JPH09293221A - Magnetic head slider and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Kind Code: A1 A magnetic head slider in which a magnetic head element portion is formed on an end surface on the air outflow end side substantially orthogonal to an air bearing surface of a slider portion, and the magnetic head element portion is covered with an element protective film. It is an object of the present invention to realize a magnetic head slider having a small spacing loss, and an optimum manufacturing method for manufacturing the magnetic head slider. When flying, the flying height at the magnetic head element position on the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 is the same as the flying height near the air outflow end position on each air bearing surface of the slider portion 71 and the element protection film 73. The air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 is processed so as to be substantially equal. At this time, by controlling the temperature of at least one of the element protection film 73 and the slider portion 71, the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 is displaced in the direction of receding from or approaching the air bearing surface of the slider portion 71. The air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 is lapped into a desired shape.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic head slider used in a magnetic disk device or the like, and more specifically, to an air outflow end side surface of the slider portion which is substantially orthogonal to the air bearing surface.
The present invention relates to a magnetic head slider in which a magnetic head element portion is formed and the magnetic head element portion is covered with an element protection film, and a method for manufacturing the magnetic head slider.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the miniaturization of magnetic disk devices, miniaturization of magnetic head sliders has also been promoted. A magnetic head slider suitable for miniaturization is, for example, a composite magnetic head in which a magnetoresistive head (MR head; MR is an abbreviation for magnetoresistive) is used as a reproducing head and a thin film head is combined as a recording head. It is known that the slider is formed on the end face on the air outflow end side that is substantially orthogonal to the air bearing surface of the slider portion.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a main part of an example of this magnetic head slider, and FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a magnetoresistive effect element part and a conductor layer in FIG. In these figures, 10
Is a track of a disk (magnetic recording medium), 20 is a recording head section which is a thin film head for recording information on the disk, and 30 is a reproducing head section which is a magnetoresistive head for reading information. The recording head unit 20 is made of Ni
A lower magnetic pole (upper shield layer) 21 made of Fe or the like, an upper magnetic pole 22 made of NiFe or the like facing the lower magnetic pole 21 at a portion facing the track at a constant interval, and these magnetic poles 2
It is composed of a coil 23 and the like for exciting information on the recording track 10 of the disc by exciting the recording medium 1 and 22 at the recording gap portion. In the space around the coil 23, Al
_A nonmagnetic insulating layer 24 made of ₂ O ₃ or the like is provided without any gap.

The reproducing head section 30 is composed of, for example, an AMR head (AMR is an abbreviation for anisotropic magnetoresistive) or the like. On the magnetoresistive effect element section 30A, a sense current is supplied to the magnetoresistive effect element section 30A. A pair of conductor layers 31 for supplying the magnetic field are provided at intervals corresponding to the recording track width.

The stacked state of the recording head section 20 and the reproducing head section 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a laminated structure in the vicinity of the gap when the magnetic head in FIG. 5 is viewed from the disk side. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 25 is a head substrate which forms a slider portion. The non-magnetic insulating layer 2 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like is formed on the head substrate 25.
6, the lower shield layer 27 made of NiFe or the like, and the non-magnetic insulating layer 28 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like are formed in this order to form an element protective film on the head substrate 25 side.

The magnetoresistive effect element section 3 of the reproducing head section 30.
0A is formed on the nonmagnetic insulating layer 28. If the magnetoresistive effect element section 30A of the reproducing head section 30 is
In the case of the MR head, for example, a soft adjusting layer, a non-magnetic intermediate layer such as Ta, a magnetoresistive layer such as NiFe, and a BCS layer such as FeMn are used as the non-magnetic insulating layer 2.
8 are sequentially formed. This magnetoresistive effect element section 3
On the 0A, a pair of conductor layers 31 are formed at intervals corresponding to the recording track width in order to supply a sense current to the magnetoresistive effect element section 30A.

