Resistance measurements of a helical coil

A method of testing resistances of helical coils formed in magnetic recording heads on a wafer, wherein the helical coils include a bottom coil structure, a top coil structure, and a plurality of connecting structures that electrically connect the bottom coil structure and the top coil structure to define a helical coil, the method comprising:

• fabricating a test component on the wafer concurrently with the magnetic recording heads that include helical coils by:
• forming a bottom coil structure in the test component, wherein the bottom coil structure comprises a plurality of bottom coil traces;
• and
• forming bottom connections between the bottom coil traces to connect the bottom coil traces in series.

A test component on a wafer adapted to test resistances of helical coils formed in magnetic recording heads on the wafer, wherein the helical coils include a bottom coil structure, a top coil structure, and a plurality of connecting structures that electrically connect the bottom coil structure and the top coil structure to define a helical coil, the test component comprising:

• a bottom coil structure comprised of a plurality of bottom coil traces, wherein the bottom coil traces are connected in series;
• an insulation layer;
• and
• a top coil structure comprised of a plurality of top coil traces, wherein the top coil traces are connected in series;
• wherein the insulation layer electrically isolates the top coil structure from the bottom coil structure.

A method of testing the quality of fabricating a coil structure of a helical coil, the method comprising:

• forming a test coil structure in a test component that includes a plurality of traces that are substantially aligned longitudinally on a plane;
• connecting first alternating traces to a first test pad;
• connecting second alternating traces to a second test pad;
• and
• measuring a resistance between the first test pad and the second test pad to determine if there is a short between two sequential traces.