753results about "Construction of head windings" patented technology

A magnetic head for perpendicular recording on double layer media with suppressed side writing and controlled write width is disclosed. The present invention reduces the problem of side writing and controls the write width of the writing element by providing a writing element with a trailing edge sized dimensionally larger than the leading edge, side shields, and specifically spaced writing gaps placed at various distances between the write element and the side shields, return poles, and the main pole.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a write head having an interlaced conductor coil winding and method of fabrication. The interlaced winding of the present invention may have alternating turns of a first and a second coil. In the preferred embodiment, the side walls of successive coil turns are separated by an ultra thin inorganic insulation which defines the distance between successive turns of the first and second coil. In one method of fabrication, a conductive seed layer is deposited on a generally planar insulative surface, a resist mask is formed on the seed layer, and a conductive material deposited on the exposed seed layer to form the turns of the first coil. The masked portions of the seed layer are removed, after resist mask removal, to electrically isolate the turns of the first coil. The inorganic insulation may be formed in a layer conformal with the first coil. The second coil is formed between the turns of the first coil. A seed layer and mask may be used to facilitate second coil deposition. Etching, or planarization, may be used to electrically isolate the turns of the second coil. A capping layer may be formed over any exposed conductor material to insulate the winding from an upper pole structure or other overlying structure. Embodiments of the present invention may have multiple layers of conductor winding having some conventional, or all interlaced coil structure.

The present invention provides a thin film write head having an improved laminated flux carrying structure and method of fabrication. The preferred embodiment provides laminated layers of: high moment magnetic material, and easily aligned high resistivity magnetic material. In the preferred embodiment, the easily aligned laminating layer induces uniaxial anisotropy, by exchange coupling, to improve uniaxial anisotropy in the high moment material. This allows deposition induced uniaxial anisotropy by DC magnetron sputtering and also provides improved post deposition annealing, if desired. It is preferred to laminate FeXN, such as FeRhN, or other crystalline structure material, with an amorphous alloy material, preferably Co based, such as CoZrCr. In the preferred embodiment, upper and lower pole structures may both be laminated as discussed above. Such laminated structures have higher Bs than structures with insulative laminates, and yokes and pole tips and may be integrally formed, if desired, because flux may travel along or across the laminating layers. The preferred embodiment of the present invention improves soft magnetic properties, reduces eddy currents, improves hard axis alignment while not deleteriously affecting the coercivity, permeability, and magnetostriction of the structure, thus allowing for improved high frequency operation.

A method and system for providing a recording head is disclosed. The method and system include providing a first pole, a second pole, a write gap and at least one coil. The write cap separates the first pole from the second pole. The coil(s) include a plurality of turns and is between the first and second poles. The first pole includes a pedestal that has a first portion and a second portion. The first portion includes a high moment electroplated material. The second portion includes a hot seed layer that has a high moment sputtered material. The second portion of the first pole is adjacent to the write gap.

A method provides a magnetic transducer that includes an underlayer and a nonmagnetic layer on the underlayer. The method includes providing a plurality of trenches in the nonmagnetic layer. A first trench of corresponds to a main pole, while at least one side trench corresponds to at least one side shield. The method also includes providing mask covering the side trench(es) and providing the main pole. At least a portion of the main pole resides in the first trench. The method also includes removing at least a portion of the nonmagnetic layer residing between the side trench(es) and the main pole. The method also includes providing at least one side shield. The shield(s) extend from at least an air-bearing surface location to not further than a coil front location.

A method and system for manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic recording head is disclosed. The method and system include providing a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) uniformity structure having an aperture therein and forming a perpendicular magnetic recording pole within the aperture. The CMP uniformity structure may include a CMP barrier layer. The method and system further include fabricating an insulator after formation of the perpendicular magnetic recording pole and performing a CMP to remove a portion of the insulator, expose a portion of the perpendicular magnetic recording pole and planarize an exposed surface of the perpendicular magnetic recording head.

A magnetic head for writing information on a relatively-moving medium is disclosed, the head having a leading end, a trailing end and a medium-facing surface, the head comprising: a soft magnetic write pole that terminates in a pole tip that is disposed adjacent to the medium-facing surface; at least one coil section that is disposed adjacent to the write pole to induce a magnetic flux in the write pole; and a hard magnetic bias structure disposed within one micron of the pole tip to magnetically bias the pole tip.

