Publication Date

Spring 1998

Degree Type

Master's Project

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering (MSE)

Department

General Engineering

First Advisor

Fred Barez

Abstract

Track density requirements for magnetic recording heads used in the computer disk drives are becoming more and more stringent. In order to achieve higher recording densities at drive level, the head or the read/write element must be able to pack more tracks in a given area on the disk. As a result, the writer part of the head must be able to write narrower transitions. Until very recently, writer track widths have been defined at the wafer level. However, due to photolithography process limitations reached at the wafer level, other methods of track width control are being sought.

The objective of this thesis project is to study an alternative method of track width control using Focus Ion Beam (FIB) technologies at the slider level. The writer portion of magnetic recording heads were successfully trimmed to the desired track widths, and their performance was evaluated against the required track density. High track densities of more than 12,000 TPI were achieved using FIB technology.

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