Patent ID: 8176623
Filing Date: 2012-05-15
Classification: G11B,H01L,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of manufacturing a magnetic head for perpendicular magnetic recording, the magnetic head comprising: a medium facing surface that faces toward a recording medium; a coil that generates a magnetic field corresponding to data to be written on the recording medium; a pole layer that allows a magnetic flux corresponding to the magnetic field generated by the coil to pass therethrough and generates a write magnetic field for writing the data on the recording medium by means of a perpendicular magnetic recording system; a pole-layer-encasing layer made of a nonmagnetic material and having a top surface and a groove that opens at the top surface; and a nonmagnetic layer that is made of a nonmagnetic metal material, disposed in the groove and forms a pole-layer-encasing section that accommodates the pole layer, the method comprising the steps of: forming the pole-layer-encasing layer; forming an initial nonmagnetic layer in the groove of the pole-layer-encasing layer by physical vapor deposition, the initial nonmagnetic layer being intended to become the nonmagnetic layer later by undergoing etching of a surface thereof; etching the surface of the initial nonmagnetic layer by dry etching so that the initial nonmagnetic layer becomes the nonmagnetic layer; forming the pole layer in the pole-layer-encasing section formed by the nonmagnetic layer; and forming the coil, wherein: the initial nonmagnetic layer forms an initial encasing section that is to become the pole-layer-encasing section later, the initial encasing section having an opening; and in the step of etching the surface of the initial nonmagnetic layer, the surface of the initial nonmagnetic layer is etched so that the opening becomes wider than before the etching and the initial encasing section thereby becomes the pole-layer-encasing section.