Further, a nonmagnetic insulating layer 32 is formed on the magnetoresistive effect element section 30A and the conductor layer 31, and the above-described recording head section 20 is formed on this. That is, Ni
A lower magnetic pole (upper shield layer) 21 made of Fe or the like, a coil 23 (not shown in FIG. 7), a nonmagnetic insulating layer 24 made of Al ₂ O ₃ or the like, and an upper magnetic pole 22 made of NiFe or the like are arranged in this order. Has been formed. Finally, in order to cover the surface of the recording head portion 20, the element protection film 33 is formed on the outer side of the upper magnetic pole 22.
Are formed.

In manufacturing the magnetic head having the above structure, as shown in FIG. 8, a large number of magnetic heads 1 are formed on a disk-shaped wafer (head substrate) 2 in a two-dimensional arrangement. Steps, a step of cutting out a block 3 in which a plurality of magnetic heads 1 are linearly arranged from the wafer 2, and the element height of the magnetoresistive head and the gap depth of the thin film head are set to predetermined values in block units. Therefore, an air bearing surface (lap surface 3a) is processed, and a processing step of forming the rail 4 by mechanical grinding or ion milling, and a block after the processing step is divided into individual magnetic heads. It goes through a dividing process.

The element height of the magnetoresistive head (vertical width of the magnetoresistive element portion 30A in FIG. 5) and the gap depth of the thin film head (vertical width of the recording gap 10 portion in FIG. 5) are Since the characteristics of the magnetic head are affected significantly, the air bearing surface is accurately processed by lapping. Here, the lapping is performed by supplying fine particles such as diamond slurry as a lapping agent between the workpiece and the lapping plate, and by relatively moving the workpiece and the lapping plate under an appropriate lapping pressure, This is a type of precision machining method that grinds the work piece in minute amounts by the cutting edge of the particles to machine the work piece surface smoothly and with high dimensional accuracy.

[0010]

By the way, since the slider portion and the element protection film are made of different materials, there is a difference in workability as well. If ordinary lapping is performed when the air bearing surface is formed, a step is formed on the lap surface. Occurs. In general, the lapping amount (working amount) of the element protective film is larger than that of the slider portion, and the element protective film is dented.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the flying posture of the magnetic head slider in which this step is generated. As is clear from FIG. 9, when the step is large, the magnetic head element position on the air bearing surface of the element protective film 51 (corresponding to the element protective film 33 described above) (the magnetoresistive effect element portion of the magnetoresistive head described above). It corresponds to the tip of 30A or the tip of the recording gap of the thin film head (in other words, the flying height H1 at the magnetic head element portion) is the flying height H2 at the air outflow end position on the air bearing surface of the slider portion 52.
Will be much larger than

Here, in terms of sensitivity, it is preferable to bring the magnetic head slider as close as possible to the disk surface. However, in relation to the crash, there is a minimum amount of levitation to secure. In the configuration of FIG. 9, the flying height H2 is selected to be equal to this minimum flying height. Therefore, in the configuration of FIG. 9, a large spacing loss (H1−H2) occurs, the substantial distance between the tip of the magnetic head element portion 53 and the disk surface 60 (flying amount H1) also increases, and the sensitivity is lowered. become.

On the other hand, even if the lapping pressure is extremely reduced at the sacrifice of the machining time and the machining is performed slowly so as not to cause a step, the sensitivity is lowered due to the spacing loss. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the flying posture of the magnetic head slider thus obtained. As is clear from FIG.
In this case, the corner of the air outflow end on the air bearing surface of the element protection film 51 is projected, and the flying height H1 at the magnetic head element position on the air bearing surface of the element protection film 51 is the air bearing surface of the element protection film 51. It is considerably larger than the flying height H3 at the corner of the upper air outflow end.

In the magnetic head slider of FIG. 10, the flying height H3 at this corner is selected to be equal to the above minimum flying height. Therefore, a large spacing loss (H1 to H3) occurs, the substantial distance between the tip of the magnetic head element portion 53 and the disk surface 60 becomes large, and the sensitivity is lowered. In addition, in the case of FIG. 10, since the corners contact the disk surface, there is also a problem that the disk is heavily worn.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. A first problem is to realize a magnetic head slider having a small spacing loss, and a second problem is a small spacing loss. It is to realize a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider that is most suitable for manufacturing a magnetic head slider.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a magnetic head slider that solves the above-mentioned first problem, in which a magnetic head element portion is formed on an end face on the air outflow end side which is substantially orthogonal to the air bearing surface of the slider portion. In the magnetic head slider in which the magnetic head element portion is covered with an element protective film, when flying, the flying height near the air outflow end position on each air bearing surface of the slider portion and the element protective film is the element protective film. The air bearing surface of the element protective film portion is processed so as to be approximately equal to the flying height at the position of the magnetic head element on the air bearing surface.

