Method of depositing thin films for magnetic heads

[0001] The present application claims priority as a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/136,095, filed Apr. 30, 2002, which in turn claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/290,503, filed on May 11, 2000. In addition, this application is related to pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/997,396, filed Nov. 28, 2001, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/250,533, filed Nov. 30, 2000 and is entitled Thin Films for Magnetic Devices.

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates generally to thin dielectric films in magnetic head structures, and more particularly to the filling process of the read head gaps.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Hard disk drives (HDD) are used in many modem devices, including computers, digital cameras, set-top-boxes for storing television programs, laser printers and GPS (global positioning system) devices. HDD's usually consist of 1-22 disks covered with magnetic media and 1-44 magnetic heads. Recording heads, also known as magnetic heads, contain write and read elements. These elements are attached to a suspended slider. The preferred substrate material for the magnetic read heads is aluminum titanium carbide (AlTiC). Silicon, glass ceramics and fine-grained mixtures of Al₂O₃ and titanium carbide have also been evaluated by the magnetic head industry. Aluminum oxide is used for the insulation of the read element within a magnetic head.

[0006] The operating principle of modem magnetic heads is based on the magnetoresistive (MR) and giant magnetoresistive (GMR) effect. Area storage densities of 30-40 gigabits/square inch have been demonstrated, and the read element dimensions have been scaled down. The obtainable area recording density is affected by the track density and linear density. When the insulator layer thickness defining the magnetic head gap is reduced, the linear recording density increases. Gap layers of the read head are currently becoming thinner down to 30 nm. It is preferred that the gap layers have good dielectric strength, i.e., high breakdown voltages, and smooth surfaces without pinholes. As the area data storage density is further increased above 100 Gbits/square inch in the future, hard disk drive heads based on the laser-enhanced GMR, colossal magnetoresistive (CMR) or tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR) effect will possibly become commercially available. GMR heads are also used as magnetic sensors.

[0007] Highly integrated GMR heads have a significant thermal load during operation. As the temperature of the read head increases, the signal-to-noise ratio decreases, and the diffusion and electromigration rates increase, which are all undesirable effects. A good read element dissipates heat to the surroundings as efficiently as possible. Reducing the thickness of the insulator gap film improves the heat dissipation. Another possibility is to use dielectric material that has good heat conductivity. Aluminum oxide and aluminum nitride are examples of commercially available materials for the head gap fill. Mixtures of aluminum oxide and aluminum nitride are also feasible. RF magnetron sputtering has been used for thin film processing at low substrate temperatures. Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) has been another choice for the deposition of the dielectric material.

[0008] Desirable characteristics for the thin film material in a read head gap include the following:

[0009] High DC voltage breakdown (V_bd) value, e.g., V_bd>6MV/cm.

[0010] Low DC leakage current.

[0011] Low AC conductivity to enable high-frequency response of the magnetic head.

[0012] Continuous film, free of pinholes.

[0013] High step coverage, e.g., >80-85%.

[0014] Good heat conductivity to dissipate the heat generated by the sensing current.

[0015] Low surface roughness R_a, e.g., R_a<1 nm.

[0016] Good corrosion resistance during magnetic head processing.

[0017] Low film thickness variation, e.g., <2% for a film thickness of 20 nm.

[0018] Good film adhesion.

[0019] Controllable residual stress.

[0020] Good mechanical strength against wear.

[0021] Good compatibility between the head gap fill material and the magnetic head materials, e.g., metals in a spin valve stack.

