Electrical lapping guide embedded in a shield of a magnetic head

Abstract

An electrical lapping guide (ELG) incorporated into a shield of a magnetic head for measuring lapping process during construction of the magnetic head.

Description

technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to the manufacture of magnetic heads, and more particularly, to the manufacture of magneto-resistive heads having lapping guides embedded therein to precisely determine the lapping depth. Background technique

[0002] Modern computer systems require large amounts of non-volatile, inexpensive memory. Usually, the best choice for this type of storage is a disk drive system. Disk drives store data in the form of magnetic transitions that embody data bits. The magnetic transitions form concentric data tracks on the surface of the disk. These data tracks are written to the disk, and the data is read from the disk by a magnetic head integrated with a slider. The read head typically comprises a readout element such as a giant magnetoresistive sensor (GMR), although various other sensors such as tunneling magnetoresistive sensors (TMR) have also been investigated. This readout element, made of soft magnetic material, is placed...

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0023] Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below. The description is for the purpose of clarifying the basic principles of the invention, not for the claimed inventive concepts.

[0024] refer to Figure 4 , which shows a disk drive 400 embodying the present invention. Such as Figure 4 As shown, at least one rotatable magnetic disk 412 is supported by a spindle 414 and rotated by a disk drive motor 418 . Magnetic recording on each disk takes the form of a circular pattern of concentric data tracks (not shown) on disk 412 .

[0025] At least one slider 413 is placed adjacent to the magnetic disk 412 , and each slider 413 supports one or more magnetic head assemblies 421 . As the disk rotates, the slider 413 moves radially in and out over the disk surface 422 so that the head assembly 421 can access different tracks on the disk on which desired data is written. Each slider 413 is mounted on an actuator arm 419 via a suspension 415 . Suspension 415...

technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to the manufacture of magnetic heads, and more particularly, to the manufacture of magneto-resistive heads having lapping guides embedded therein to precisely determine the lapping depth. Background technique

[0002] Modern computer systems require large amounts of non-volatile, inexpensive memory. Usually, the best choice for this type of storage is a disk drive system. Disk drives store data in the form of magnetic transitions that embody data bits. The magnetic transitions form concentric data tracks on the surface of the disk. These data tracks are written to the disk, and the data is read from the disk by a magnetic head integrated with a slider. The read head typically comprises a readout element such as a giant magnetoresistive sensor (GMR), although various other sensors such as tunneling magnetoresistive sensors (TMR) have also been investigated. This readout element, made of soft magnetic material, is placed...

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0023] Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below. The description is for the purpose of clarifying the basic principles of the invention, not for the claimed inventive concepts.

[0024] refer to Figure 4 , which shows a disk drive 400 embodying the present invention. Such as Figure 4 As shown, at least one rotatable magnetic disk 412 is supported by a spindle 414 and rotated by a disk drive motor 418 . Magnetic recording on each disk takes the form of a circular pattern of concentric data tracks (not shown) on disk 412 .

[0025] At least one slider 413 is placed adjacent to the magnetic disk 412 , and each slider 413 supports one or more magnetic head assemblies 421 . As the disk rotates, the slider 413 moves radially in and out over the disk surface 422 so that the head assembly 421 can access different tracks on the disk on which desired data is written. Each slider 413 is mounted on an actuator arm 419 via a suspension 415 . Suspension 415...

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