Magnetic sensor manufacturing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9880232-B2
Application number	US-201213419728-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2012
Priority date	Mar 14, 2012
Publication date	Jan 30, 2018
Grant date	Jan 30, 2018

Abstract

A magnetic sensor comprising a first shield and a second shield and a sensor stack between the first and the second shield, the sensor stack having a plurality of layers wherein at least one layer is annealed using in-situ rapid thermal annealing. In one implementation of the magnetic sensor a seed layer is annealed using in-situ rapid thermal annealing. Alternatively, one of a barrier layer, an antiferromagnetic (AFM) layer, and a cap layer is annealed using in-situ rapid thermal annealing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of making a sensor stack, comprising:
depositing layers of a sensor stack;
annealing individually at least two layers of the sensor stack using in-situ rapid thermal annealing with an in-situ rapid anneal module docked onto a sensor stack tool after each of the at least two layers of the sensor stack is deposited, wherein one of the annealed layers is an MgO barrier layer deposited between two Mg layers and wherein one of the annealed layers is an antiferromagnetic (AFM) layer; and
cryo-cooling the MgO barrier layer after the MgO barrier layer is annealed and before an additional layer and a cap layer are deposited on the sensor stack.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein annealing at least two layers of the sensor stack using in-situ rapid thermal annealing comprises annealing a seed layer located at a bottom of the sensor stack adjacent a bottom shield using in-situ rapid thermal annealing.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein annealing at least two layers of the sensor stack using in-situ rapid thermal annealing comprises annealing a metallic spacer layer using in-situ rapid thermal annealing.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the AFM layer is an IrMn layer.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising depositing a CoFe pinning layer on top of the annealed AFM layer and annealing the CoFe pinning layer in the sensor stack.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising depositing an Ru layer and a reference layer on top of a CoFe pinning layer.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein depositing the MgO barrier layer further comprises depositing the MgO barrier layer at a temperature within a range of 200 to 400 degrees centigrade.

Assignees

• He Qing
• Jung Wonjoon
• Covington Mark William
• Kief Mark Thomas
• Chen Yonghua
• Seagate Technology Llc

Inventors

• He Qing
• Jung Wonjoon
• Covington Mark William
• Kief Mark Thomas
• Chen Yonghua

Classifications

• G01R33/093

  using multilayer structures, e.g. giant magnetoresistance sensors (thin magnetic films H01F10/00) · CPC title

• Y10T29/49043

  Depositing magnetic layer or coating · CPC title

• Y10T29/49044

  Plural magnetic deposition layers · CPC title

• G11B5/232

  Manufacture of gap · CPC title

• G11B5/23

  Gap features {(G11B5/1871, G11B5/1875, G11B5/265, G11B5/29, G11B5/488 and subgroups, G11B5/4907 and subgroups, G11B5/4969 and subgroups take precedence)} · CPC title