Patent ID: 8790524
Filing Date: 2014-07-29
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
1. A method for fabricating a magnetic transducer having a device region, a field region, and a magnetoresistive stack, the method comprising: providing a hard mask layer on the magnetoresistive stack; providing a wet-etchable layer on the hard mask layer, the wet etchable layer being an aluminum oxide layer; providing an additional hard mask layer on the wet-etchable layer; providing an antireflective coating (ARC) layer on the additional hard mask layer; forming a mask including a hard mask formed from the hard mask layer and a wet-etchable mask formed from the wet-etchable layer, the hard mask including a sensor portion and a line frame, the sensor portion covering a first portion of the magnetoresistive stack corresponding to a magnetoresistive structure and the line frame covering a second portion of the magnetoresistive stack in the device region, the wet-etchable mask including a wet-etchable sensor portion on the sensor portion of the hard mask and a wet-etchable line frame on the line frame of the hard mask, the step of forming the mask including forming an additional hard mask from the additional hard mask layer such that the additional hard mask forms a pattern including the wet-etchable sensor portion and the wet-etchable line frame and patterning the wet-etchable layer using the pattern from the additional hard mask; defining the magnetoresistive structure in a track width direction after formation of the wet-etchable mask and the hard mask; providing at least one hard bias material after the magnetoresistive structure is defined in the track width direction, a first portion of the at least one hard bias material being substantially adjacent to the magnetoresistive structure in the track width direction; and removing the wet-etchable sensor portion and the wet-etchable line frame, thereby removing a second portion of the at least one hard bias material residing on the wet-etchable sensor portion and on the wet-etchable line frame.