Method for manufacturing a magnetic read sensor with narrow track width using amorphous carbon as a hard mask and localized CMP

US8617408B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• HGST Netherlands, B.V. · NL

Inventors

• Hamid Balamane · Portola Valley, US
• Patrick M. Braganca · San Jose, US
• Jordan Asher Katine · Mountain View, US
• Jui-Lung Li · San Jose, US
• Yang Li · Palo Alto, US
• Kanaiyalal C. Patel · Fremont, US
• Neil Leslie Robertson · Campbell, US
• Samuel Wonder Yuan · Redwood City, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 18, 2011
• Grant date: Dec 31, 2013
• Expiry date: Dec 14, 2031

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10T29/49044
• WIPO field: Audio-visual technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a magnetic read sensor at very narrow track widths. The method uses an amorphous carbon mask layer to pattern the sensor by ion milling, rather than a mask constructed of a material such as photoresist or DURIMIDE® which can bend over during ion milling at very narrow track widths. By using the amorphous carbon layer as the masking layer, the trackwidth can be very small, while avoiding this bending over of the mask that has been experienced with prior art methods. In addition, the track-width can be further reduced by using a reactive ion etching to further reduce the width of the amorphous carbon mask prior to patterning the sensor. The method also allows extraneous portions of the side insulation layer and hard bias layer to be removed above the sensor by a light CMP process.