CRIST Researchers: Dr. Genhua Pan

Thin film head design and fabrication

The project involves design, computer simulation (using commercial FEM software) and microfabrication of thin film recording heads and MR heads for submicron trackwidth magnetic recording. A new head structure and fabrication method using precision FIB milling were proposed in this project for the submicron trackwidth thin film heads and MR heads. Two papers about the work were recently presented at INTERMAG'96. The project is currently in collaboration with AIT(Akita Research Institute of Advanced Technology), Akita, Japan.

Papers published:

• "A new fabrication method for submicron trackwidth thin film heads", Accepted for publication in IEEE Trans. Magn, in press, Genhua Pan, Shingo Takahashi, Desmond J. Mapps, John F. Walker, Kiyoshi Yamakawa, Naoki Honda and Kazuhiro Ouchi.
• "A laminated dual-axial anisotropy film for submicron trackwidth thin film heads", Accepted for publication in IEEE Trans. Magn, in press, Genhua Pan, Shingo Takahashi, Desmond J. Mapps, Kiyoshi Yamakawa, Naoki Honda and Kazuhiro Ouchi.
• "Design issues of fully integrated submicron trackwidth single pole head for 10 Gb/in2 areal density perpendicular rigid disks", Journal of the Magnetics Society of Japan, Vol.18, No.S1, 575(1994), G. Pan and D.J. Mapps.
• "Microstructural origin of the anomalous shearing of perpendicular M-H loops of CoCr-based media", Transactions of the Materials Research Society of Japan, Vol. 15B, 773(1994), G. Pan and D.J. Mapps.
• "A new servo method using servo layer and transverse MR head for submicron track servo on hard computer disks", presented in MRM'95, Oxford, UK, and accepted for publishing in J MMM. Baolin Tan, Desmond J. Mapps, Genhua Pan and Barry S. Plumb.
• "A new MR head track following Method for submicron track servo on perpendicular rigid disks", Journal of the Magnetics Society of Japan, Vol.18, No.S1, 579(1994), Baolin Tan, Genhua Pan and Desmond J. Mapps.
• "A new MR head track following method for submicron track servo on rigid disks", IEEE Tans. Magn, Vol. 30, No.6, 4206(1994), Baolin Tan, Genhua Pan and Desmond J. Mapps.
• "New materials for perpendicular magnetic disk recording", Transactions of the Materials Research Society of Japan, Vol. 15B, 776(1994) D.J. Mapps, G. Pan, M.A. Akhter and D.T. Wilton.
• "In-contact magnetic recording performance of Pt/CoCrTa thin films on glass computer disks", J. Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 120, 305(1993), G. Pan, D.J. Mapps, M.A. Akhter, Onodera and Okabe.
• "The influence of different underlayers on the microstructure and magnetic properties of very thin CoCr films deposited by rf-sputtering on glass computer disks", IEEE Trans. Magn. Vol.27, No.6, 4903(1991), (with D.J. Mapps and M.A. Akhter).
• "Microstructure and magnetic properties of very thin CoCr films deposited on different underlayers by rf-sputtering", J. Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 113(1992), 21-28, Pan, Mapps, Akhter, Lodder, Berge, Wong and Chapman.
• "Very thin perpendicular films on glass disks", J. Magn. Soci. Japan, Vol.15, No.S2, 1037(1991), D J Mapps, G. Pan and M.A. Akhter.
• "CoNbFe soft magnetic thin-film backlayers for glass computer disks", J. Appl. Phys., Vol.69, No.1, 5178(1991), (with D.J. Mapps and M.A. Akhter).
• "Very thin CoCr films on Ti underlayers for high-density perpendicular recording computer discs", IEEE Trans. Magn., Vol. 26, No.5, 1615(1990), (with D.J. Mapps and M.A, Akhter).
• "Study of CoNbFe films deposited by dc-magnetron sputtering", IEEE Trans. Magn., Vol.27, No.1, 664(1991), G. Pan, A.G. Spencer and R.P. Howson.
• "Co-based perpendicular recording media on Pt underlayers", Japanese Patent, Patent No. S91098992 (1992), G. Pan, Okabe and Mapps (with Sony Corp. Research Centre).
• "CoNi thin films deposited by rf-sputtering as computer rigid disk media", Journal of Materials Engineering, No. 6, 31(1988), G. Pan and G.D. Fang (in Chinese).
• "Deposition of amorphous CoNbFe magnetic thin films by unbalanced dc magnetron sputtering", G. Pan, A.G. Spencer and R.P. Howson, presented at the 7th International Conference on Ion & Plasma Assisted Techniques. Geneva, 31 May - 2 June, 1989.

Interests: Fabrication, design and computer simulation of thin film heads, MR heads. Study of high Bs soft magnetic materials, MR and GMR materials for recording head application. Micromagnetic study of patterned narrow strips of soft magnetic laminates. Study of high output and low noise thin film media for high density magnetic recording.

Other interests: Badminton, tennis, golf and skiing.

E-mail: p03455@prime-a.plymouth.ac.uk