[0022] Exemplary materials in a giant magnetoresistive (GMR) read sensor and exemplary thicknesses include tantalum (Ta, typical layer thickness 3 nm), nickel-iron (NiFe, also known as permalloy, 4-6 nm), copper (Cu, 2-3 um), cobalt (Co, 0.5 nm), cobalt-platinum-chromium (CoPtCr) and iron-manganese (FeMn). Magnetic shields can be made of NiFe-based materials. NiFe is a ferromagnetic layer that has soft magnetic behavior and serves as the sensing layer. Co has high spin-dependent electron scattering, and it increases the magnetoresistance ratio of the read sensor. Cu is a non-magnetic spacer layer that has a good match of its conduction band with the spin-up channel of the ferromagnetic layer. Other possible non-magnetic spacer materials are silver (Ag) and gold (Au). FeMn is an antiferromagnetic layer that pins the hard (i.e., requiring very high magnetic fields to reorient) ferromagnetic layer CoPtCr. Other possible antiferromagnetic materials are terbium-cobalt (TbCo, which is actually a compensated ferrimagnet), and certain metal oxides, such as NiO, NiCoO and multilayered NiO/CoO. Ta is used as a seed layer at the bottom of the GMR stack (e.g., on a silicon surface) and as a cover layer on top of the FeMn layer. Examples of other possible seed layer materials are niobium (Nb), titanium (Ti) and zirconium (Zr). Thin film layer thicknesses in the spin valve are on the order of or smaller than the mean free path of the conduction electrons.

[0023] The magnetization of a bit on a magnetic medium (e.g., harddisk) affects the magnetic orientation of the sensing layer in the read head because the sensing layer has low coercive force. Low coercive force means that the magnetic orientation of the film can easily be flipped with a small external magnetic field, caused, e.g., by a magnetic bit on the magnetic medium. The pinned layer of the read head has high coercive force and it maintains its magnetic orientation in the magnetic field caused by a magnetic bit on the magnetic medium. A current is forced through the multilayer film stack. Depending on the magnetic orientation of the sensing layer, the read head has a different resistance. When the magnetic orientations of the sensing layer and the pinned layer are parallel, electron scattering in the read sensor is small and the read head has low resistance. When the magnetic orientations of the sensing layer and the pinned layer are antiparallel, electrons scatter a lot in the read sensor, and the read head has high resistance. Resistance changes are converted into voltage changes. When the magnetic orientations of the ferromagnetic sensing layer and pinned layer are forced to either parallel or antiparallel positions, the detection capability of the read head is at a maximum. There is a thin copper spacer to allow weak coupling between the two magnetic layers. The read head generally comprises an air-bearing surface.

[0024] Another type of magnetic read head is based on a tunneling structure. In a tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR) read head, two magnetic layers are separated by an insulating film, e.g., four molecular layers of Al₂O₃, to allow tunneling of electrons. This insulating layer is called a tunneling layer. The magnitude of tunneling current depends on the relative magnetic orientation of the hardened soft magnetic layers near the tunneling layer. When the magnetic orientations of the magnetic layers are antiparallel, the spins of the electrons do not match, and the tunneling structure has high resistance. When the magnetic orientations of the magnetic layers are parallel, the spins of the electrons match and the tunneling structure has low resistance.

[0025] The fabrication of magnetic heads has been described by R. Hsiao in IBM Journal of Research & Development, vol. 43, No. 1/2-Plasma processing, Fabrication of magnetic recording heads and dry etching of head materials, which is incorporated by reference herein.

[0026] Kotaro Yamamoto has described the manufacturing of spin-valve read heads in U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,160, priority date Jun. 30, 1997 and issued Oct. 3, 2000. In this patent, sputtering is used for the deposition of thin films. There are two insulator layers made of sputtered Al₂O₃.

[0027] The disadvantage of K. Yamamoto's method is that sputtering tends to produce pinholes in the Al₂O₃ film, thus lowering the breakdown voltage of the insulator. Another disadvantage of this method is that the step coverage of a sputtered Al₂O₃ layer on an uneven surface is far below 100%.