The present invention provides a thin film write head having an upper and lower pole structures and conductor turns forming a winding for generating magnetic flux. The conductor is formed with a non-planar top surface. The winding of the present invention may be formed of lower and upper turns. The upper turns may be formed with a non-planar top surface, a non-planar bottom surface, or both. It is preferred that the bottom surface of the upper conductor turns be coherent with the non-planar top surface of the lower conductor turns. The non-planar top surface may be formed by removing corners formed during deposition between a generally planar top surface and abutting side walls. The corners may be removed by ion milling to form the non-planar top surface. The conductor may be copper with the non-planar top surface having sloping facets. The thin film write head of the present invention may be utilized to provide an improved data storage and retrieval apparatus. The preferred embodiment provides reduced coil resistance thereby reducing Johnson Thermal Noise and power dissipation. It also allows for reduced yoke length and reduced stack height while providing low apex angles to expand and improve yoke material deposition thereby improving head response and operational frequency.

A read / write head and method of making the same are used in a data storage system, such as a disk drive, for perpendicular magnetic recording of data. The head employs a two-layer pole design with a main pole made of sputtered high moment magnetic material, and an adjunct pole made of electroplated soft magnetic film. The main pole is used to write data onto the medium, and is formed over the write coil. The adjunct pole is substantially recessed from the air bearing surface and is formed over the main pole. The present head design significantly enhances the magnetic write field, and substantially reduces side-writing that result in accidental erasure of data in adjacent tracks on the magnetic recording medium.

Embodiments in accordance with the thin film write head of the present invention have a lower pole structure, an upper pole structure, and a multilayer write gap extending from an air bearing surface between the upper and lower pole structures. In preferred embodiments, the write gap comprises at least two of: (a) a first layer covering a lower pole tip portion of the lower pole structure, (b) a second layer covering turns of a semiconductor winding, or (c) a third layer covering a winding insulation stack. In more preferred embodiments, the write gap is formed of the first, the second, and the third write gap layers. An advantage of a write head with a multilayer write gap is that it allows better control of write gap thickness. As such, loss of write gap thickness can be compensated for by deposition of the second write gap layers, or by deposition of the third write gap layer. Some embodiments have one or more additional advantages in providing increased corrosion prevention, improving the integrity of conductor insulation, and / or improving the top pole magnetic material characteristics.

A method and system for providing a magnetic recording head is described. The magnetic recording head has an air-bearing surface (ABS) configured to reside in proximity to a media during use. The head includes a first coil, a second coil, a main pole, and a third coil. The first coil has a first plurality of turns and is configured to carry a first write current in a first direction. The second coil has a second plurality of turns and is configured to carry a second write current in a second direction. The main pole is between the first coil and the second coil. The third coil has a third plurality of turns configured to carry a third write current in a third direction.

An enhanced inductive coil design for use in data storage magnetic disk drives with areal density over 35 Gb / in2, features a double wound twin coil that is able to achieve a yoke length of 15 μm or less by reducing the insulation spacing between the two coils. The coil further presents improved reliability by reducing the possibility of occurrence of electrical shorting. The coil is made by forming two interleafing conductors on the same layer with a demesne process. A tri-level process is implemented in the layout of the first conductor to ensure that the coil width and spacing are uniform and even, in order for the second conductor to be wound therebetween. A conformal dielectric layer of approximately 0.1 to 0.2 μm in thickness is deposited between the two conductors and serves as insulation. The two conductors are formed by a copper seed layer plating process that eliminates potential damage to the conductors during production.

The present invention provides an write head having an improved upper pole tip-to-yoke stitch. The upper pole tip is formed having an open faced sloping surface at an end of the pole tip distal from an air bearing surface. Preferably the angle of the sloping surface is about 30 degrees. The sloping surface provides a shallow angle for depositing the yoke material over which improves the magnetic properties of the yoke material, particularly in the case of sputtered high moment magnetic materials, and improves the flux flow path through the yoke. As such, the present invention allows conductor coils to be located closer to the air bearing surface without sacrificing yoke material properties and flux flow. The upper pole tip may have a back portion which is formed over an insulation layer located between a write gap layer and a conductor layer. Preferably the insulation layer and the conductor layer or layers are formed having sloping edges with shallow angles of about 30 degrees. An advantage of the present invention is that it allows the yoke and the yoke-to-pole tip stitch to be recessed from the air bearing surface, if desired, to prevent the yoke or yoke-to-pole stitch from inadvertently writing to the media.

