JPH04221414A - Thin film magnetic head and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thin film magnetic head for high-density recording and reproduction and a method of manufacturing the same. Magnetic disk drives serving as storage devices in various information processing systems are required to be small and large in capacity. As the capacity increases, the magnetization pattern on the magnetic disk medium becomes extremely small, so in order to prevent the reproduction output from decreasing due to this, it is necessary to reduce the flying height of the magnetic head. That is, it is necessary to reduce the size and weight of the magnetic head, and it is also necessary to overcome the difficulties in manufacturing that accompany miniaturization.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional thin film magnetic head, one end of a spring arm 75 is fixed to a head arm 76, and the other end is fixed to a head arm 76, as shown in a perspective view of a main part in FIG. slider 7 via gimbal spring 74.
A magnetic transducer 71 configured by a thin film pattern is provided on the side surface of the slider 72, and the magnetic transducer 7
1 thin film coil. In a magnetic disk device, the slider 72 is pressed against the magnetic disk medium by the gimbal spring 74, and as the magnetic disk medium rotates, the slider 72 floats about 0.2 to 0.5 μm against the gimbal spring 74. Then, information is recorded on the magnetic disk medium or recorded information is reproduced.

The above-mentioned thin film magnetic head has conventionally been manufactured by, for example, the steps shown in FIGS. 12(a) to 12(c), and as shown in FIG.
A plurality of magnetic transducers 8 are simultaneously mounted on a substrate 81 such as
form 2. This magnetic transducer 82 can be manufactured by repeating the steps of forming thin films of a magnetic material, an insulator, and a conductor, and patterning these thin films.

Once the magnetic transducers 82 are formed on the substrate 81, the substrate 81 is divided into rows as shown by dotted lines, slider grooves are formed corresponding to the magnetic transducers 82, and then separated into columns corresponding to the magnetic transducers 82. ,(
A slider 83 having a magnetic transducer 82 is manufactured as shown in b). This slider 83 is, for example, 2
It has a size of ×4 mm.

[0005] When this slider 83 is attached to a gimbal spring with an adhesive or the like, and the gimbal spring is attached to a spring arm 84, the configuration shown in (c) is obtained. If this spring arm 84 is fixed to the head arm and a lead wire is connected to the terminal of the magnetic transducer 82 by soldering or the like, a thin film magnetic head having the structure shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is constructed.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION With the increasing density of information recording, it is required to reduce the flying height of the magnetic head as described above. When the flying height is lowered, the magnetic disk medium and the magnetic head tend to come into contact with each other, and if the contact impact is large in that case, a head crash occurs, and the magnetic disk medium and the magnetic head are damaged. Therefore, in order to reduce the impact upon contact, it is necessary to reduce the size and weight of the slider and the like. Furthermore, not only the floating type but also the contact type need to be made smaller and lighter in order to be able to follow even slight irregularities on the surface of the magnetic disk medium. However, when the magnetic head is made smaller,
The disadvantage is that it is not easy to manufacture and assemble, resulting in increased costs. The present invention aims to facilitate miniaturization and manufacture.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The thin film magnetic head of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. , a support part 3 formed in the shape of a beam or a foil on the depression or through-hole 2 of the support body 1, and a magnetic transducer 4 formed of a thin film pattern on the support part 3.

Further, the beam-shaped or foil-shaped support portion 3 is made of a magnetic material so as to constitute a part of the magnetic circuit of the magnetic transducer 4. Further, a part of the beam-shaped support portion 3 is made of a conductor, and the conductor portion is used as a lead wire of the magnetic transducer 4.

[0009] Furthermore, a thin layer for forming a beam-shaped support section is formed on a substrate serving as a support member constituting the head arm or a part of the head arm, and a magnetic layer consisting of a thin film pattern is formed on the thin layer. forming the transducer, then patterning the thin layers to configure the shape of the beam-like support, then forming the shape of the beam-like support, and then forming the underlying support of the beam-like support. A thin film magnetic head is manufactured by a process of etching to form depressions or through holes.

