where the first main magnetic pole thickening thin film, the magnetic pole pillar, and the coil pillar are omitted. That is, the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the first modification is formed prior to the magnetic pole pillars 8a and 8b, the conductor coil pillar 9, and the main magnetic pole thin film 5 that were present in the structure of the above-described first embodiment. Had the first
This is an example having a structure in which the production of the main pole thickening thin film 4a is omitted.

According to the first modification, the first main magnetic pole thickening thin film, the magnetic pole pillar, and the coil pillar are characterized in that the tip of the main magnetic pole thin film 5 is excited with almost no deterioration in recording sensitivity. Since each of them is omitted, the structure becomes simple and the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head is extremely easy to manufacture.

The characteristics of the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the present invention will be described with reference to actual electromagnetic conversion characteristics data. FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the recording magnetomotive force and the reproduction output in the thin film magnetic head of the first modification or almost the same as that of the conventional thin film single magnetic pole head (see FIG. 10). Among the heads to be compared, the head manufactured in Modification 1 of the present invention or in a form substantially the same as that of the present invention has a main magnetic pole thin film thickness of 0.4 μm and a coil winding number of 6
Main magnetic pole thin film material CoZrNb amorphous single-layer thin film and FeSiN thin film with higher saturation magnetic east density and C
This is a thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head composed of a laminated film with an oZrNb amorphous thin film, which has a size and material.

On the other hand, the main magnetic pole thin film has a thickness of 1 μm, the number of coil turns is 17, the main magnetic pole thin film material is CoZrNb amorphous single-layer thin film. It is a thin film single magnetic pole head having a conventional structure as shown in FIG. And in this graph, using these heads, the coercive force in the vertical direction is about 3.5k.
Merge type M for longitudinal recording that has the same specifications as magnetic recording in combination with the same dual layer perpendicular magnetic recording medium of Oe.
It shows an example of changes in the recording current and the reproduction signal output measured by reproducing using the R head.

According to the characteristic graph shown here, the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the present invention has a main magnetic pole thin film thickness of 3 minutes as compared with the thin-film single-pole magnetic head of the conventional structure, although it is thin. 1 recording magnetic force, that is, a relatively large two-layer perpendicular magnetic recording with a coercive force of 3.5 kOe in the perpendicular direction with a small recording current of about 15 mA _0-p despite the small number of coil turns of 6. It can be seen that the medium is saturated and recorded.

The graph of FIG. 6 shows an example of overwrite characteristics of the thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head of the present invention.
According to this graph, for example, overwriting characteristics of −30 dB at a recording current of 20 mA _0-p and −50 dB at a recording current of 40 mA _0-p are obtained, and practically sufficient overwriting is possible.
As described above, the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the present invention has better recording performance than the conventionally proposed thin-film single-pole magnetic head.

(Modification 2) The following modifications may be made. FIG. 7 shows a sectional structure of a thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head as a modified example 2 of the first embodiment, which is an example in which the second auxiliary magnetic pole and the second main magnetic pole thickening thin film are omitted. . That is, the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the modified example 2 has the structure described in the modified example 1 described above and has the second main magnetic pole thickening thin film 4b and the second main magnetic pole thickening film 4b and the second thin-film magnetic pole thickening film 4b, which were manufactured in the processing step at the end of the manufacturing process. The auxiliary pole 7 is characterized by a structure which is further omitted here as shown.

According to the second modification, the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head has a main magnetic pole thin film 5 although the recording sensitivity and the magnetic shield effect may be slightly reduced as compared with the above-described example. While having the characteristic of exciting the tip of
The manufacturing process is greatly simplified. Further, the production of the first auxiliary magnetic pole 2 on one side as a magnetic core may be omitted,
By omitting this, it is possible to realize a simple structure that further simplifies the manufacturing process.