The present invention provides an improved thin film write head and method of fabrication capable of providing an ultra-short yoke and / or an ultra-low conductor winding stack. The present invention reduces yoke length and stack height by forming the conductor winding in a trench etched from an insulation layer, preferably formed of an inorganic insulation material. A thin resist mask is used to define the width of the trench while the etch process defines the depth. Preferably, the insulation layer is formed on a different inorganic insulation material to control the etch process, thus, the conductor winding may be formed on the underlying layer. The conductor winding preferably is formed by depositing conductor material so that it fills the trench and then planarizing, such as by chemical mechanical polish, to remove conductor material deposited outside the trench. An organic insulation layer, such as cured photoresist, may be deposited on the planarized surface of the conductor winding to insulate it from an overlying yoke. This overlying organic insulation layer may also define the apex angle of the head. The present invention may have multiple layers of conductor winding. The subsequent layers of conductor may be formed similar to the first layer, or may be formed with conventional photoresist processes and structures. The present invention may utilize any known pole structure or material.

A write element for use in a read / write head having an air bearing surface, so as to reduce pole tip protrusion. The write element includes a pole tip region; an insulation layer formed adjacent to the pole tip region; a coil embedded in the insulation layer which contributes to a protrusion force that generates a pole tip protrusion; and a layer of thermally expansive material formed over the insulation layer, and recessed from the air bearing surface, that expands in response to heat absorption, causing a rotational moment of force that counteracts the protrusion force thus reducing the pole tip protrusion.

A magnetic recording head is provided. The magnetic recording head comprises a write pole and a write coil structure configured to generate a magnetic field in the write pole. The write coil structure comprises a substrate layer and a coil material disposed within the substrate layer. The write coil structure is substantially free of photoresist. A method for forming a write coil structure is also provided. The method comprises the steps of providing a substrate layer, forming a photoresist pattern mask over the substrate layer, opening a damascene trench in the substrate layer by reactive ion etching, and disposing a coil material into the damascene trench in the substrate layer.

The present invention provides an improved thin film write head and method of fabrication capable of providing an ultra-short yoke and / or an ultra-low conductor winding stack. The present invention reduces yoke length and stack height by forming the conductor winding in a trench etched from an insulation layer, preferably formed of an inorganic insulation material. A thin resist mask is used to define the width of the trench while the etch process defines the depth. Preferably, the insulation layer is formed on a different inorganic insulation material to control the etch process, thus, the conductor winding may be formed on the underlying layer. The conductor winding preferably is formed by depositing conductor material so that it fills the trench and then planarizing, such as by chemical mechanical polish, to remove conductor material deposited outside the trench. An organic insulation layer, such as cured photoresist, may be deposited on the planarized surface of the conductor winding to insulate it from an overlying yoke. This overlying organic insulation layer may also define the apex angle of the head. The present invention may have multiple layers of conductor winding. The subsequent layers of conductor may be formed similar to the first layer, or may be formed with conventional photoresist processes and structures. The present invention may utilize any known pole structure or material.

A technique for reducing pole tip protrusion (“PTP”) in a magnetic write head and giant magnetoresistive (“GMR”) stripe temperature in an associated read head structure utilizing one or more internal diffuser regions. In a representative embodiment disclosed, this may be effectuated through the appropriate placement of a relatively highly conductive material diffuser region (e.g. gold (Au) or copper (Cu)) above the poles, between the first pole and the coil and / or through the first pole, second and first shields and undercoat layer to the substrate in order to conduct heat away from the write head poles, insulating layers (e.g. photoresist) and shields.

A method and system for providing a thin film recording head are disclosed. The method and system include providing a first pole, providing a second pole and providing a write gap separating the first pole from the second pole. The method and system further include providing at least one coil having a plurality of turns. A portion of each of the plurality of turns is between the first and the second pole. The plurality of turns wind around the second pole.

A method and system for providing a magnetic transducer are described. The magnetic transducer includes a first pole, a write gap, a second pole, a first coil, and a second coil. The first pole has a front portion on which at least a portion of the write gap resides. The second pole includes a split yoke that includes a first portion and a second portion. At least a portion of the first coil resides between the first portion of the split yoke and the first pole. At least a portion of the second coil resides between the second portion of the split yoke and the first pole.

A compact write element includes a conductive shield layer, an insulating write gap layer, a pole pedestal, a coil, and a conductive pole layer, and, in some embodiments also includes a backgap. The pole pedestal and the coil, and, in some embodiments the backgap, constitute a self-aligned array of components that may be formed in a single masking operation to allow for very tight tolerances between the components for a shorter yoke length. The pole layer is substantially flat and parallel to the conductive shield layer, providing for a shorter stack height. Also, a compact MR read / write head includes such a write element and a magnetic data storage and retrieval system includes the compact MR read / write head having such a write element.

