Method for manufacturing a magnetic write head

• US 8,136,228 B2
• Filed: 12/24/2008
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Western Digital Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands BV (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Pentek, Aron, Zhang, Sue Siyang, Zheng, Yi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Paul D
• Application Number:
  US12/343,713
• Publication Number:
  US 20090139080A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,182 Days
• Field of Search: 296/031.1, 2960313-60316, 296/031.8, 216/22, 216/38, 216/41, 216/48, 216/62, 216 65- 67, 204/192.15, 427/127, 427/128, 451/5, 451/41
• US Class Current: 29/603.16
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/112 Manufacture of shielding device
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/1278 specially adapted for magnetisations perpendicular to the surface of the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/3116 Shaping of layers, poles or gaps for improving the form of the electrical signal transduced, e.g. for shielding, contour effect, equalizing, side flux fringing, cross talk reduction between heads or between heads and information tracks G11B5/3113, G11B5/245 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/3146 magnetic layers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/315 Shield layers on both sides of the main pole, e.g. in perpendicular magnetic heads
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/3163 Fabrication methods or processes specially adapted for a particular head structure, e.g. using base layers for electroplating, using functional layers for masking, using energy or particle beams for shaping the structure or modifying the properties of the basic layers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49032 Fabricating head structure or component thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49039 with dual gap materials
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49043 Depositing magnetic layer or coating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49044 Plural magnetic deposition layers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49046 with etching or machining of magnetic material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49048 Machining magnetic material [e.g., grinding, etching, polishing]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49052 by etching

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a magnetic write head that avoids the challenges associated with the formation of fence structures during write pole definition. A magnetic write pole material is deposited. A mask structure is deposited over the magnetic write pole material. The mask structure includes a first hard mask, a marker layer, a physically robust, inorganic RIEable image transfer layer, a second hard mask structure over the image transfer layer and a photoresist layer over the second hard mask. A reactive ion etching process can be used to transfer the image of the photoresist mask and second hard mask layer onto the image transfer layer. An ion milling is performed to define the write pole. A layer of non-magnetic material such as alumina is deposited. An ion milling is performed until the marker layer has been reached, and another reactive ion etching is performed to remove the remaining hard mask.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a magnetic write head, comprising:

providing a substrate;

depositing a magnetic write pole material over the substrate;

forming a mask structure over the magnetic write pole material, the mask structure including a hard mask layer formed on the magnetic write pole material, a marker layer formed on the hard mask layer and a RIEable image transfer layer formed on the marker layer;

performing a first ion milling to remove portions of the write pole material that are not protected by the mask structure, thereby forming a write pole structure having first and second sides;

depositing a non-magnetic material over the remaining mask structure and write pole; and

performing second ion milling sufficiently to expose the remaining mask and until the marker layer has been detected;

wherein the second ion milling is performed sufficiently to form a recess in the substrate.

2. A method for manufacturing a magnetic write head, comprising:

providing a substrate;

depositing a magnetic write pole material over the substrate;

forming a mask structure over the magnetic write pole material, the mask structure including a hard mask layer formed on the magnetic write pole material, a marker layer formed on the hard mask layer and a RIEable image transfer layer formed on the marker layer;

performing a first ion milling to remove portions of the write pole material that are not protected by the mask structure, thereby forming a write pole structure having first and second sides;

depositing a non-magnetic material over the remaining mask structure and write pole; and

performing second ion milling sufficiently to expose the remaining mask and until the marker layer has been detected;

wherein the second ion milling is performed sufficiently to form a recess in the substrate, the method further comprising forming a magnetic trailing wrap-around shield that extends into the recess in the substrate.

3. A method for manufacturing a magnetic write head, comprising:

providing a substrate;

depositing a magnetic write pole material over the substrate;

forming a mask structure over the magnetic write pole material, the mask structure including a hard mask layer formed on the magnetic write pole material, a marker layer formed on the hard mask layer and a RIEable image transfer layer formed on the marker layer;

performing a first ion milling to remove portions of the write pole material that are not protected by the mask structure, thereby forming a write pole structure having first and second sides;

depositing a non-magnetic material over the remaining mask structure and write pole; and

performing second ion milling sufficiently to expose the remaining mask and until the marker layer has been detected;

wherein the second ion milling is performed sufficiently to form a recess in the substrate.

4. A method for manufacturing a magnetic write head, comprising:

providing a substrate;

depositing a magnetic write pole material over the substrate;

forming a mask structure over the magnetic write pole material, the mask structure including a hard mask layer formed on the magnetic write pole material, a marker layer formed on the hard mask layer and a RIEable image transfer layer formed on the marker layer;

performing a first ion milling to remove portions of the write pole material that are not protected by the mask structure, thereby forming a write pole structure having first and second sides;

depositing a non-magnetic material over the remaining mask structure and write pole; and

performing second ion milling sufficiently to expose the remaining mask and until the marker layer has been detected;

wherein the second ion milling is performed sufficiently to form a recess in the substrate, the method further comprising forming a magnetic trailing wrap-around shield that extends into the recess in the substrate.