In the magnetic head slider according to the present invention, when the magnetic head slider is flying, the flying height in the vicinity of the air outflow end position on each air bearing surface of the slider portion and the element protection film is determined by the magnetic force on the air bearing surface of the element protection film. It is almost equal to the flying height at the head element position. Therefore, the minimum flying height of the magnetic head slider and the flying height at the magnetic head element position on the air bearing surface of the element protection film become substantially equal, and spacing loss is almost eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the distance between the tip of the magnetic head element and the disk surface, and avoid a decrease in sensitivity due to spacing loss.

If the air bearing surface of the element protective film portion is formed into a substantially flat surface inclined with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion, the air bearing surface of the element protective film portion can be easily processed. A first invention relating to a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider that solves the above-mentioned second problem, wherein a magnetic head element portion is formed on an end face on the air outflow end side that is substantially orthogonal to the air bearing surface of the slider portion. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider, a portion of which is covered with an element protection film, comprising: lapping both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protection film. As the material of the element protection film, those having different linear expansion coefficients are selected, and at the time of lapping both the air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protection film, the temperature of at least one of the element protection film and the slider portion is controlled. By controlling, the air bearing surface of the element protection film is displaced in the direction of receding from the lap plate with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion, In, and is characterized in that wrapping both air bearing surface of the slider section and the element protecting film.

In this manufacturing method, the temperature of at least one of the element protective film and the slider portion is controlled, and the air bearing surface of the element protective film is displaced with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion in the direction of receding from the lap plate. Lapping is performed on both the air bearing surface of the slider portion and the element protection film. Therefore, even if the lapping pressure is increased to increase the processing speed, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of a step on the air bearing surface of the element protection film with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion.

A second invention relating to a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider that solves the above-mentioned second problem is such that a magnetic head element portion is formed on an end face on the air outflow end side which is substantially orthogonal to an air bearing surface of a slider portion. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider having a magnetic head element portion covered with an element protective film, comprising: lapping both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protective film. As a material of the part and the element protective film,
By selecting those having different linear expansion coefficients, and controlling the temperature of at least one of the element protection film and the slider section during the step of lapping both the air bearing surfaces of the slider section and the element protection film, the slider The air bearing surface of the element protection film is displaced in the direction of approaching the lap plate with respect to the air bearing surface of the portion, and in this state, both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protection film are lapped. is there.

In this manufacturing method, the temperature of at least one of the element protective film and the slider portion is controlled, and the air bearing surface of the element protective film is displaced with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion in a direction approaching the lap plate. Lapping is performed on both the air bearing surface of the slider portion and the element protection film. Therefore, in processing the air bearing surface of the element protective film, the air outflow end side portion can be more lapped.

According to a third aspect of the present invention relating to a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider that solves the above-mentioned second problem, a magnetic head element portion is formed on an end face on the air outflow end side which is substantially orthogonal to the air bearing surface of the slider portion. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider having a magnetic head element portion covered with an element protective film, comprising: lapping both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protective film. As a material of the part and the element protective film,
In addition to selecting those having different linear expansion coefficients, the step of lapping both the air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protective film is made into at least two stages, and in the first step of lapping, the element protective film or the slider portion is formed. By controlling the temperature of at least one of the sliders, the air bearing surface of the element protection film is displaced with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion in the direction of receding from the lap plate. Lapping the air bearing surface, in the second lapping step, by controlling the temperature of at least one of the element protective film or the slider portion,
The air bearing surface of the element protection film is displaced with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion in a direction approaching the lap plate, and in this state, both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protection film are lapped. It is a thing.

