Patent ID: 7159301
Filing Date: 2007-01-09
Classification: G11B,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of manufacturing a slider of a thin-film magnetic head, the slider comprising: a medium facing surface that faces toward a recording medium; a substrate having a first surface that faces toward the recording medium and is located farther from the recording medium than the medium facing surface; and a second surface that meets the first surface; a thin-film magnetic head element located near the second surface of the substrate and near the medium facing surface; an insulating portion surrounding the thin-film magnetic head element and having a surface that constitutes a part of the medium facing surface; and a medium facing layer located adjacent to the first surface of the substrate and having a surface that constitutes another part of the medium facing surface, wherein: the substrate has a hardness greater than that of the insulating portion, and, as the substrate and the medium facing layer are compared in hardness, the medium facing layer has a hardness closer to that of the insulating portion, the method comprising the steps of: forming a slider material including the substrate, the thin-film magnetic head element and the insulating portion; forming the first surface in the slider material, by etching a surface of the substrate facing toward the recording medium; forming the medium facing layer in the slider material so as to be adjacent to the first surface; and forming the medium facing surface in the slider material, by lapping a surface of the medium facing layer facing toward the recording medium and a surface of the insulating portion facing toward the recording medium.