Ultra fine lapping substrate through use of hard coated material on lapping kinematics

Abstract

A system according to one embodiment includes a substrate having one or more sacrificial row bars and one or more additional row bars, wherein the one or more sacrificial row bars comprise a wear resistant material and are adapted to be used in a lapping process to prepare a lapping plate, wherein the one or more additional row bars comprise a material that has less wear resistance than the wear resistant material and are adapted to be used for magnetic head slider production, and wherein the lapping plate is adapted to be used in a lapping process to polish the one or more additional row bars.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 a substrate having one or more sacrificial row bars and one or more additional row bars,   wherein the one or more sacrificial row bars comprise a wear resistant material and are adapted to be used in a lapping process to prepare a lapping plate,   wherein the one or more additional row bars comprise a material that has less wear resistance than the wear resistant material and are adapted to be used for magnetic head slider production, and   wherein the lapping plate is adapted to be used in a lapping process to polish the one or more additional row bars.   
     
     
         2 . The system as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising the lapping plate, wherein the lapping plate comprises a substrate having diamond particles embedded therein at a surface thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the wear resistant material is diamond-like carbon (DLC). 
     
     
         4 . The system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the wear resistant material has a thickness in a range between about 200 nm and about 2000 nm. 
     
     
         5 . The system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the wear resistant material comprises at least one of: diamond-like carbon (DLC), silicon nitride (SiN), and tantalum carbide (TaC). 
     
     
         6 . A method for using a lapping plate, the method comprising:
 coating one or more sacrificial row bars with a wear resistant material, wherein the wear resistant material resists wear better than a material of additional row bars, the additional row bars being adapted to be used for magnetic head slider production;   pressing the one or more sacrificial row bars against a lapping plate until a predetermined metric has been achieved;   removing the one or more sacrificial row bars from the lapping plate; and   using the lapping plate in a lapping process to polish the additional row bars after the one or more sacrificial row bars have been pressed against the lapping plate.   
     
     
         7 . The method as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the wear resistant material is diamond-like carbon (DLC). 
     
     
         8 . The method as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the wear resistant material is formed to a thickness in a range between about 200 nm and about 2000 nm. 
     
     
         9 . The method as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the wear resistant material is formed via vacuum vapor deposition or pulse-cathodic deposition. 
     
     
         10 . The method as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the predetermined metric is chosen from: a lap rate of the lapping plate, and a surface roughness of the lapping plate. 
     
     
         11 . The method as recited in  claim 6 , further comprising radially oscillating the one or more sacrificial row bars while the one or more sacrificial row bars are pressed against the lapping plate. 
     
     
         12 . The method as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the wear resistant material comprises at least one of: diamond-like carbon (DLC), silicon nitride (SiN), and tantalum carbide (TaC). 
     
     
         13 . The method as recited in  claim 6 , further comprising:
 forming the one or more sacrificial row bars and the additional row bars on a substrate; and   cutting the substrate into individual row bars.