[0010] Furthermore, a depression or a through hole is formed in the head arm or a substrate that serves as a support that constitutes a part of the head arm, and a filling material made of an etching material is embedded in the depression or through hole, and the substrate is placed on the support. A thin layer is formed to form a beam-shaped support part, a magnetic transducer consisting of a thin film pattern is formed on this thin layer, and the thin layer is then patterned to form the shape of the beam-like support part. Then, a thin film magnetic head is manufactured by a step of removing the embedding material by etching.

[0011]

[Function] Support body 1 constituting the head arm or a part thereof
The foil-like support part 3 that covers the whole surface of the depression or through-hole 2 or the beam-like support part 3 that covers a part of it can be constructed by patterning a thin layer formed by vapor deposition, sputtering, etc. By forming the magnetic transducer 4 made of a thin film pattern on the support part 3, the magnetic transducer 4 is elastically supported by the support part 3. For example, even when the support body 1 is used as a head arm, The elastic force of the support portion 3 allows the magnetic transducer 4 to come into contact with the magnetic disk medium and follow the unevenness of the surface to record and reproduce information. Furthermore, since the minute magnetic transducer 4 and its support portion 3 are integrally constructed, manufacturing thereof is facilitated.

Furthermore, by forming the support portion 3 from a magnetic material and making it a part of the magnetic circuit of the magnetic transducer 4, one of the steps of forming a magnetic thin film when forming the magnetic transducer 4 can be omitted. It becomes possible. Further, by forming a part of the beam-shaped support body 3 from a conductor and using it as a lead wire of the magnetic transducer 4, connection between the minute coil of the magnetic transducer 4 and an external circuit becomes easy.

[0013] Also, on a substrate such as alumina which becomes the support 1,
A thin metal layer constituting the support portion 3 is formed by sputtering, vapor deposition, etc., and a magnetic transducer 4 is formed on the thin layer by a known thin film patterning technique. Then, the thin layer is patterned into the shape of the support portion 3, such as a cross shape or a gimbal spring shape. Then, the support body 1 below the support part 3
A depression or a through hole 2 is formed using an etching method suitable for the material of the support 1. As a result, a beam-shaped support portion 3 extending over the depression or through-hole 2 is formed.

[0014] Also, a depression or a through hole is formed in a substrate such as alumina which becomes the support 1, and a filling material is embedded in the depression or through hole. This filling material uses a material that is etched using an etching solution different from that of the substrate, or a material that has a high etching rate. Then, a thin metal layer constituting the support portion 3 is formed on the support body 1 including the embedded material by sputtering, vapor deposition, etc., and a magnetic transducer 4 is formed on this thin layer by a known thin film patterning technique. Then, after patterning the thin layer into the shape of the beam-shaped support portion 3, the filling material is removed by etching. Therefore,
The filling material is removed and a depression or through hole 2 is formed,
A beam-shaped support portion 3 extending over the depression or through hole 2 is formed.

[0015]

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part. A depression 2 is formed in a support 1 made of a material such as metal, glass, or ceramic and has a width of several mm and a thickness of several 100 μm. A magnetic transducer 4 made of a thin film pattern is provided on the beam-shaped support portion 3 . The magnetic transducer 4 can have a size of about several tens of micrometers to several hundreds of micrometers. The support portion 3 is made of a thin metal layer, and is selected to have a thickness and width that can elastically support the magnetic transducer 4. Although the support portion 3 is shown in the shape of a cross, it may have a gimbal spring shape, a curved shape, etc. that supports a conventional magnetic head. Further, when the support body 1 is made of an insulating material, a conductor pattern 5 is formed on its surface and can be used as a lead wire of the magnetic transducer 4.