[0028] Masamichi Saito et al. have described a magnetoresistive sensor and head in U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,062 (the '062 patent), priority date Sep. 7, 1997 and issued Nov. 28, 2000. DC magnetron sputtering and RF sputtering were used for the deposition of the thin films. FIG. 1 of the '062 patent illustrates a dual sensor structure. There is a silicon substrate 2. A first shielding layer 4 having high permeability, e.g., NiFe alloy, is deposited on the substrate. A first gap insulator layer 6 consisting of about 30 nm of Al₂O₃ is deposited on the NiFe surface. A seed layer 8 (3 nm Ta) is deposited over the Al₂O₃. Then the spin valve is formed over the seed layer 8, including a free magnetic layer 10 (4 nm NiFe), a non-magnetic conductive layer 12 (2.5 nm Cu), a pinned layer 14 (4 nm NiFe), an antiferromagnetic layer 16 (20 nm PtMn alloy), another pinned layer 18 (4 nm NiFe), another non-magnetic conductive layer 20 (2.5 nm Cu) and another free magnetic layer 22 (4 nm NiFe). Finally a top layer 24 (3 nm Ta) is deposited. The structure is masked, patterned and etched. Then the deposition is continued with hard bias layers 26 (30 nm CoPt alloy) and electrically conductive layers 28 (W or Cu). The role of the hard bias layer is to prevent the formation of a plurality of magnetic domains in the sensing layer. A second gap insulator layer 30 (30 nm Al₂O₃) is deposited on a surface that consists of Ta and W or Cu surfaces. A second shield layer 32 (e.g., NiFe alloy) is deposited on the second head gap layer 30. The magnetic gap length is determined by the distance between the first and the second shield layers. The magnetic gap length can be decreased if the first and the second head gap insulator layers 6 and 30 can be made thinner.

[0029] The method in U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,062 disadvantageously results in pinholes in the Al₂O₃ film that lower the breakdown voltage of the insulator and in poor step coverage of Al₂O₃ on the uneven surface.

[0030] A structure and method of fabricating a magnetic read head, comprising forming a fill layer for a magnetic read head gap using atomic layer deposition (ALD), is disclosed. The fill layer comprises an insulator, preferably aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, mixtures thereof and layered structures thereof. The thickness of the ALD-formed head gap fill layer preferably is between approximately 5 nm and 100 nm, more preferably between approximately 10 nm and 40 nm.

[0031] Alternatively, the gap fill material comprises an ALD-formed layered structure of aluminum oxide and a compound with high thermal conductivity, such as beryllium oxide or boron nitride.

[0032] The magnetic read head comprises a magnetic sensing element such as a GMR (giant magnetoresistive), CMR (colossal magnetoresistive) or TMR (tunneling magnetoresistive) sensor.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a schematic drawing of a symmetric dual read sensor sandwiched between two head gap fill layers, constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Although the embodiment in FIG. 1 is illustrated for a magnetic read sensor based on the giant magnetoresistive (GMR) effect, the teachings herein can be applied equally well to magnetic read sensors based on the colossal magnetoresistive effect (CMR) or the tunneling magnetoresistive effect (TMR).

[0035] FIG. 1, constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrates a dual read sensor structure similar to that of U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,062, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for purposes of further describing the overall device structure and component functions, as well as alternative materials for certain layers. The structure includes a substrate 2 (e.g., silicon or AlTiC), a high permeability first shielding layer 4 (e.g., 1-4 m of NiFe) and a first gap insulator layer 6 (e.g., 30 nm of Al₂O₃). A barrier/seed layer 8 (e.g., 3 nm Ta) has been deposited on the first gap layer 6, followed in sequence by the deposition of a free magnetic layer 10 (e.g., 4 nm NiFe), a non-magnetic electrically conductive layer 12 (e.g., 2.5 nm Cu), a pinned layer 14 (e.g., 4 nm NiFe), an antiferromagnetic layer 16 (e.g., 20 nm PtMn alloy), a second pinned layer 18 (e.g., 4 nm NiFe), a second non-magnetic electrically conductive layer 20 (e.g., 2.5 nm Cu), a second free magnetic layer 22 (e.g., 4 nm NiFe) and a barrier layer 24 (e.g., 3 nm Ta). Hard bias layers 26 (e.g., CoPt) and electrically conductive electrode layers 28 (e.g., W or Cu) surround the structure. A second gap insulator layer 30 (e.g., 30 nm Al₂O₃) is then deposited, followed by the formation of the second high permeability shielding layer 32 (e.g., 1-4 m of NiFe).