(Modification 3) FIG. 8 is a structural schematic diagram showing Modification 3 of the first embodiment described above, showing a case where the conductor coil has a multilayer structure. The spiral thin-film conductor coil of the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of Modification 3 is configured as follows. That is, the first thin-film conductor coils 3a and 3b are arranged below the main magnetic pole thin film 5, and the second thin-film conductor coils 6a and 6b are arranged above the first thin-film conductor coils 3a and 3b.

More specifically, the lower layer side (first thin film conductor coil 3a) and the upper layer side (first thin film conductor coil 3b) of the above-mentioned first thin film conductor coil are electrically connected via a coil pillar 9a serving as a connecting portion. The first thin film conductor coil is connected to the upper layer side (first conductor coil 3b) and the second thin film conductor coil 3b.
The lower layer side (second thin film conductor coil 6a) is the coil pillar 9
It is electrically connected via b. Furthermore, the lower layer side of the second thin film conductor coil (second thin film conductor coil 6a) and the upper layer side
(Second thin film conductor coil 6b) is electrically connected via the coil pillar 9c. Also in the case of this modified example 3, the connection between the thin film conductor coils between both sides of the main magnetic pole thin film in the film thickness direction is made at one portion of the coil pillar 9b.

According to the third modification, although the number of manufacturing steps is slightly increased, the number of turns of the coil is increased and the number of turns of the coil contributing to the excitation of the tip of the main magnetic pole thin film 5 is increased. Can be expected to improve. The increase in the number of manufacturing steps is not a technically significant problem because the technology for manufacturing the multilayer coil of the thin film magnetic head can be used. Further, although the number of joint portions of the conductor coil increases one by one as the number of layers increases, the number of coil pillars at the increased connection portion is larger than the coil pillar 9a in the figure by the coil pillar 9c.
So that the coil pillars 9a, 9
It can be formed on the extension line of b in the film thickness direction. Therefore, the stacked first and second thin film conductor coils 3a, 3
Since an extra area is hardly required for the connection of b, 6a and 6b, an increase in the number of coils due to the multilayer structure does not particularly hinder the miniaturization of the magnetic head itself.

Further, this means that the number of connecting portions increases by one each time the number of windings increases by 0.5 (the number of turns is 0.5), and the increased connecting portions are on a plane where electrical insulation can be provided to the already formed connecting portions. This is advantageous in manufacturing as compared with the increase in the number of coil windings due to the multi-layer structure in the conventional "tip excitation type" thin film magnetic recording head illustrated in FIG. 11 which had to be formed at another position.

(Modification 4) FIGS. 9A and 9B are sectional views of the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head as Modification 4 of the above-described first embodiment and the recording medium facing surface 11. The cross-sectional structure is shown. The thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of Modified Example 4 has a structure in which the main magnetic pole thin film 5 and the thin film conductor coil 6 in the structure of Modified Example 2 are repeatedly laminated to provide a plurality of main magnetic pole thin films 5 and 5a, and a multi-track structure is provided. This is an example of the realization. Specifically, as shown in the figure, two main magnetic pole thin films 5 and 5a and three conductor coils 3, 6 and 6a are used to make two tracks multitrack.

In this modification 4, when a recording current is generated in the thin film conductor coils 3 and 6 so as to generate magnetic fields having opposite polarities and substantially the same magnitude with respect to the main magnetic pole thin film 5, the main magnetic pole thin film 5 will be described. Can be excited. At this time, the magnetic fields excited by the thin film conductor coils 3 and 6 acting on the other main magnetic pole thin film 5a almost cancel each other out, so that the conductor coils 3 and 6 and 6a to be excited and the recording current to be passed through these are appropriately set. This makes it possible to excite and operate only one of the main pole thin films 5 and 5a. At this time, FIG. 9 viewed from the recording medium facing surface 11
As shown in (b), the exposed ends of the main magnetic pole thin films 5 and 5b are not aligned in the thickness direction thereof, but are appropriately displaced, so that multi-tracking can be realized. In addition, regardless of whether the exposed tips of the main magnetic pole thin films 5 and 5a are aligned or not aligned with the thickness direction, the thickness direction of the thin film is taken as the track width. This also makes it possible to achieve multi-tracking.