In this manufacturing method, in the first lapping step, the temperature of at least one of the element protective film and the slider portion is controlled so that the air bearing surface of the element protective film is retracted from the lap plate with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion. The slider and the air bearing surface of the element protective film are lapped in the state of being displaced. At the time of this lapping, even if the lapping pressure is increased to increase the processing speed, a step on the air bearing surface of the element protection film with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion is not generated.
Processing can proceed.

In the subsequent second lapping step,
While controlling the temperature of at least one of the element protection film and the slider part and displacing the air bearing surface of the element protection film toward the wrap plate with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider part, both the slider part and the element protection film are Lapping the air bearing surface. In this step, regarding the processing of the air bearing surface of the element protection film, the air outflow end side portion is more lapped.

Therefore, by performing the lapping process of the first step and the second step, the step of the air bearing surface of the element protective film with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion is not generated, and the air bearing surface of the element protective film is processed. It is possible to wrap more of the air outflow end side portion. Therefore, the air bearing surface of the element protective film portion becomes a substantially flat surface inclined with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion,
When flying, a magnetic head slider is manufactured in which the flying height of the element protection film at the magnetic head element position on the air bearing surface is approximately the same as the flying height near the air outflow end position on the slider surface and each air bearing surface of the element protecting film. it can.

Here, the lapping pressure for pressing the air bearing surface of the slider portion and the element protective film against the lapping plate is higher in the lapping process per unit time in the first lapping process than in the second lapping process. With such selection, it is possible to shorten the processing time of the first lapping process and avoid the situation where an unexpected step is generated in the second lapping process.

[0027]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, an embodiment of a magnetic head slider according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a flying posture in an embodiment of a magnetic head slider according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a magnetic head slider according to the present invention.

In these figures, a magnetic head element portion 72 is formed on the end face on the air outflow end side which is substantially orthogonal to the air bearing surface of the slider portion 71, and this magnetic head element portion 72 is covered with an element protection film 73. ing. On the air bearing surface, which is the surface of the slider portion 71 and the element protection film 73 that faces the disk surface 80, levitation force generating side rails 74 and 75 are provided along the direction of the air flow generated by the rotation of the disk. A levitation force generating center rail 76 is provided on the air inflow end side between the side rails 74 and 75. The air inflow end side portion of the air bearing surface of each rail 74, 75, 76 is
The inclined surfaces 74a, 75a, 76a are formed.

In this magnetic head slider, when flying, the flying height near the air outflow end position on each air bearing surface of the slider portion 71 and the element protection film 73 is determined by the magnetic head element position on the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73. The air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 is processed so as to be substantially equal to the flying height in the above.

Here, in consideration of ease of processing, the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 is a substantially flat surface inclined with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion 71. Therefore, the inclination angle of the air bearing surface of the element protective film 73 with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion 71 is equal to the flying angle of the magnetic head slider, and the air bearing surface of the element protective film 73 portion is parallel to the disk 80. .

In the magnetic head slider having the above structure, when the magnetic head slider is flying, the flying height H1 at the magnetic head element position on the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 is determined by the slider portion 7.
1 and the flying height of the element protection film 73 in the vicinity of the air outflow end position on each air bearing surface. Therefore, the minimum flying height of the magnetic head slider and the flying height H1 at the magnetic head element position on the air bearing surface of the element protection film become substantially equal to each other, and spacing loss is eliminated. Therefore, the distance between the tip of the magnetic head element portion 72 and the disk surface 80 (flying height H
1) can be made small, and sensitivity deterioration due to spacing loss can be avoided.

In the embodiment shown above, the inclination angle of the air bearing surface of the element protective film 73 portion with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion 71 is equal to the flying angle of the magnetic head slider, but they are exactly the same. It does not have to be, and it is sufficient if they are approximately equal. For example, the difference H1 between the flying height H1 at the magnetic head element position and the flying height H2 at the air outflow end of the slider portion 71.
If -H2 is within a few nm, it is possible to sufficiently avoid sensitivity deterioration due to spacing loss.

