Apparatus and method for obtaining symmetrical junctions between a read sensor and hard bias layers

A sputtering system comprising:

• a sputtering chamber, a substrate and a sputtering material layer that is to be sputtered wherein the substrate and the sputtering material layer are located within the sputtering chamber;
• the sputtering material layer having a sputtering surface where atoms of the sputtering material are to be sputtered and the substrate having a forming surface with a site where a sputtered layer is to be formed by said sputtering;
• the sputtering material layer having a sputtering center which is located at a center of atoms to be sputtered from the sputtering material layer;
• said site having a periphery with a forming center located at a center of said periphery;
• the sputtering center being offset from said forming center;
• and
• the offset being at least one half a distance from the forming center to said periphery.

A method of sputtering comprising the steps of:

• providing a sputtering chamber, a substrate and a sputtering material layer that is to be sputtered with the substrate and the sputtering material layer located within the sputtering chamber;
• providing the sputtering material layer with a sputtering surface where atoms of the sputtering material are to be sputtered and the substrate with a forming surface with a site where a sputtered layer is to be formed by said sputtering;
• providing the sputtering material layer with a sputtering center which is located at a center of atoms to be sputtered from the sputtering material layer;
• providing the site with a periphery with a forming center located at a center of said periphery;
• and
• offsetting the sputtering center from said forming center.

A method of sputtering comprising the steps of:

• providing a sputtering chamber, a substrate and a sputtering material layer that is to be sputtered with the substrate and the sputtering material layer located within the sputtering chamber;
• providing the sputtering material layer with a sputtering surface where atoms of the sputtering material are to be sputtered and the substrate with a forming surface with a site where a sputtered layer is to be formed by said sputtering;
• providing the sputtering material layer with a sputtering center which is located at a center of atoms to be sputtered from the sputtering material layer;
• providing the site with a periphery with a forming center located at a center of said periphery;
• and
• offsetting the sputtering center from said forming center by at least one-half a distance from the forming center to said periphery.

A method of making a magnetic head assembly comprising the steps of:

• forming a ferromagnetic first shield layer on a substrate;
• forming a nonmagnetic electrically nonconductive first read gap layer on the first shield layer;
• forming a sensor material layer on the first read gap layer;
• forming a plurality of photoresist masks on the first read gap layer within a site which has a periphery;
• ion milling the sensor material layer to remove exposed portions of the sensor material layer leaving sensor portions of the sensor material layer masked by the photoresist masks;
• forming hard bias layers abutting side surfaces of the sensor portions including the steps of:
• providing a sputtering chamber with the sensor portions and the photoresist masks located within the sputtering chamber;
• providing a hard bias material layer in the sputtering chamber with a sputtering surface where atoms of the hard bias material layer are to be sputtered;
• further providing the hard bias material layer with a sputtering center which is located at a center of the atoms to be sputtered from the hard bias material layer;
• providing a forming center which is located at a center of the periphery of said site;
• offsetting the sputtering center from said forming center;
• sputtering the hard bias material layer to form said hard bias layers;
• and
• removing the photoresist masks;
• forming a nonmagnetic electrically nonconductive second read gap layer on the sensor portions and the hard bias layer;
• and
• forming a ferromagnetic second shield layer on the second read gap layer.