Todd,
I am afraid you are asking for info that, basically, varies considerably from mfr to mfr and, goes to the heart of their secrets. Yield data is very closely guarded and specifics are just not generally available. But yielded product net of starts is less then 50% if my sources are accurate. This means that for every element on a wafer, less then 50% of them pass final inspection. Various points in the process (over 100 steps) may kick out rejects. Wafer fab, row cutting, row bonding, row slicing, edge blending, polishing, various cleaning steps, all can have a toll. Other then the obvious variations in these processes, the MR element is sensitive to esd damage as mentioned previously. It stays sensitive, throughout the process, and is not reasonably safe until it is locked up in a disk driv.
MR has not resulted in a need for fewer suspensions, and, if anything, yield issues may have increased the rate of scrap on HGA's.
best,
Stitch
|
