Granted Patent B1

US 8,375,564 · App. 12/633,562 · Granted Feb 19, 2013

Abstract

Claims (51)

1. A method for fabricating a pole of a magnetic transducer, the method comprising:

providing a stop layer having a thickness and a top surface, the stop layer being nonmagnetic;

removing a portion of the stop layer to form a depression therein, the depression forming a bevel in the stop layer, the bevel having a depth less than the thickness, the bevel having a bevel angle with respect to a remaining portion of the top surface, the bevel angle being greater than zero degrees and less than ninety degrees;

providing an intermediate layer over the stop layer, the intermediate layer having a substantially flat top surface;

removing a portion of the intermediate layer via a removal process to form a trench therein, the trench having a profile corresponding to the pole, the stop layer being a stop for the removal process; and

providing the pole in the trench, the pole having a leading edge bevel corresponding to the bevel in the stop layer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing the intermediate layer further includes:

providing a refill material, the refill material being nonmagnetic and having a top surface substantially coplanar with the remaining portion of the stop layer, the stop layer being a stop layer for a removal process for the refill material; and

providing a nonmagnetic layer on the refill material, the nonmagnetic layer having the substantially flat top surface.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of removing the portion of the stop layer further includes:

providing a mask covering an additional portion of the stop layer; and

milling the portion of the stop layer at a mill angle corresponding to the bevel angle.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of providing the refill material further includes:

refilling the depression with the refill material;

providing a capping layer on the refill material;

planarizing at least the capping layer; and

removing the capping layer.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

removing the mask after the capping layer is provided and before the step of planarizing the magnetic transducer.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the mask includes a plurality of sidewalls and wherein the step of removing the mask further includes:

removing a portion of the capping layer on the sidewalls; and

performing a lift-off.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the mask includes an antireflective coating (ARC) layer and a photoresist layer on the ARC layer, the lift-off removing the photoresist layer, the step of removing the mask further including:

reactive ion etching the ARC layer.

8. The method of claim 3 wherein the mill angle is greater than the bevel angle.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the depth is at least one thousand Angstroms.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the bevel angle is at least twenty degrees and not more than forty degrees.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the stop layer includes at least one of Ru, Cr, NiCr, and NiFe.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the stop layer includes NiFe and wherein the method further includes:

providing a Ru layer after the step of removing the portion of the stop layer and before providing the intermediate layer.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the thickness of the stop layer is at least 1200 Angstroms.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the thickness of the stop layer is at least 1400 Angstroms and not more than 1600 Angstroms.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the pole has a bottom and a top wider than the bottom.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

forming a trailing bevel in the pole.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of forming the trailing bevel further includes:

masking a portion of the pole distal from an air-bearing surface location; and

milling an exposed portion of the pole.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the trench has a bottom formed by a portion of the stop layer.

19. A method for fabricating a pole of a magnetic transducer, the method comprising:

providing a Ru layer having a thickness and a top surface;

providing a mask covering a portion of the Ru layer, the mask including an antireflective coating (ARC) layer and a photoresist layer on the ARC layer;

milling an exposed portion of the Ru layer at a mill angle to form a depression therein, the depression forming a bevel in the Ru layer, the bevel having a depth less than the thickness, the bevel having a bevel angle with respect to a remaining portion of the top surface, the bevel angle being greater than zero degrees, less than ninety degrees, and less than the mill angle;

refilling the depression with a refill material, the refill material being nonmagnetic and having a refill material thickness substantially equal to the depth;

providing a capping layer on the refill material;

removing the mask after the capping layer is provided, the step of removing the mask including performing a lift-off of the photoresist layer and reactive ion etching the ARC layer;

planarizing at least the capping layer after the mask is removed;

removing the capping layer, thereby exposing a substantially flat refill material top surface;

depositing a nonmagnetic layer on the refill material, the nonmagnetic layer and the refill material having substantially the same composition, the nonmagnetic layer having a substantially flat nonmagnetic layer top surface;

removing a portion of the nonmagnetic layer and a portion of the refill material to form a trench in the nonmagnetic layer and the refill material, the trench having a profile corresponding to the pole and a bottom on a portion of the Ru layer; and

providing the pole in the trench, the pole having a leading edge bevel corresponding to the bevel in the Ru layer.

Assignments (8)