(Other Modifications) The thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head of the present invention is not limited to the above-described plurality of modifications.
Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the shape, size, material and the like of each part relating to the thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head of the present invention illustrated can be variously changed as necessary and can be appropriately combined with other parts. Further, the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the present invention is not limited to a disk device such as a hard disk device or a flexible disk device, and for example, a magnetic thin film used as an auxiliary magnetic pole is replaced with a magnetic ferrite material having excellent slidability. As a result, the present invention can be widely applied to various magnetic recording devices that use the perpendicular magnetic recording method in tape devices such as video recorders and streamers.

Although the above description has been given based on the embodiment and a plurality of modified examples, the following invention is included in this specification. The outermost edges of each of the plurality of spiral-shaped conductor coils arranged so as to be sandwiched in the thickness direction of the main magnetic pole thin film are exposed to the outermost surface facing the recording medium, or the distance to the outermost surface is For example, it is possible to provide a thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head characterized in that the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head is formed at a position extremely close to the exposure of 5 μm or less.

On the structure of the conductor coil, the main pole thin film formed on this conductor coil, and the conductor coil formed on this main pole thin film, the position of the recording track with respect to the already formed main pole thin film. A thin film single magnetic pole capable of multi-track recording by repeating the structure of the main magnetic pole thin film arranged at a position appropriately shifted and the structure of the conductor coil formed on the main magnetic pole thin film a plurality of times to form a predetermined laminated structure. A magnetic recording head can be provided.

Further, the thin film single pole magnetic recording head is characterized in that the film thickness of the main magnetic pole thin film is set equal to the recording track width, or the film thickness of the main magnetic pole thin film is set as the recording track width. The structure of a conductor coil, a main magnetic pole thin film formed on the conductor coil, and a conductor coil formed on the main magnetic pole thin film, and a structure of the main magnetic pole thin film and the conductor coil formed on the main magnetic pole thin film. It is also possible to provide a thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head capable of multi-track recording by repeating a plurality of times to form a predetermined laminated structure.

Further, by forming a structure composed of the main magnetic pole thin film and the conductor coils sandwiching the main magnetic pole thin film in the vertical direction into a structure roughly covered by arranging the soft magnetic thin films in the vertical direction, the magnetic field with respect to an external stray magnetic field is reduced. A thin film single pole magnetic recording head having a shield effect can be provided. Further, the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head is used alone or in combination with each other for the recording head, and among the soft-magnetic thin films that roughly include the structure of the main magnetic pole thin film and the conductor coil that vertically sandwiches the main magnetic pole thin film, The soft magnetic thin film on the substrate side is used as the upper layer shield, or another soft magnetic thin film located away from the substrate is used as the lower layer shield, and a giant or anisotropic magnetoresistance is provided between these soft magnetic thin film and the shield. It is possible to provide a thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head characterized by forming a reproducing head by forming an effect element, a tunnel effect element or a magneto-impedance effect element.

[0053]

According to the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the present invention, by forming a thin-film conductor coil having a structure that can be formed by the conventional technique and exciting the tip of the main pole film while using the thin-film conductor coil, the recording sensitivity can be improved. An excellent thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head can be easily manufactured, and further, a thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head less susceptible to an external magnetic field can be realized. That is, the following effects can be mentioned.

(1) It is easy to increase the number of turns of the conductor coil despite the structure of the main magnetic pole tip excitation type, which is extremely useful for realizing a thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head having excellent recording sensitivity. (2) Since the conductor coil uses the same spiral coil as the thin film ring head used in the longitudinal recording method, the technical transition from the thin film ring head is easy. (3) The structure is such that the main magnetic pole thin film and the conductor coil are covered with the return yoke, and the structure is a single magnetic pole head that is hardly affected by the external magnetic field.

As described above, according to the present invention, the main pole tip excitation type thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording having the same coil shape as that of the conventional thin film head, which is strong against the external magnetic field and has a higher recording sensitivity than ever before. It becomes possible to provide a head.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head according to a first embodiment of the present invention with a part of the external appearance cut away.