[0036] The thickness of the exemplary gap layers 6, 30 has been given as 30 nm. Preferably the gap layers are between 5 nm and 100 nm in thickness, more preferably between 10 nm and 40 nm in thickness.

[0037] ALD-formed aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) for the gap fill layer has several advantages over the existing deposition technologies. ALD-formed Al₂O₃ films show narrow DC breakdown voltage distributions, high DC breakdown voltage, smooth thin film surface, excellent step coverage, accurately controlled thin film thickness, and uniform thin film thickness over the substrate. The ALD method has produced high-quality Al₂O₃ thin films for magnetic head gap fill at a deposition temperature of 200 C. without plasma. Because the ALD process coats the whole surface quickly with an impervious film, sensitive substrate materials are not damaged during the thin film deposition.

[0038] Alternatively, the head gap fill layer can comprise aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, aluminum oxide/aluminum nitride nanolaminates or sandwiches and mixtures thereof.

[0039] A thorough description of ALD processing can be found in Atomic Layer Epitaxy, Part B: Growth Mechanisms and Dynamics, Chapter 14, pp. 601-663, edited by D. T. J. Hurle, Elsevier Science B.V., 1994, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0040] The Aluminum Oxide and/or Nitride Formation Process

[0041] According to one preferred embodiment, vapor-phase pulses of an aluminum source chemical and an oxygen source chemical are fed alternately into a reaction chamber that has controlled pressure and temperature. An aluminum oxide and/or nitride thin film forms via self-saturating surface reactions on the surface of a heated substrate in the reaction chamber. During the thin film deposition, the pressure of the reaction chamber is usually below atmospheric pressure, preferably about 0.1-50 mbar, more preferably 1-20 mbar. The source chemical pulses are preferably separated from each other with flowing inactive gas, such as inert or noble gas, so that gas phase reactions are avoided and only self-saturating surface reactions are enabled. The substrate is desirably maintained above the condensation temperatures and below the thermal decomposition temperatures of the source chemicals.

[0042] The Source Materials

[0043] 1. Aluminum Source Materials

[0044] The aluminum source chemical is selected from a group of aluminum compounds that are volatile at the source temperature and thermally stable at the substrate temperature.

[0045] 1.1 Alkyl Aluminum Compounds

[0046] Alkyl aluminum compounds have at least one aluminum-carbon bond. Examples of source compounds are trimethylaluminum (CH₃)₃Al, triethylaluminum (CH₃CH₂)₃Al, tri-n-butylaluminum (n-C₄H₉)₃Al, diisobutylaluminum hydride (i-C₄H₉)₂AlH, diethylaluminum ethoxide (C₂H₅)₂AlOC₂H₅, ethylaluminum dichloride (C₂H₅)₂AlCl₂, ethylaluminum sesquichloride (C₂H₅)₃Al₂Cl₃, diisobutylaluminum chloride (i-C₄H₉)₂AlCl and diethylaluminum iodide (C₂H₅)₂AlI. These compounds are commercially available from, e.g., Albemarle Corporation, Baton Rouge, La., USA.

[0047] 1.2 Aluminum Alkoxides (AlOC Bond)

[0048] Aluminum alkoxides contain an aluminum-oxygen-carbon (AlOC) bond. Examples of volatile source compounds are aluminum ethoxide Al(OC₂H₅)₃, aluminum isopropoxide AlOCH(CH₃)₂₃ and aluminum s-butoxide Al(OC₄H₉)₃. These compounds are commercially available from, e.g., Strem Chemicals, Inc., Newburyport, Mass., USA.