When the support member 1 is used as a head arm, a magnetic transducer 4 is elastically supported by the support member 3, and the magnetic transducer 4 is constituted by a thin film pattern.
Since it is small and lightweight, the support portion 3 can reduce contact impact to the magnetic disk medium. Furthermore, since the conductor pattern 5 can be used to connect to the thin film coil of the magnetic transducer 4, the connection work such as soldering as in the conventional example can be omitted. Moreover, the depression 2 can also be made into a through hole.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the main part of a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the main part.
2, a foil-like support part 13 is formed to cover the entire surface of the through hole 12, a magnetic transducer 14 with a thin film pattern is provided in the center of the support part 13, and a thin film coil of the magnetic transducer 14 is provided with a thin film pattern. A connected conductor pattern 15 is formed. This through hole 12 can also be made into a depression 2 as in the first embodiment. Alternatively, the central portion of the foil-like support portion 13 may be formed into a raised shape, and the magnetic transducer 14 may be formed in the raised portion.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a third embodiment of the present invention, in which a foil-shaped support portion covers the entire surface of the through hole 22 of the support body 21, or a beam portion covers a part of the through hole 22 of the support body 21. A case is shown in which the shaped support part 23 is made of a magnetic material, and the support part 23 is made a part of the magnetic circuit of the magnetic transducer 24.
25 is a conductor pattern, 26 is a thin film core, 27 is a recording/reproducing gap, 28 is a thin film coil, and 29 is an insulating layer.

The magnetic transducer 24 has an insulating layer formed on the magnetic support part 23, and a thin film coil 28 on top of the insulating layer.
A conventional magnetic transducer consists of a thin film core in the lower layer, a thin film coil on top of the thin film core, and a recording/reproducing coil on top of the thin film core. However, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the magnetic supporting portion 23 plays the role of the lower thin film core, so the lower thin film The step of forming the core can be omitted. Further, a case is shown in which a conductive pattern 25 is connected to a thin film coil 29 to form a lead wire, and an insulating layer 29 for insulating the thin film coil 28 is formed on a support 21, and a conductive pattern 25 is formed thereon.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part of a fourth embodiment of the present invention, showing a case where a part of the support part is also used as a lead wire. That is, a through hole 32 is formed in the support body 31, and a beam-shaped support section extending over the through hole 32 is composed of an insulating beam section 33a and a conductive beam section 33b, and the magnetic transducer 34
The thin film coil is connected to a conductor beam portion 33b, and a conductor pattern 35 is connected to the conductor beam portion 33b.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of a fifth embodiment of the present invention, in which a through hole 42 is formed in a support body 41, and a foil-like or beam-like support portion 43 above the through hole 42 is magnetically attached. A transducer 44 is formed, and a connection pad 46 for a thin film coil of the magnetic transducer 44 is formed on the back surface of the support portion 43.
A lead wire 45 is connected thereto. That is, lead wire 4
5 can be provided on the opposite side from the magnetic transducer 44.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the manufacturing process of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in (a), a support portion made of metal or inorganic material is placed on a substrate 51 made of ceramic or the like constituting the support body. A thin layer 53 for forming the structure is formed to a thickness of several tens to several hundreds of micrometers by sputtering or vapor deposition, and a thin film coil of a magnetic material is formed thereon, patterned, an insulating layer formed, a conductive layer formed, and a thin film coil is formed by patterning. The magnetic transducer 54 is formed by known processes such as forming an insulating layer, forming a thin film of magnetic material, and forming a thin film coil by patterning.

Next, as shown in (b), the thin layer 53 is patterned to form a cross-shaped support. Next, as shown in (c), a depression or through hole 52 is formed through the patterned window of the thin layer 53 or from the back surface of the substrate 51, so that the magnetic transducer 54 is supported only by the support portion. When the thin layer 53 is made of an insulator, a conductive pattern is formed directly on it to serve as a lead wire for the magnetic transducer 54, and when the thin layer 53 is made of a conductor such as metal, the process of forming the magnetic transducer 54 is performed. An insulating layer can be formed on the entire surface, and a conductive pattern can be formed thereon to serve as a lead wire of the magnetic transducer 54. That is, a thin film magnetic head having the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is constructed. In this case, a plurality of magnetic transducers 54 are formed on each support part by the above-described process using a large-area substrate 51, and the substrate 51 is cut and separated into head arm units, so that a plurality of head arms can be simultaneously formed. It is possible to manufacture a thin film magnetic head containing the following. Further, the configuration may include a slider.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the manufacturing process of another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. Alternatively, a filling material 65 such as metal is embedded in the through hole. This embedding material 65 can be embedded so that its surface and the surface of the substrate 61 coincide, but it can also be an embedding material with a protruding surface such as a trapezoid.

