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Read-Rite Corporation is the world's leading independent supplier of thin-film magnetic recording heads for tigid disk drives. The company supplies magnetic recording heads as head gimbal assemblies (HGAS) andfor certain of its customers incorporates multiple HGAs into headstock assemblies (HSAs). The company's products are sold primarily to manufacturers of 3.5-inch form factor figid disk drives. The company is head- quattered in Milpitas, California and has operations in Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
Read-Rite's thin-film magnetic recording heads are used in the disk drives of personal computers and non-personal computer applications such as network servers, worksta6on drives, mainframes, video-on-demand, voicemail, mulfi- media services and Intemet servers; products that are driving the computer industty's demand for greater performance and higher data storage capacity.
Read-Rite works closely with its customers to qualify products that meet the yield and perfor- mance requirements of their drives. New Product Introduction and New Technology Introducfion processes support the qualification processes from wafer design through HSA qualificafion. Read-Rite's failure analysis laboratories employ state-of-the-art techniques and equipment to resolve failure mechanisms detected in the early stages of product development.
Read-Rite Thailand (RRT) manufactures volume slider fabrication and head gimbal assemblies (HGAS) of inductive thin-film and magnetoresisfive heads for Read-Rite's disk drive customers. RRT is located near the city of Bangkok in the Bangpa-In Industfial Estate in Ayutthaya Province. The company supplied HGAs in volume for 51 different disk drive programs to six customers during fiscal 1995. HGAs accounted for approximately 50 percent of the company's net sales for the year. In December 1995, Read-RiteMailand received ISO 9002 Certification from the Intemational Standards Organizafion (ISO). Read-Rite Thailand recently received the ISO 14,001 Certification making it the first company in Thailand, as well as the first company in the disk drive industry, to be so honored. RRT began operations at its Bangpa-In location in 1991. The company owns the seven-acre site which contains two buildings totaling 353,000 square feet. These properties and other collateral owned by Read-Rite Thailand secure $20 million and $15 million loans obtained by RRT from the Industrial Finance Corporadon of Thailand in 1993. In addifion. the company acquired an adjacent 97,000 square-foot facility in September 1995. The company also leases a 20,000 square-foot facility in Bangkok. Cleanrooms occupy 40 percent of the total buildings; 90 percent of which are used for producfion.
Read-Rite Thailand employs more than 10,000 people. Working in two classes of cleanrooms (Class 100 for HGA manufacturing and Class 200 for Slider Fab assembly), 83 percent of the employees are directly involved in building the product. Completed HGAs are shipped to Read-Rite Malaysia for assembly into headstacks (HSAS) or directly to disk drive customers who assemble their own HSAs.
The production process begins with a wafer fabricated in Read-Rite's California facility, or at the facility of its joint-venture partner, Read-Rite SMI, located in Osaka, Japan. Wafers are produced in two sizes, 4-inch and 6-inch. The 4-inch wafer contains more than 7,000 thin-film inductive heads, the 6-inch 13,500, and both are produced with manufacturing processes adapted from senii- conductor manufacturing operafions. Thin-films of highly pen-neable magnefic material are deposited on a non-magnefic substrate to form the magnetic core, and electrical coils are electroplated in a pattem which has been imprinted through photolithographic techniques.
The wafer undergoes three major operations in RRT's slider fabrication area: machining, lapping and inspection. Diamond saws cut the wafer into rows of sliders. Wafers consist of such hard cer@c material that machining must be done with diamond wheels and lapping must be done with a diamond slurry. Next the rows are lapped into the proper throat height using an automated, multistage lapping process. Lapping is a delicate process that strongly affects the performance of the heads. In the third phase, a variety of processes define and shape the air bearing surfaces of each individual slider. In the final phase, the rows are cut into individual sliders, or thin-film heads, and are inspected for performance before being sent to the assembly area.
In the HGA assembly process, wire elements are attached to bond pads on the slider and the slider is then bonded to the stainless-steel gimbal, or flexure. The gimbal provides the required load force and damping to interact with the air bearing (which is established by the slider contour). Together they achieve the desired flying characterisfics. After curing, the HGA is kiss-lapped, a gentle lapping process which determines the curvature (the crown) of the air bearing surface which affects flying and start-stop performance.
Employees test the heads'read/write capability (signal strength, pulse shape, over-write and error rate) and the circuit integrity of the magnetic elements. A randomly chosen sample of each lot is tested for flying height and flying characteristics. Despite such testing, customers may return lots if they determine that a previously agreed upon percentage of the HGAs do not meet specifications. Returns may result from different testing equipment or procedures, damage in shil)- ment or other factors. To date, detective product returns have had no significant impact on the company's operating results, although there can be no assurance this historical pattern will continue.
RRT continuously seeks opportunities to improve the quality of life of its employees. Competitive salaries, good benefits, effecfive training and development programs, recreational activities, health care services and annual physical checks-ups, and concern about the environment and safety of the workplace all contribute to a good quality of life. RRT received an Excellent Factory Award from the Indus@ Estate Authority of Thailand in 1994 and a Safety Award from the Safety Week of Thailand Committee in 1995.
Read-Rite Thailand plays an active role in the connnunity of Bangpa-In. Employees raise funds and assist in projects such as planting a community forest. RRT donates money, clothing, and used office and manufacturing equipment to local charities, and sponsors a blood drive and soccer tournament for the community. 'ne company provides local high school students with scholarships, equipment, and training in the use of computers. These activities demonstrate Read-Rite Thailand's commitment to the growth and development of its community.