FIG. 2 is a sectional structural view of the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the first embodiment shown in a section including line segment AA in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the head magnetic field characteristics of the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the first embodiment and a conventional thin-film magnetic head in comparison.

FIG. 4 is a sectional structural view showing a configuration of a thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head as a modified example 1 of the first embodiment.

5 is a characteristic graph showing the relationship between the recording supermagnetic force and the reproduction output in the thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head of the embodiment of FIG. 1 and the conventional thin film single magnetic pole head which is not tip excitation.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing overwrite characteristics of the thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional structural view showing a configuration of a thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head as a modified example 2 of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a sectional structural view showing a configuration of a thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head as a modified example 3 of the first embodiment.

FIG. 9A is a sectional structural view showing a configuration of a thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head as a modified example 4 of the first embodiment.
(B) is a cross-sectional structural view showing the structure of the head on the medium facing surface orthogonal to the cross section shown in (a).

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional structural view of a thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head excited by a conventional spiral conductor coil.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a thin film single magnetic pole magnetic recording head in which the tip of the main pole is excited by a conventional thin film conductor.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a single-pole magnetic recording head having a conventional magnetic shield.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a single-pole magnetic recording head having a conventional magnetic shield.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Board (slider), 2 ... First auxiliary magnetic pole (magnetic core), 3, 3a, 3b ... First thin film conductor coil, 4a ... a thin film for increasing the thickness of the first main pole, 4b ... a thin film for increasing the thickness of the second main pole, 5, 5a ... Main magnetic pole thin film, 6, 6a, 6b ... Second thin film conductor coil, 7 ... Second auxiliary magnetic pole (magnetic core), 8a, 8b ... Magnetic pole pillars, 9 ... Conductor coil pillar (connection part), 9a, 9b, 9c ... Coil pillar, 10 ... Insulating layer (protective film), 11: recording medium facing surface, 12, 12a, 12b, 12c ... Conductor coil connecting portion, 13a, 13b, 13c ... Lead-out electrode for conductor coil, 14a, 14b ... Conductor coil electrode portions (coil end portions).

Front page continuation (72) Kazuhiro Ouchi Inventor Kazuhiro Ouchi 4-21 Shinyacho, Akita City, Akita Prefecture Inside Akita Advanced Technology Research Institute (72) Inventor, Yoshihisa Nakamura 1-2-1, Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture No. 1 Inside the Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University (72) Inventor Akira Sugita 1-1-1, Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture Inside the Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University (72) Hiroaki Muraoka Two-chome, Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture No. 1-1 No. 1 in the Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University (56) Reference JP 59-135624 (JP, A) JP 4-24509 (JP, A) JP 11-110717 (JP, A) Flat 3-80515 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G11B 5/31

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head comprising a main magnetic pole thin film made of a soft magnetic thin film, a thin-film conductor coil made of a thin film, and an auxiliary magnetic pole made of a soft magnetic material, wherein the number of turns is 1 turn or more. , A pair of spiral thin film conductor coils, wherein the spiral thin film conductor coils are arranged on both sides of the main magnetic pole thin film in the film thickness direction, and the thin film conductor coils are arranged on both sides in the film thickness direction of the main magnetic pole thin film.
Connection between sides is made in one place or not connected
A thin film conductor coil characterized by comprising a structure comprising the main magnetic pole thin film and the thin film conductor coil sandwiching the main magnetic pole thin film, with a non-magnetic insulating layer interposed on both sides in the film thickness direction of the main magnetic pole thin film. said auxiliary magnetic pole is provided, the the magnetic recording head of the recording medium facing surface coplanar, is configured such that the end face of the end surface and the auxiliary pole of the main pole thin film is formed, the auxiliary magnetic pole is the A thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head characterized by acting as a magnetic shield against a main-pole thin film. 2. The thin-film single-pole magnetic recording head according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the main magnetic pole thin film is a recording track width.