Next, as shown in (b), a thin layer 63 for forming a support portion is formed on the surface by sputtering or vapor deposition, and a magnetic transducer 64 formed of a thin film pattern is formed at a position corresponding to the top of the embedding material 65. form. next(
As shown in c), the thin layer 63 is patterned into the shape of a support, and then the filling material 65 is removed by etching or the like to form a depression or through hole 62. Thereby, a thin film magnetic head similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is constructed. Further, when the embedded material 65 having a trapezoidal surface is used, a support portion conforming to the surface shape is obtained, and the magnetic transducer 64 is formed in the protruding portion.

[0025]

Effects of the Invention As explained above, the present invention provides a method for forming a recess or a through hole 2 in a support member 1 constituting a head arm or a part thereof, and forming a foil that covers the entire surface of the recess or through hole 2. A magnetic transducer 4 with a thin film pattern is formed on a beam-shaped support part 3 that covers a part of the support part or a part thereof, and the small and lightweight magnetic transducer 4 is supported by the support part 3 made of a thin film. The followability of the magnetic transducer 4 can be improved. Therefore,
This has the advantage of avoiding head crashes and the like. In addition, since a thin film magnetic head can be constructed integrally with the head arm, and the thin film coil of the magnetic transducer 4 can be connected to the conductor pattern 5 etc., the connection configuration with external circuits is simple and manufacturing is easy. There is an advantage that

[0026] After forming a magnetic transducer in the form of a thin film pattern on the thin layer constituting the support part, it is patterned to obtain the shape of the support part, and etched so that the support part is located above the recess or through hole. It includes several steps, and it is possible to easily create a supporting part made of a thin layer. Another advantage is that a structure that can elastically support the magnetic transducer with respect to the head arm can be easily obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of essential parts of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of essential parts of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the manufacturing process of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the manufacturing process of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main part of a conventional thin film magnetic head.

FIG. 11 is a side view of a main part of a conventional thin film magnetic head.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of the manufacturing process of a conventional thin film magnetic head.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Support 2 Recess or through hole 3 Support part 4 Magnetic transducer 5 Conductor pattern

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. In a thin film magnetic head that records information on a magnetic recording medium or reproduces information, a recess or a through hole (2) constituting a head arm or a part of the head arm.
a support (1) formed with a beam-like or foil-like support (1) formed on the depression or through hole (2) of the support (1)
3); and a magnetic transducer (4) constituted by a thin film pattern formed on the support portion (3). 2. The beam-like or foil-like support part (3)
2. The thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic material constitutes a part of the magnetic circuit of the magnetic transducer (4). 3. A part of the beam-shaped support part (3) is made of a conductor, and the conductor part of the support part (3) is used as a lead wire of the magnetic transducer (4). A thin film magnetic head according to claim 1. 4. A thin layer for configuring a beam-shaped support portion is formed on a substrate serving as a support member constituting the head arm or a part of the head arm, and a thin film pattern is formed on the thin layer. forming a magnetic transducer, then patterning the thin layer to configure the shape of the beam-like support, and then etching the support below the beam-like support to create a depression or through-hole. 1. A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, the method comprising the step of forming a thin-film magnetic head. 5. A depression or a through hole is formed in the head arm or a substrate serving as a support that constitutes a part of the head arm, and the depression or the through hole is filled with a filling material made of an etched material, and the support A thin layer is formed on the body to form a beam-shaped support part, a magnetic transducer made of a thin film pattern is formed on the thin layer, and then the thin layer is patterned to form a beam-shaped support part. A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head, comprising the steps of forming a shape and then removing the filling material by etching.