[0049] 1.3 Aluminum Beta-diketonates

[0050] Aluminum beta-diketonates have organic ligands coordinated to aluminum via oxygen atoms. Examples of source compounds are aluminum acetylacetonate Al(CH₃COCHCOCH₃)₃, often shortened as Al(acac)₃, and tris-(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato)aluminum, often shortened as Al(thd)₃, Al(TMHD)₃ or Al(DPM)₃. Volatile halogenated aluminum beta-diketonates are also commercially available, such as aluminum hexafluoroacetylacetonate Al(CF₃COCHCOCF₃)₃, often shortened as Al(hfac)₃. These compounds are commercially available from, e.g., Strem Chemicals, Inc., Newburyport, Mass., USA.

[0051] 1.4 Aluminum Halides

[0052] Inorganic aluminum halides such as aluminum chloride AlCl₃ or Al₂Cl₆, aluminum bromide AlBr₃, and aluminum iodide AlI₃ have sufficient vapor pressure at suitable source temperatures and they may be used as precursors.

[0053] 1.5 Anhydrous Aluminum Nitrate

[0054] Aluminum nitrate that is normally sold commercially contains crystalline water. That kind of aluminum nitrate is not volatile at all. Aluminum nitrate to be used for ALD processes is desirably anhydrous. The synthesis of anhydrous Al(NO₃)₃ has been described by G. N. Shirokova, S. Ya. Zhuk and V. Ya. Rosolovskii in Russian Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, vol. 21, 1976, pp. 799-802, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The aluminum nitrate molecules on the substrate surface break into aluminum oxide when they are contacted with organic compounds, such as ethers.

[0055] 1.6 Trialkylsilylamide Compounds of Aluminum

[0056] As an example, bis(trimethylsilyl)amide (CH₃)₃Si₂N ligand bound to aluminum makes the aluminum compound volatile.

[0057] 2. Oxygen Source Materials

[0058] The oxygen source material is selected from a group of volatile or gaseous compounds that contain oxygen and are capable of reacting with an adsorbed portion of the selected aluminum source compound on the substrate surface at the deposition conditions, resulting in the deposition of an aluminum oxide thin film on the substrate surface.

[0059] For the deposition of an aluminum oxide thin film for a magnetic head gap fill the oxygen source is preferably selected from the following materials:

[0060] water H₂O;

[0061] hydrogen peroxide H₂O₂;

[0062] primary alcohols, such as methanol CH₃OH and ethanol C₂H₅OH;

[0063] secondary alcohols, such as isopropanol CH₃CHOHCH₃;

[0064] tertiary alcohols, such as tert-butanol (CH₃)₃COH;

[0065] oxygen O₂;

[0066] ozone O₃; and

[0067] oxygen with unpaired electrons.

[0068] When trimethyl aluminum (CH₃)₃Al is chosen as the aluminum source chemical, water is preferably used as the oxygen source chemical in the ALD process, resulting in the deposition of an Al₂O₃ thin film.

[0069] 3. Nitrogen Source Materials

[0070] Preferably, the nitrogen compound is selected from the group comprising:

[0071] ammonia (NH₃);

[0072] hydrogen azide (HN₃) and alkyl derivatives of this compound, such as CH₃N₃;

[0073] hydrazine (N₂H₄) and alkyl derivatives of this compound, such as dimethyl hydrazine;

[0074] hydroxyl amine (NH₂OH);

[0075] amines, preferably primary, secondary and tertiary amines, such as methylamine, diethylamine and triethylamine;

[0076] nitrogen radicals such as NH₂^e, NH^ee and N^eee, wherein ^e represents a free electron capable of bonding; and

[0077] excited state of nitrogen (N₂*).

[0078] Hydroxyl amine may also form a mixture of aluminum oxide and aluminum nitride. When the insulator deposition is started with a thin aluminum oxide layer, the substrate materials are protected against aggressive nitrogen source chemicals such that nitrogen and ammonia radicals can be used for the deposition of an aluminum nitride layer on top of the Al₂O₃ layer.