Therefore, the air bearing surface of the element protective film 73 is
The slider 71 may be processed so that the inclination angle with respect to the air bearing surface is slightly larger than the flying angle of the magnetic head slider. In this case, the flying height H1 at the magnetic head element position becomes larger than the flying height H2 at the air outflow end of the slider portion 71, but the difference H1-H2 between them is within several nm (with this difference, the flying height H1 And the flying height H2 are substantially equal to each other), the spacing loss is small, and the magnetic head element portion 72 is not damaged due to direct contact between the magnetic head element portion 72 and an abnormal protrusion on the disk. It can be avoided, but rather desirable.

Next, a method of manufacturing the magnetic head slider of the present invention will be described. The manufacturing method of the magnetic head slider of the present invention is different from the conventional manufacturing method only in the lapping process, and therefore only the lapping process will be described here. Further, the invention of the present application relating to a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider is. An invention having a lapping step in which no step is formed between the slider portion and the element protection film ,. An invention having a lapping step of forming an inclined air bearing surface in the element protective film portion ,. There are three aspects of the invention, namely, the invention in which the lapping step in the invention described above is performed before and after the lapping step. However, when the embodiment example related to the invention is described, the embodiment example related to the invention is also described. Therefore, the description of the embodiment of the invention will be omitted, and the embodiment of the invention will be described by taking the case of manufacturing the magnetic head slider shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as an example.

When manufacturing the magnetic head slider shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, first, the linear expansion coefficient is different as the material of the slider portion 71 (in this case, the state of block 3 in FIG. 8) and the element protective film 73. Select one. In the present embodiment, the slider portion 71 is made of Al ₂ O ₃ —TiC (linear expansion coefficient α
₁ = 7.5 × 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C.), the element protection film 73 is Al ₂ O ₃
(Linear expansion coefficient α ₂ = 5.0 × 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C.).
In addition, the step of lapping both the air bearing surfaces of the slider portion 71 and the element protection film 73 has at least two stages, and in the first step of lapping, the temperature of at least one of the element protection film 73 and the slider portion 71 is controlled. ,
Lapping is performed by displacing the air bearing surface of the element protective film 73 with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion 71 in the direction of receding from the lap plate 90.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the processed surfaces of the element protection film 73 and the slider portion 71 are heated from room temperature, and the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 is displaced in the direction of receding from the lap plate 90, as shown in FIG. I am letting you. For example, when the slider portion 71 has a thickness of 0.3 mm and is heated from room temperature by 20 ° C., it retreats from the lap plate 90 by 15 nm at the corner of the air outflow end of the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73. In this state, if the air bearing surfaces of the slider portion 71 and the element protective film 73 are lapped, the air bearing surface of the element protective film 73 is retracted from the lap plate 90. Therefore, the lapping pressure is temporarily increased to increase the processing speed. Also, it is possible to proceed with the processing without causing a step on the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion 71.

After this, the second step of lapping is performed.
In the second lapping step, by controlling the temperature of at least one of the element protection film 73 and the slider portion 71, the element protection film 7 is formed on the air bearing surface of the slider portion 71.
Lapping is performed by displacing the air bearing surface of No. 3 toward the lap plate 90. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the element protective film 7
3 and the processed surface of the slider portion 71 are cooled from room temperature,
As shown in, the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 after the first lapping step is brought close to the lap plate 90.

In this case, the air outflow end of the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 is closer to the lap plate 90. Therefore, in this state, if both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion 71 and the element protective film 73 are lapped, the air outflow end side portion will be lapped more with respect to the processing of the air bearing surface of the element protective film 73, and the temperature can be returned to room temperature. If so, an inclined surface is formed.

By passing through the first and second lapping steps, no step is formed on the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion 71, and moreover,
Regarding the processing of the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73, the air outflow end side portion can be more lapped.

Therefore, the air bearing surface of the element protection film 73 becomes a substantially flat surface inclined with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion 71,
During flying, the flying height of the element protection film 73 at the magnetic head element position on the air bearing surface is determined by the slider portion 71 and the element protection film 7.
It is possible to manufacture a magnetic head slider having a flying height substantially equal to the flying height in the vicinity of the air outflow end position on each air bearing surface of No.

