The invention provides a chemical-mechanical polishing composition and a method of chemically-mechanically polishing a substrate, such as a nickel-phosphorous substrate. The composition contains water, silica particles, a first alcohol comprising one or more of monohydric alcohol, polyhydric alcohol, and diglycol, a second alcohol in the form of polyvinyl alcohol, a nickel complexing agent, and optionally hydrogen peroxide, pH adjuster, and/or biocide. The method involves contacting the substrate with a polishing pad and the chemical-mechanical polishing composition, moving the polishing pad and the polishing composition relative to the substrate, and abrading at least a portion of the substrate to polish the substrate.

Methods of planarizing materials, such as where surface topographies are created as part of a thin film device fabrication process are described. These methods find particular application in the creation of nano-sized devices, where surface topographical features can be effectively planarized without adversely creating other surface topographies and/or causing deleterious effects a material junctions. Methods include the step of depositing a sacrificial layer overlying at least a portion of a first material layer and at least a portion of a backfilled second material at a junction between the first and second materials. The sacrificial layer substantially retains the surface topography of the microelectronic device. Chemical-mechanical planarization is performed on a surface of the sacrificial layer but leaving a remainder portion of the thickness of the sacrificial layer. Then, physical or dry chemical process is conducted for removing the remainder of the sacrificial layer and at least a portion of at least one of the first and second materials.

A dual PMR writer is disclosed wherein the better writer at outer diameter (OD) skew is paired with a suspension after dynamic performance (DP) spin stand testing so that the better writer is the inner writer formed closer to a recording disk center than the other writer. Accordingly, lower read write offset is achieved at OD skew and better area density capability is realized. Preferably, there is a symmetrical or substantially symmetrical air bearing surface design after lapping and spin stand testing to afford flexibility in pairing an up facing (UP) head configuration with an UP suspension, or a down facing (DN) head configuration with a DN suspension to enable the better writer to be the inner writer. The dual PMR writer may have a dual dynamic fly height heater on each side of a center plane separating the two writers to improve write gap protrusion in the better writer.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include carriers for a row bar or stack of row bars to be lapped. In some embodiments, the ratio of the coefficient of thermal expansion of at least the bridge of a carrier to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the slider row bar or stack of slider row bars is less than 1.6. In some embodiments, a carrier can include a bridge having a length longer than the row bar or stack of row bars. In some embodiments, one or more bridge bending members can have junction centerlines offset from the corresponding bridge bending members.

A method of lapping multiple row bars provided in a stack, including the steps of electrically connecting at least one row bar bond pad of a first row bar to at least one carrier bond pad of a carrier, electrically connecting an outermost row bar of the stack to the first row bar of the stack by the at least one electrical trace, wherein the outermost row bar comprises at least one electronic lapping guide, lapping an outer surface of the outermost row bar until a signal provided by the at least one electronic lapping guide of the outermost row bar reaches a predetermined value, terminating the lapping of the outermost row bar, and removing the outermost row bar from the stack to expose a second row bar, wherein the second row bar is electrically connected to the first row bar with the at least one electrical trace.

Embodiments provide a polishing composition for a magnetic disk substrate, which contains colloidal silica having an average primary particle size of 5 to 200 nm, fumed silica having an average particle size of 30 to 800 nm, pulverized wet-process silica particles having an average particle size of 100 to 1000 nm, and water. According to an embodiment, a ratio of the colloidal silica is 5 to 90% by mass, a ratio of the fumed silica is 5 to 90% by mass, and a ratio of the pulverized wet-process silica particles is 5 to 90% by mass with respect to all the silica particles, and a concentration of all the silica particles is 1 to 50% by mass.

Embodiments provide a polishing composition containing colloidal silica, pulverized wet-process silica particles, and a water-soluble polymer compound. According to at leaset one embodiment, the water-soluble polymer compound is a copolymer containing a structural unit derived from an unsaturated aliphatic carboxylic acid and a structural unit derived from an unsaturated amide.

A lapping tool assembly includes a mount tool and an interposer structure interposed between actuators and the mount tool, where the interposer includes interposer pins reactively coupled with the actuators such that each interposer pin is configured to receive a translational force from a corresponding actuator and to transmit the force to a corresponding actuation pin of the mount tool. The interposer may include a zero z-axis shift flexure system, and/or a z-axis decoupling flexure system, and/or alignment features, for accurately transmitting the actuation forces to the mount tool, while inhibiting affecting other portions of the mount tool.

A lapping mount tool and a process for lapping a row of head sliders involves affixing the row to a lapping mount tool fixture, actuating each of multiple first actuation pins to set each head slider for lapping to a respective element target stripe height, and simultaneously lapping accordingly. The process may further involve actuating each of multiple second actuation pins to set each head slider for lapping to a respective target wedge angle, and simultaneously lapping accordingly. Each target wedge angle may be achieved by applying a respective angular force to a compliant elastomer adhered to the fixture and to the row, where such angular forces may be applied through at least two flexures interconnecting a rotatable first structural member and a second structural member of the lapping mount tool, wherein the flexures virtually intersect at and define an axis of rotation about which the angular forces are applied.

One or more slider bars are attached to at least one component of a multi-component carrier device. The multi-component carrier device is attached to a lapping arm of a lapping machine and the one or more slider bars attached to the carrier device are lapped. The at least one component of the multi-component carrier device is attached to a grinding/cutting machine. At least one of a grinding operation or a cutting operation is performed on the one or more slider bars.