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US5843537A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Insulator cure process for giant magnetoresistive heads

Assignee: PHC Corp
•
Filing: 1997-03-07
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Granted: 1998-12-01
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Expires: 2017-03-07
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Abstract

Abstract A process for making a magnetic head including the steps of forming a first pole piece comprising magnetic material and depositing a gap-forming layer comprising nonmagnetic material over the first pole piece. A first patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer is formed on the gap-forming layer. The first patterned layer is cured by electron irradiation at a temperature less than about 175 C. to crosslink the polymer. A conductive coil is formed on the cured first patterned layer and a second patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer is formed over the conductive coil. The second patterned layer is cured by electron irradiation at a temperature less than about 175 C. to crosslink the polymer. A second pole piece layer of magnetic material is formed to complete the magnetic head.

Inventors

  • 👤 Young Keun Kim
  • 👤 Michael J. Jennison

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-03 14:57
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03F; G03F7/00; G03F7/0035; B; B82; B82Y; B82Y10/00; B82Y25/00; G11; G11B; G11B5/00; G11B5/127; G11B5/31; G11B5/3109; G11B5/313; G11B5/3163; G11B5/33; G11B5/39; G11B5/3903; G11B5/3967; G11B2005/3996; G11B5/3113

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim 120 words
A process for making a magnetic head comprising the steps of: forming a first pole piece comprising magnetic material; depositing a gap-forming layer comprising nonmagnetic material over the first pole piece; forming a first patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer on the gap-forming layer; curing the first patterned layer by electron irradiation at a temperature less than about 175 C. to crosslink the polymer; forming a conductive coil on the cured first patterned layer; forming a second patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer over the conductive coil; curing the second patterned layer by electron irradiation at a temperature less than about 175 C. to crosslink the polymer; and forming a second pole piece layer of magnetic material to complete the magnetic head.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 120 words
A process for making a magnetic head comprising the steps of: forming a first pole piece comprising magnetic material; depositing a gap-forming layer comprising nonmagnetic material over the first pole piece; forming a first patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer on the gap-forming layer; curing the first patterned layer by electron irradiation at a temperature less than about 175 C. to crosslink the polymer; forming a conductive coil on the cured first patterned layer; forming a second patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer over the conductive coil; curing the second patterned layer by electron irradiation at a temperature less than about 175 C. to crosslink the polymer; and forming a second pole piece layer of magnetic material to complete the magnetic head.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 29 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of providing a giant magnetoresistive structure integrated with the magnetic head before the step of curing the first patterned layer.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 19 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the first patterned layer is exposed to electromagnetic energy during the electron irradiation.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 28 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of cooling the magnetic head during the step of electron irradiation to maintain a temperature below about 150 C.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 27 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of covering the first patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer with a charge-conducting layer before the step of curing.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 31 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of covering the second patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer with a charge-conducting layer before the step of curing the second patterned layer.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 24 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of performing the step of curing the first patterned layer in an inert gas ambient.
Claim 9
Independent Claim 146 words
A method for forming a giant magnetoresistive device comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; forming a patterned shield layer on the substrate; forming a first read spacer on the patterned shield layer; forming a giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor on the first read spacer; forming a second read spacer on the GMR sensor; forming a shared shield/pole structure over the second read spacer; forming a first patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer over the shared shield/pole structure; crosslinking the first patterned layer by electron irradiation at a temperature less than about 175 C.; forming a conductive coil on the cured first patterned layer; forming a second layer patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer over the conductive coil; crosslinking the second patterned layer by electron irradiation at a temperature less than about 175 C.; and forming a second pole piece layer of magnetic material to complete the magnetic head.
Claim 10
Independent Claim 146 words
A method for forming a giant magnetoresistive device comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; forming a patterned shield layer on the substrate; forming a first read spacer on the patterned shield layer; forming a giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor on the first read spacer; forming a second read spacer on the GMR sensor; forming a shared shield/pole structure over the second read spacer; forming a first patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer over the shared shield/pole structure; crosslinking the first patterned layer by electron irradiation at a temperature less than about 175 C.; forming a conductive coil on the cured first patterned layer; forming a second layer patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer over the conductive coil; crosslinking the second patterned layer by electron irradiation at a temperature less than about 175 C.; and forming a second pole piece layer of magnetic material to complete the magnetic head.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 27 words
The method of claim 8 further comprising a step of covering the first patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer with a charge-conducting layer before the step of curing.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 35 words
The method of claim 9 further comprising a step of depositing a write gap layer comprising nonmagnetic material over a portion of the shared shield/pole structure after the step of crosslinking the second patterned layer.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 38 words
The method of claim 9 further comprising a step of depositing a write gap layer comprising nonmagnetic material over a portion of the shared shield/pole structure before the step of forming the first patterned layer of uncrosslinked polymer.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 12 words
The method of claim 9 wherein the uncrosslinked polymer comprises positive photoresist.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 32 words
The method of claim 9 further comprising a step of covering the second patterned layer of the uncrosslinked polymer with a charge-conducting layer before the step of curing the second patterned layer.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US4652954A Cited
US5122440A Cited
US5003178A Cited
US5180653A Cited
US5580602A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 2001-11-30 2002-06-01 2002-12-01 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2005-11-30 2006-06-01 2006-12-01 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
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