A computer disk drive (22) having a write head (52) which includes a coil (38), a photoresist insulation layer (66) formed on the coil (38), and an insulation shell layer (102) which is formed on the photoresist insulation layer (66). In the first preferred embodiment (100), the top pole (42) of the write head (52) is formed on the insulation shell layer (102).In the second preferred embodiment (200), the disk drive write gap (76) is formed on the insulation shell layer (102) and the top pole (42) of the write head (52) is formed on the write gap (76).The insulation shell layers (102) in both embodiments are preferably made of dielectric materials (103).Methods of fabrication for these embodiments are also disclosed.

An inductive write head structure incorporating a high moment film in conjunction with at least one pole (e.g., the bottom pole) for use with magnetic storage media and a process for producing the same in which a lift-off photoresist mask is used prior to the deposition of the high moment sputtered film. Following the lift-off process, the high moment film remains on the bottom pole (“P1”) pedestal (in the case of a PDZT type write head) or on the P1 itself (in the case of a Stitched Pole write head). The edge of the lift-off sputtered film is then covered by cured photoresist insulation which is placed at a distance away from the air bearing surface (“ABS”). The coverage of insulation at the edge of the sputtered film is desirable in order to avoid forming a topographic step which may have undesired consequences in the subsequent top pole formation processes.

A magnetic recording head includes:a main magnetic pole; a laminated body; and a pair of electrodes. The laminated body includes a first magnetic layer having a coercivity lower than magnetic field applied by the main magnetic pole, a second magnetic layer having a coercivity lower than the magnetic field applied by the main magnetic pole, and an intermediate layer provided between the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer. The pair of electrodes are operable to pass a current through the laminated body.

A magnetic recording head includes a first magnetic pole, a second magnetic pole, a spin torque oscillator, a first coil, a second coil, and a third coil. The first magnetic pole applies a recording magnetic field to a magnetic recording medium. The second magnetic pole is provided parallel to the first magnetic pole. At least a portion of the spin torque oscillator is provided between the first magnetic pole and the second magnetic pole. The first coil magnetizes the first magnetic pole. A current is passed through the second coil independently of the first coil. A current is passed through the third coil independently of both the first coil and the second coil.

A magnetic head comprises a pole layer, a first coil, a second coil, and a shield. The shield incorporates: a first portion located backward of the pole layer along the direction of travel of a recording medium; a second portion located forward of the pole layer along the direction of travel of the recording medium; and two coupling portions. The first portion has an end face located in a medium facing surface. The two coupling portions couple the first and second portions to each other without touching the pole layer. Part of the first coil passes through a space surrounded by the pole layer and the first portion. Part of the second coil passes through a space surrounded by the pole layer and the second portion.

The present invention relates to perpendicular magnetic recording media with improved signal-to-medium noise ratio (“SMNR”) and thermal stability, which media include a pair of vertically spaced-apart perpendicular ferromagnetic layers which are anti-ferromagnetically coupled (“AFC”) across a non-magnetic spacer layer. The invention is of particular utility in the fabrication of data / information storage and retrieval media, e.g., hard disks, having ultra-high areal recording / storage densities.

A read / write head for a disk drive having a magnetoresistive (MR) read element and an inductive write element suitable for perpendicular recording of data onto a disk having a media layer in which the data is stored perpendicularly to the planar surface of the disk and a soft underlayer (SUL) underneath the media layer to provide a low reluctance return path for the magnetic recording field. The read element includes an MR sensor sandwiched between a pair of shields. The write element includes a vertically-oriented write pole and a horizontally-oriented yoke that connects the write pole and the adjacent shield of the read element. One or more pancake coils are looped around the yoke to produce a magnetic field that is focused by the tip of the write pole which is relatively smaller than the remainder of the write pole. A floating write shield is located downstream of the write pole, the shield having a throat region in close proximity to the write pole and a ramp portion sloping away from the write pole.

A magnetic recording head includes a main magnetic pole that generates a recording magnetic field in a direction perpendicular to a recording layer, a write shield with a surface that faces a trailing side of the main magnetic pole, so that a write gap is interposed between the surface and the main magnetic pole, the write shield forming a magnetic core together with the main magnetic pole, a recording coil, a high frequency oscillator within the write gap, a wiring through which a current can flow through the main magnetic pole, the high frequency oscillator, and the write shield in series, and a magnetic element made of soft magnetic material, positioned within the write gap and separated from the high frequency oscillator, and configured to form a magnetic path passing through the main magnetic pole, the magnetic element, and the write shield, and not through the high frequency oscillator.