[0079] ALD Reactors

[0080] An ALD reactor module can be employed in a cluster tool for processing single substrates. A substrate arrives from a previous cluster module, Al₂O₃ is deposited by ALD and then the substrate is transported to the next process module in the cluster platform or unloaded from the cluster platform. Head gap fill films are deposited by ALD, and spin valve layers are formed, e.g., by sputtering or pulsed laser deposition. Because ALD coats the substrate surface with a uniform, pinhole-free insulator film, all the sensitive materials below the insulator layer are protected against the surrounding gas atmosphere. After head gap fill, the substrate can be transported to the next process step through a non-inert atmosphere. Before the head gap fill, there may be a sensitive material surface exposed to the surrounding atmosphere, and the substrate transportation is preferably done under high vacuum or inert gas atmosphere.

[0081] The ALD method can be used for the deposition of the head gap fill film in a batch reactor as well. Several tens of substrates can be coated with the insulator film in one run. The loading of the read head substrates into the ALD batch reactor is somewhat complicated in order to avoid oxidation of the metal layers on the substrates. Preferably, a surrounding inert atmosphere is used during the loading.

[0082] The Chemistry

[0083] ALD of Aluminum Oxide

[0084] The substrate surface contains hydroxyl (OH) groups that act as reactive sites during the aluminum source chemical pulse. The aluminum source molecule releases one of its ligands every time the aluminum source molecule in the gas phase reacts with a surface OH group. Each chemisorbed aluminum compound molecule (e.g., Al(CH₃)₂ or >AlCH₃) has 1-2 ligands left that are pointing away from the substrate surface. The symbol > indicates that aluminum forms two single bonds with unspecified surrounding atoms. The ligands prevent further adsorption after the reaction sites are saturated, such that no more than one monolayer forms per pulse.

[0085] After removal of the aluminum source chemical (e.g., by purging), in the next reactant pulse oxygen source chemical molecules (e.g., H₂O) react with these ligands (e.g., CH₃) on the surface, release the ligands as neutral molecules (e.g., methane CH₄) and preferably leave some OH groups on the surface. Another possibility is that, instead of OHgroups attached to aluminum atoms on the surface, an oxygen bridge (>AlOAl<) is formed between two aluminum atoms on the surface. Alkyl ligands react with water to form alkane molecules, alkoxide ligands react to form alcohol molecules, etc. Strong oxidizing molecules may burn the organic ligands on the surface to form water and CO₂ molecules that leave the surface and the reaction chamber.

[0086] Each pulsing cycle, including aluminum source pulse, first purge, oxygen source pulse and second purge, leave up to one molecular layer of aluminum oxide on the substrate. Depending on the size of the aluminum source molecules chemisorbed on the surface, the thickness increase of the Al₂O₃ can be less than one molecular layer of Al₂O₃/pulsing cycle on average. When using TMA and H₂O as source chemicals, a typical deposition rate for Al₂O₃ is near 1 /pulsing cycle on average. The net reaction is as follows: 2(CH₃)₃Al(g)3H₂O(g)----->Al₂O₃(s)6CH₄(g).

[0087] Magnetic Head Gap Fill with ALD-formed Aluminum Oxide

[0088] A substrate with a shielding layer (NiFe alloy) on top was loaded into the reaction chamber of an ALD reactor. The transportation of the substrate was done in an inert atmosphere to avoid excessive oxidation of the NiFe surface. The reaction chamber was evacuated with a mechanical vacuum pump connected to the exhaust line of the reactor. While the pumping line was kept open and the vacuum pump was on, the pressure of the reaction chamber was adjusted to about 10 mbar with flowing nitrogen gas. The flow rate of the nitrogen gas to the reaction chamber was set to 300 std. cm³/minute (sccm) with a mass flow controller that was supervised with an external computer. Then the reaction chamber holding the substrate was heated to 200 C. More generally, the substrate is maintained at temperatures high enough to avoid condensation and low enough to avoid thermal decomposition of the reactants. After the temperature had stabilized, the source chemical pulsing was started with an external PC computer that had a deposition program running.

