Patent ID: 6261468
Filing Date: 2001-07-17
Classification: G11B,Y10T

Abstract:
A method for manufacturing a combination read/write thin film magnetic head comprising a magnetic material, a nonmagnetic lower-gap layer, a magnetoresistive element and a nonmagnetic upper-gap layer, these layers being superposed in this order from the bottom, a lower-core layer comprising a magnetic material, an upper-core layer comprising a magnetic material facing said lower-core layer through a nonmagnetic gap layer, and a coil layer inducing a recording magnetic field in said lower-core layer and upper-core layer, these layers being provided on said upper-gap layer and said lower-core layer also acting as an upper-shielding layer;the method comprising:a step for forming a prominence comprising a magnetic material having a width on said lower-core layer comprising a magnetic material;a step for forming a nonmagnetic material layer on said lower-core layer and said prominence, said nonmagnetic material layer having a mono-layer, multi-layer, or composite structure comprising at least one material selected from the group consisting of SiO.sub.2, Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5, Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, TiO, Ti.sub.2 O.sub.3, Ti.sub.3 O.sub.5, TiO.sub.2 and WO.sub.3 ;a step for forming said upper-core layer of a magnetic material layer having a width slightly smaller than that of said prominence through said nonmagnetic material layer;a step for leaving the section of said nonmagnetic material layer sandwiched between said prominence and said upper-core layer as a gap layer and removing said nonmagnetic material layer not covered by the upper-core layer, said step for removing said nonmagnetic material being performed by an anisotropic plasma etching process which does not damage the magnetic material at the lower-core layer side and acts only in the vertical direction of said nonmagnetic material layer, said etching process using a CF.sub.4 based gas;a step for sloping both side faces of said prominence in the direction away from said upper-core layer so as to equalize the width of the gap-facing surface of said prominence in contact with said gap layer with the width of the upper-core layer; anda step for forming grades on both upper surfaces of the lower-core layer extending from the base ends of the prominence.