Seminar Series on Nanotechnology
Nano Processing Applications for Thin Film Magnetic Recording Heads Dr. Robert E. Fontana, Jr.
Hitachi Global Storage TechnologiesFebruary 5th, 2003 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Wiegand Room, Arts & Sciences Building
Santa Clara University |
This talk will describe the magnetic recording thin film head structure and the thin film processing techniques required to fabricate this structure. Over the last 6 years the critical device dimensions in thin film heads have reduced at a 30% annual rate and this has allowed the areal density storage in hard disk drives to increase at a 100% annual rate. Present hard disk drives have areal densities of 75 Gbits/in
2. and minimum thin film head features of 120 nm. Next generation thin film heads will support areal densities in excess of 100 Gbit/in
2. , will have critical dimensions less than 100 nm, and will be viewed as "nano structures". In this talk, processing strategies to form nano scale (30 nm to 100 nm) thin film head critical features will be reviewed, lithography strategies, including the use of e-beam lithography, for defining the critical head dimension will be discussed, and manufacturability issues for nano magnetic devices will be described. In particular, it will be shown that the use of e-beam lithography and the low pattern density of the thin film head wafer geometry will allow for a manufacturing path for thin film heads with sub 50 nm dimensions. These dimensions will support areal densities in excess of 300 Gbit/in
2.
Biography of Dr. Robert E. Fontana, Jr. |
Robert E. Fontana, Jr. received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969, 1971, and 1975, respectively. He has worked to develop and improve thin-film process technologies for manufacturing magnetic device structures for the past 28 years. Dr. Fontana is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering (2002) and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (1996). In 2000 Dr. Fontana received the IEEE Cledo Brunetti Technical Field Award for excellence in the art of electronic miniaturization for contributions to the manufacture of thin film magnetic recording heads. Dr. Fontana was President of the IEEE Magnetics Society for 2001-2002. He holds 49 patents on magnetic thin-film structures and has authored 33 technical papers on magnetic storage device structures.
From 1975 to 1981, Dr. Fontana worked at Texas Instruments, where he was responsible for new product and process development for 92 Kbit, 256 Kbit, and 1 Mbit magnetic bubble devices. From 1981 to 2002, Dr. Fontana worked at IBM, in both the Research Division and the Storage Products Division, where he was instrumental in making the innovative thin-film magnetic recording heads that have enabled the industry's huge 3,000-fold increases in data storage density. At IBM, Dr. Fontana managed the thin-film processing group responsible for making IBM's early prototype magnetoresistive (MR) thin-film heads, he transferred thin film head process technology into IBM Manufacturing, and he directed the design, construction and initial operation of the advanced thin film head processing facility for IBM Research at the IBM Almaden Research Laboratory.
Dr. Fontana's present focus is on the processing and fabrication issues for future advanced magnetic sensors. These interests include applying semiconductor processing techniques for thin-film head structures, using e-beam lithography to define critical features in advanced head designs, and "nano-processing" of sub 100 nm magnetic features to evaluate nano-magnetic phenomena.