[0089] (CH₃)₃Al, also known as TMA, and water were evaporated from external source bottles kept at room temperature. The evaporated source chemicals were introduced alternately in a pulsed manner to the reaction chamber where they were contacted with the substrate surface. After each source chemical pulse, the surplus reactant and reaction byproducts were removed from the reaction chamber with flowing nitrogen gas that was pumped away with the vacuum pump. Aluminum oxide thin film grew on the substrate surface, layer by layer. Due to the bulkiness of the TMA molecules and the number of reactive sites on the substrate surface, the deposition rate of the film was near 1 /pulsing cycle. This constitutes less than one monolayer of Al₂O₃ per pulsing cycle. The deposition of the film proceeded uniformly according to the principles of ALD until the film thickness had reached 20 nm after 200 pulsing cycles. In this experimental case, the reaction chamber was cooled to below 100 C. before removing the substrate from the reaction chamber. In production reactors, the reaction chamber is typically kept at a constant temperature all the time because the substrate is transported via a load lock chamber.

[0090] The Al₂O₃ thin film on the substrate had very good uniformity; the thickness variation was below 2%. Amorphous Al₂O₃ had a smooth surface and a sufficient DC voltage breakdown value for magnetic head applications. ALD-formed Al₂O₃ thin films had higher DC breakdown voltage than aluminum oxide reference samples made with standard industrial CVD (chemical vapor deposition) and PVD (physical vapor deposition) processes.

[0091] The breakdown voltage distribution (the number of broken samples at specified voltages) was narrow in the ALD-formed aluminum oxide samples, probably because of the uniformity of the pinhole-free film. Step coverage of the ALD-formed samples was essentially near 100%, which is a clear improvement over the current industrial aluminum oxide deposition processes. CVD and PVD processes have shown about 70%-80% step coverage for the head gap fill with aluminum oxide. Thus, ALD-formed aluminum oxide thin films have improved the dielectric strength and the step coverage of the magnetic head gap fill.

[0092] The aluminum oxide film can be deposited at 150-350 C. in ALD mode with the source chemicals used in Example 1. Due to the thermal sensitivity of the read head materials, the substrate temperature was kept at or below 200 C. The process pressure is not restricted to the 10 mbar value used in Example 1. Lower or higher pressures can be used in the reaction chamber as long as the purging or other removal technique is conducted carefully to prevent overlapping of source chemical pulses in the gas phase of the reaction chamber.

[0093] Manufacturing of Read Heads with ALD-formed Al₂O₃

[0094] According to the preferred embodiments, ALD is used for the deposition of the Al₂O₃ layers instead of sputtering. An AlTiC substrate is provided to a sputtering chamber in a cluster tool having a sputtering module and an ALD module. A shield consisting of 1-4 m of NiFe is sputtered on the substrate. Then on the order of 30 nm of Al₂O₃ is deposited by ALD at 200 C. from alternate pulses of TMA and H₂O on the NiFe surface to form the first gap insulator. About 2-10 nm CoFe, 2-10 nm of Cu, 2-10 nm of CoFe and 2-10 nm of FeMn are sputtered on the Al₂O₃ surface to form a spin valve. Then the substrate is transported away from the cluster tool for depositing and patterning a mask. CoPt and Ti,Cr layers are deposited on the sides of the spin valve. A mask is formed on Ti,Cr areas that will be plated with Ti to form a contact. Then the second Al₂O₃ insulator is deposited by ALD at 200 C. from alternate pulses of TMA and H₂O on a surface that consists of Ti,Cr, FeMn and mask materials. ALD provides a pinhole-free, uniform insulator film on a contoured surface at a low deposition temperature.

[0095] Magnetic Head Gap Fill with ALD-formed Aluminum Nitride

[0096] AlN thin films can be formed from alternate pulses of (CH₃)₃Al and NH₃. The deposition of AlN has been described by Diana Riihela et al. in Chemical Vapor Deposition, 2 (1996), No. 6, pp. 277-283, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. When using ammonia the lowest practical substrate temperature was about 325 C.