Here, the slider portion 71 and the element protection film 7
Lap pressure for pressing the air bearing surface of 3 to the lap plate 90 is
If the first lapping process is selected so that the lapping amount per unit time is higher than that of the second lapping process, the processing time of the first lapping process can be shortened and the second lapping process can be performed. It is possible to avoid a situation where an unexpected step is generated in the process.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the combination of the material of the slider portion (coefficient of linear expansion α ₁ ) and the material of the element protective film (coefficient of linear expansion α ₂ ) may be α ₁ > α ₂ or α ₁ <α ₂ . These differences only reverse heating and cooling. For example,
Ferrite, other ceramics, or the like can be used as the material of the slider portion, and diamond-like carbon (DLC), SiO ₂ or the like can be used as the element protective film. Specific examples of combinations include a combination of Si (slider portion) and Al ₂ O ₃ (element protective film), a combination of ZrO ₂ (slider portion) and DLC (element protective film), and the like.

As a method of heating / cooling the processed surface,
Connect a heater to the lapping machine to electrically heat and cool,
A heater is connected to the holder of the magnetic head slider (block) to be processed and electrically heated / cooled, hot / cold air is blown to the processed surface for heating / cooling, and a heated / cooled lapping agent (lapping liquid) is used. Various things are conceivable such as placing the lapping machine in a predetermined temperature environment (in a temperature-controlled room).

Further, the magnetic head element portion and the like are not limited to the above-mentioned structure, and the shape of the rail is not limited to that shown in FIG.

[0045]

As described above, in the present invention relating to the magnetic head slider, when the magnetic head slider flies, the flying height near the air outflow end position on each air bearing surface of the slider portion and the element protection film is reduced. It is substantially equal to the flying height at the position of the magnetic head element on the air bearing surface of the protective film. For this reason,
The minimum flying height as a magnetic head slider and the flying height at the magnetic head element position on the air bearing surface of the element protection film become substantially equal, and spacing loss is almost eliminated. Therefore,
It is possible to reduce the distance between the tip of the magnetic head element and the disk surface, and avoid a decrease in sensitivity due to spacing loss.

If the air bearing surface of the element protective film portion is formed into a substantially flat surface inclined with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion, the air bearing surface of the element protective film portion can be easily processed. In the first invention relating to the method of manufacturing the magnetic head slider, the temperature of at least one of the element protective film and the slider portion is controlled, and the air bearing surface of the element protective film is displaced with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion in the direction of receding from the lap plate. In this state, both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protection film are lapped. Therefore, even if the lapping pressure is increased to increase the processing speed, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of a step on the air bearing surface of the element protection film with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion.

In the second invention relating to the method of manufacturing the magnetic head slider, the temperature of at least one of the element protective film and the slider portion is controlled so that the air bearing surface of the element protective film approaches the lap plate with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion. Both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protection film are lapped while being displaced in the direction. Therefore, in processing the air bearing surface of the element protective film, the air outflow end side portion can be more lapped.

In the third invention relating to the method of manufacturing the magnetic head slider, in the first lapping step, the temperature of at least one of the element protective film and the slider portion is controlled so that the element protective film is formed on the air bearing surface of the slider portion. While the air bearing surface is displaced in the direction of receding from the lap plate, both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protective film are lapped. At the time of this lapping, even if the lapping pressure is increased to increase the processing speed, the processing can be advanced without generating a step on the air bearing surface of the element protection film with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion.

In the subsequent second lapping step,
While controlling the temperature of at least one of the element protection film and the slider part and displacing the air bearing surface of the element protection film toward the wrap plate with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider part, both the slider part and the element protection film are Lapping the air bearing surface. In this step, regarding the processing of the air bearing surface of the element protection film, the air outflow end side portion is more lapped.

Therefore, by performing the lapping process of the first step and the second step, the step of the air bearing surface of the element protective film with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion is not generated, and the air bearing surface of the element protective film is processed. It is possible to wrap more of the air outflow end side portion. Therefore, the air bearing surface of the element protective film portion becomes a substantially flat surface inclined with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion,
When flying, a magnetic head slider is manufactured in which the flying height of the element protection film at the magnetic head element position on the air bearing surface is approximately the same as the flying height near the air outflow end position on the slider surface and each air bearing surface of the element protecting film. it can.

