Method and device for determining in-process characteristics of fabricated magnetic heads

Abstract

A method for determining a characteristic of a magnetic head during its fabrication process on the surface of a wafer substrate. The method involves the fabrication of a test magnetic pole artifact in a field area of the substrate surface adjacent to the actual magnetic pole that is being fabricated. A test pole structure is fabricated simultaneously with, and utilizing the same fabrication conditions and parameters as, the actual pole such that the test pole is nearly identical to the actual pole. During a field etch step undertaken in the fabrication of the actual pole, portions of the test pole structure are removed, leaving a test pole artifact on the wafer surface. The test pole artifact can thus be easily measured as an accurate indication of characteristics of the actual magnetic pole that are difficult to measure directly, thereby saving time and expense in the magnetic head fabrication process. This method is particularly suited to determining the width of the base of the P2 pole tip of a magnetic head, where measurement of the base of the actual magnetic head pole tip is made difficult by the presence of the pole tip, and where the test artifact is easily measured because the test pole tip structure has been etched away, leaving only the artifact for measurement.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.