[0097] According to one embodiment of the present invention, replacing NH₃ with more reactive nitrogen species such as hydrazine N₂H₄, radicals NH₂^e, NH^ee, N^eee and excited state of nitrogen N₂* makes it possible to lower the AlN deposition temperature for the head gap fill. Radicals are generated, e.g., according to the method disclosed by Arthur Sherman in U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,365, filed Aug. 16, 1996 and issued Jun. 29, 1999. In order to convert methyl (CH₃) groups in TMA into methane (CH₄) molecules, it can be advantageous to introduce hydrogen gas to the reaction chamber during the nitrogen radical or excited state nitrogen pulse because the nitrogen species is short of hydrogen. Excited state of nitrogen N₂* is created by passing an electric discharge through N₂ gas at 0.1-2 Torr followed by the recombination of ground state N(⁴S) atoms into N₂* (N. N. Greenwood et al., Chemistry of the Elements, Pergamon Press Ltd., first edition, 1984, p. 474). When a highly reactive nitrogen species is available as the nitrogen source, the choice of the aluminum source chemical is not limited to alkyl aluminum compounds; other volatile aluminum compounds can be used as well.

[0098] Magnetic Head Gap Fill with ALD-formed Multilayer Insulator

[0099] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the head gap fill is conducted with two different materials so that the resulting insulator film comprises Al₂O₃ and AlN layers on top of each other. The film is started with atomic layer deposition of Al₂O₃, continued with ALD of AlN and finished with ALD of Al₂O₃. This is a sandwich structure that encapsulates AlN with Al₂O₃ to enable high dielectric strength and high thermal conductivity.

[0100] According to still another embodiment of the present invention, the head gap fill consists of a nanolaminate made of several thin film layers of Al₂O₃ and AlN. AlN is more prone to crystallite growth than amorphous Al₂O₃, so it is advantageous to interrupt the AlN crystallite growth with Al₂O₃ layers.

[0101] Diana Riihel et al. noted in Chemical Vapor Deposition, 2 (1996), No. 6, pp. 277-283 that the surface of the aluminum nitride is easily converted into aluminum oxide due to the moisture in the surrounding gas atmosphere such as room air.

[0102] According to still another embodiment of the present invention, the Al₂O₃ layer is formed on AlN as follows. An oxygen source chemical, such as H₂O, is pulsed onto the AlN surface. H₂O molecules convert the AlN surface into Al₂O₃ and NH₃ reaction byproduct molecules are purged away while beneath the surface there is AlN after the surface treatment with the oxygen source chemical. The reaction chamber is carefully purged with inert gas to remove the residual oxygen source chemical, and then the deposition is continued with atomic layer deposition of AlN. AlN is rather sensitive to any H₂O impurity present in inert purging gas (e.g., N₂) and in ammonia. Thus, NH₃ preferably has a purity of at least 99.999% (5.0) and N₂ preferably has at least a purity of 99.9999% (6.0).

[0103] Although AlN may lose some thermal conductivity when the AlN layer is made very thin, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the head gap fill can also comprise atomic layer deposition of an Al_xO_yN_z thin film. In this method, an oxygen source chemical is replaced with a nitrogen source chemical and back to an oxygen source chemical so frequently that the resulting thin film can be considered a uniform amorphous Al_xO_yN_z, and separate Al₂O₃ and AlN phases cannot be detected.

[0104] Because ALD-formed Al₂O₃ can have higher dielectric breakdown voltage than is needed for the head fill application, the properties of the head fill can be optimized by replacing some Al₂O₃ in the thin film with a compound that has high thermal conductivity but limited dielectric strength, such as beryllium oxide BeO and/or boron nitride BN. Such replacement can be effected by the same techniques described above with respect to alternating cycles of Al₂O₃ and AlN, resulting in mixed phases (when substitutions are performed frequently) or distinct layers.

[0105] Hence, although the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has shown, described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the detail of the method and structure as described, as well as the uses thereof may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Consequently, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the foregoing discussion, but should be defined by reference to the appended claims.