Here, the lapping pressure for pressing the air bearing surface of the slider portion and the element protective film against the lapping plate is higher in the lapping process per unit time in the first lapping process than in the second lapping process. With such selection, it is possible to shorten the processing time of the first lapping process and avoid the situation where an unexpected step is generated in the second lapping process.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a flying posture in an embodiment of a magnetic head slider according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a magnetic head slider according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of lapping in the manufacturing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of lapping in the manufacturing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a main part of a magnetic head slider.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a magnetoresistive effect element portion and a conductor layer in FIG.

7 is a cross-sectional view showing a laminated structure near the gap when the magnetic head slider in FIG. 5 is viewed from the disk side.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the manufacturing process of the magnetic head slider.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flying posture of a conventional magnetic head slider.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a flying posture of another conventional magnetic head slider.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: recording track 20: recording head part 30: reproducing head part 51, 73: element protective film 52, 71: slider part 53, 72: magnetic head element part 90: lap plate

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic head slider in which a magnetic head element portion is formed on an end surface on the air outflow end side substantially orthogonal to the air bearing surface of the slider portion, and the magnetic head element portion is covered with an element protective film, when flying. So that the flying height of the slider portion and the element protection film near each air outflow end position on each air bearing surface is substantially equal to the flying height of the element protection film at the magnetic head element position on the air bearing surface, A magnetic head slider characterized in that the air bearing surface of the element protective film portion is processed. 2. The air bearing surface of the element protective film portion is a substantially flat surface inclined with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion,
2. The magnetic head slider according to claim 1, wherein the air bearing surface of the element protective film portion is processed. 3. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider, wherein a magnetic head element portion is formed on an end surface of the slider portion on the air outflow end side substantially orthogonal to the air bearing surface, and the magnetic head element portion is covered with an element protective film. And a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider including a step of lapping both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protective film, wherein materials having different linear expansion coefficients are selected as materials of the slider portion and the element protective film. At the same time, at the time of lapping both the air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protective film, the temperature of at least one of the element protective film and the slider portion is controlled to control the air bearing surface of the slider portion with respect to the air bearing surface. The air bearing surface of the protective film is displaced in the direction of receding from the lap plate, and in this state, both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protective film are lapped. Method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider according to claim Rukoto. 4. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider, wherein a magnetic head element portion is formed on an end surface of the slider portion on the air outflow end side substantially orthogonal to the air bearing surface, and the magnetic head element portion is covered with an element protective film. And a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider including a step of lapping both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protective film, wherein materials having different linear expansion coefficients are selected as materials of the slider portion and the element protective film. At the same time, at the time of lapping both the air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protective film, the temperature of at least one of the element protective film and the slider portion is controlled to control the air bearing surface of the slider portion with respect to the air bearing surface. The air bearing surface of the protective film is displaced toward the lap plate, and in this state, the air bearing surfaces of the slider section and the element protective film are lapped. Method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider according to claim Rukoto. 5. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider, wherein a magnetic head element portion is formed on an end surface on the air outflow end side substantially orthogonal to the air bearing surface of the slider portion, and the magnetic head element portion is covered with an element protective film. And a method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider including a step of lapping both air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protective film, wherein materials having different linear expansion coefficients are selected as materials of the slider portion and the element protective film. At the same time, the step of lapping both the air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protective film is made into at least two stages, and in the first lapping step, by controlling the temperature of at least one of the element protective film and the slider portion. , The air bearing surface of the element protection film is displaced with respect to the air bearing surface of the slider portion in the direction of receding from the lap plate, and in this state, Lapping both the air bearing surface of the lid portion and the element protective film, and in the second lapping step, by controlling the temperature of at least one of the element protective film and the slider portion, the air bearing surface of the slider portion is The magnetic head slider is manufactured by displacing the air bearing surface of the element protective film in a direction closer to the lap plate and lapping both the air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protective film in this state. 6. The lapping pressure for pressing the air bearing surfaces of the slider portion and the element protection film against the lapping plate during the lapping step is such that the lapping step in the first step is more lapping per unit time than the lapping step in the second step. 6. The method of manufacturing a magnetic head slider according to claim 5, wherein the amount is selected to be high.