Slider with micro-texture and method for forming the same

Abstract

A method for forming micro-texture on ABS of a slider, includes steps of: positioning sliders arranged in arrays on a tray, each slider having a pole tip facing upward; loading the tray into a processing chamber, and evacuating the processing chamber to a preset pressure; introducing a mixture gas of inert gas and hydrocarbon gas into the processing chamber, and ionizing the mixture gas to produce ion beams; exposing the sliders to the ion beam for etching so as to form micro-texture with two-step structure on the ABS of the slider. The invention also discloses a method of manufacturing a slider having micro-texture.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings facilitate an understanding of the various embodiments of this invention. In such drawings:

FIG. 1 a shows a slider of the related field, viewed from air bearing surface of the slider;

FIG. 1 b shows an enlarged structural view of a pole tip of the slider shown in FIG. 1a;

FIG. 1 c shows a partial, cross-sectional view of the pole tip shown in FIG. 1a along A-A line thereof;

FIG. 2 a shows a phase image of micro-texture formed on the air bearing surface of a conventional slider;

FIG. 2 b shows a cross-sectional view of the micro-texture shown in FIG. 2a;

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of forming micro-texture on the air bearing surface of a slider according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 a shows a state of a conventional slider after it is lapped and before it is etched to form micro-texture thereon;

FIG. 4 b show a state of the slider of FIG. 4a after it is etched using conventional micro-texture forming method;

FIG. 4 c show a state of the slider of FIG. 4a after it is etched using micro-texture forming method of the invention;

FIG. 5 a shows a cross-sectional view of an etched region obtained by an atomic force microscope after the ABS of the slider is etched using a conventional method in which Argon is used as a processing gas;

FIG. 5 b shows a cross-sectional view of an etched region obtained by an atomic force microscope after the air bearing surface of the slider is etched using conventional method in which Neon is used as a processing gas;

FIG. 5 c shows a cross-sectional view of an etched region obtained by an atomic force microscope after the air bearing surface of the slider is etched using method of the invention in which a mixture gas of Argon and C₂H₄, in which the content of the C₂H₄ is 10 percent, is used as a processing gas;

FIG. 5 d shows a cross-sectional view of an etched region obtained by an atomic force microscope after the ABS of the slider is etched using method of the invention in which a mixture gas of Argon and C₂H₄, in which the content of the C₂H₄ is 20 percent, is used as a processing gas;

FIG. 5 e shows a cross-sectional view of an etched region obtained by an atomic force microscope after the air bearing surface of the slider is etched using method of the invention in which a mixture gas of Argon and C₂H₄, in which the content of the C₂H₄ is 40 percent, is used as a processing gas;

FIG. 6 shows data curves of etching selectivity of Al₂O₃/TiC when different gases are taken as a processing gas in the etching process;

FIG. 7 shows a structure of a MR element of a slider for helpfully illustrating the relation between etching height and resistance change of the MR element;

FIG. 8 shows curves of selectivity of micro-texture height to resistance increment of the MR element when different gases are used as a processing gas during the etching process; and

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of forming a slider having micro-texture according to one embodiment of the invention.

Claims

1. A method for forming micro-texture on air bearing surface of a slider, comprising steps of: (1) positioning sliders arranged in arrays on a tray, each slider having a pole tip facing upward;(2) loading the tray into a processing chamber, and evacuating the processing chamber to a preset pressure;(3) introducing a mixture gas of inert gas and hydrocarbon gas into the processing chamber, and ionizing the mixture gas to form ion beams;(4) exposing the sliders to the ion beams for etching so as to form micro-texture with two-step structure on the air bearing surface of the sliders.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inert gas is a kind of gas selected from Argon, Neon, Krypton and Xenon.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hydrocarbon gas is a kind of gas selected from methane, ethylene, acetylene and benzenoid gas.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mixture gas contains Argon and ethylene, and the content of the ethylene is 10 percent.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mixture gas contains Argon and ethylene, and the content of the ethylene is 20 percent.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mixture gas contains Argon and ethylene, and the content of the ethylene is 40 percent.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mixture gas further contains dilution gas for slowing etching speed to avoid excessive etching.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a step of shielding the pole tip of the slider with a photo-resist before step (3).

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the photo-resist is a positive photo-resist or a negative photo-resist.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the photo-resist has a thickness ranging from 1 micron to 20 microns.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step has a height ranging from 10 angstroms to 50 angstroms and the distance between the adjacent steps ranges from 0.2 to 3 microns.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ion beams have a flow speed of 30 standard cubic centimeter per minute, an energy of 300 eV, a current of 250 mA, and an incidence angle of 65 degrees; the time for etching ranging from 20 seconds to 200 seconds.

13. A method for forming a slider having micro-texture, comprising the following steps: (a) positioning sliders arranged in arrays on a tray, each slider having a pole tip facing upward;(b) loading the tray into a processing chamber, and evacuating the processing chamber to a preset pressure;(c) introducing a mixture gas of inert gas and hydrocarbon gas into the processing chamber, and ionizing the mixture gas to form ion beams;(d) exposing the sliders to the ion beams for etching so as to form micro-texture with two-step structure on the air bearing surface of the sliders;(e) forming a silicon coating on the surface having the micro-texture; and(f) forming a diamond-like carbon layer on the silicon coating.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the inert gas is a kind of gas selected from Argon, Neon, Krypton and Xenon.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the hydrocarbon gas is a kind of gas selected from methane, ethylene, acetylene, and benzenoid gas.

16. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the mixture gas contains Argon and ethylene, and the content of the ethylene is 10 percent.

17. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the mixture gas contains Argon and ethylene, and the content of the ethylene is 20 percent.

18. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the mixture gas contains Argon and ethylene, and the content of the ethylene is 40 percent.

19. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the ion beams have a flow speed of 30 sccm, an energy of 300 eV, a current of 250 mA, and an incidence angle of 65 degrees; the time for etching ranging from 20 seconds to 200 seconds.