1. Reliability of Tunneling Magnetoresistance Recording Head Lifetime, Failure Mode, and Production Screening.
- Author
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Wong, Pak-kin, Inage, Kenji, Lai, Anthony W. Y., Leung, Eric C. W., and Shimizu, Tad
- Subjects
- *
MAGNETIC recorders & recording , *QUANTUM tunneling , *MAGNETORESISTANCE , *ELECTRIC resistance , *ELECTROACOUSTICS , *MAGNETIC devices - Abstract
We have studied the behavior of failure in lifetime acceleration test of TMR prototype with performance meeting 100 Gb/in2 recording. The failure mode is identified to be same as extrinsic breakdown of the AlOx barrier, while failure due to magnetic change is not observed. The extrinsic breakdown is further found to be the increase in pinhole conduction in the barrier, involving thermal energy from ambient and read current. Results also suggest the existence of a critical voltage below which pinhole is not enlarged. Furthermore, we will discuss our hypothesis in the formation of pinholes and the role of charge traps in the barrier. Finally, we will discuss a method for screening out heads with relatively short lifetime, which is feasible for mass production. The screening allows a guarantee of lifetime well enough for drive application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
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