Granted Patent B1

US 8,611,055 · App. 12/534,091 · Granted Dec 17, 2013

Abstract

Claims (16)

1. A method of producing a magnetoresistive read head, the method comprising:

providing a shield layer;

forming a magnetic etch-stop layer over the shield layer, the magnetic etch-stop layer comprising a nonmagnetic metal and a soft magnetic material;

forming a sensor stack over the magnetic etch-stop layer;

forming a patterned mask layer over the sensor stack; and

removing material from a portion of the sensor stack not covered by the patterned mask.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the magnetic etch-stop layer comprises an amorphous magnetic material.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming a magnetic seed layer between the magnetic etch-stop layer and the sensor stack.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the magnetic seed layer comprises a crystalline magnetic material.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the magnetic etch-stop layer comprises depositing an alloy of the nonmagnetic metal and the soft magnetic material.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the magnetic etch-stop layer comprises depositing a set of alternating layers of the nonmagnetic metal and the soft magnetic material.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the removing comprises performing an etching process.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the etching process is stopped after exposing the magnetic etch-stop layer.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the etching process comprises a reactive ion etching process.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the reactive ion etching process employs CH 3 OH, C 2 H 5 OH, or CO/NH 3 as an etchant gas.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the patterned mask layer comprises a hard mask layer.

Assignments (8)