Lubomyr Romankiw
Lubomyr Taras Romankiw | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 April 1931 Zhovkva, Poland (now Ukraine) |
| Died | 27 June 2024 (aged 93) United States |
| Occupation(s) | Electrochemist, materials scientist, engineer, inventor |
| Years active | 1957–2024 |
| Known for | Invention of thin film magnetic heads; electroplating processes; copper interconnect technology |
Lubomyr Taras Romankiw (April 17, 1931 – June 27, 2024) was a distinguished Ukrainian-Canadian-American expert in electrochemistry, materials science, engineering, and invention. Although holding Canadian citizenship, his entire professional tenure was dedicated to the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in New York, where he achieved the prestigious status of IBM Fellow, the highest technical honor within the company.
Romankiw completed his Bachelor of Science at the University of Alberta in 1957, followed by Master’s and Doctoral degrees in metallurgy and materials science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1962. His doctoral research under Professor P. L. de Bruyn investigated the kinetics involved in zinc sulfide dissolution in sulfuric acid. Over his career, he was named co-inventor on more than 90 U.S. patents, contributed to 150 scholarly articles, and served as editor for 10 collections of technical symposium papers.
Background
Born on April 17, 1931, in Zhovkva, a town then located in Poland and today part of Ukraine, Romankiw’s research concentrated on magnetic materials, reflective display technologies, and copper electroplating processes. At IBM during the 1970s, he collaborated with David Thompson to develop magnetic thin-film storage heads—a revolutionary advancement that transformed hard drive data recording and retrieval. His professional distinctions included being an IBM Fellow, membership in the IBM Academy of Technology, and fellowships with both the IEEE and the Electrochemical Society.
Romankiw’s contributions were recognized through numerous awards: the Perkin Medal from the Society of Chemical Industry in 1993; the Vittorio de Nora Award from the Electrochemical Society in 1994; and the IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award also in 1994.
In March 2012, he was honored by induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Two years later, in 2014, he was elected as a foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Engineering for his pioneering work on thin-film magnetic head structures and electrochemical techniques vital to microelectronics manufacturing.
Beyond his scientific endeavors, Romankiw held the position of Nachalniy Plastun (Chief Scout) within the Plast National Scout Organization of Ukraine and was affiliated with the Shevchenko Scientific Society, USA.
He passed away at age 93 on June 27, 2024, in the United States.
Invention of Thin Film Heads
During the 1960s, traditional magnetic storage devices such as IBM drum storage were approaching their technological limits. The manually assembled copper-wired heads could not be miniaturized sufficiently to support higher areal data densities. The principal obstacles were: first, surpassing an areal density threshold beyond 3 Megabits per square inch; second, developing methods for batch fabrication of read/write heads. Romankiw’s innovations directly addressed these challenges and laid the foundation for scalable magnetic storage solutions.
1. US patent 3,908,194: Introduced an integrated magnetic head design combining magnetoresistive read elements with inductive write functions fabricated through batch processes—forming a cornerstone for decades of Disk read-and-write head technology.
2. US patent 4,295,173: Described a Thin Film Inductive Transducer utilizing a permalloy magnetic yoke energized by copper coil windings to enable high-frequency switching and precise data inscription.
3. US patent 3,840,898: Developed a miniaturized self-biased Magnetoresistive Sensor optimized for binary data detection at small scales.
4. US patents 4,281,057 and 4,315,985: Provided advancements in controlling photoresist thickness and fabricating fine-line circuitry critical for precision manufacturing techniques.
5. US patent 3,853,715: Presented a chemical etching process that prevented undercutting in anodically active metals during fabrication.
These patents collectively introduced “electroplating through mask,” an early version of what would evolve into the LIGA process widely adopted in MEMS manufacturing—essential for producing thin film heads.
6. US patent 3,652,442: Described an electroplating cell featuring laminar flow agitation via a reciprocating paddle mechanism to ensure uniform deposition of magnetic alloy films at production scale with controlled magnetic anisotropy, crucial for rapid magnetization switching.
7. US patent 5,516,412: Improved upon wafer handling and contamination reduction during electroplating through a vertical paddle cell design.
8. US patent 4,102,756: Detailed an electroplating method for nickel-iron (80:20) permalloy thin films using Romankiw’s plating cell; this alloy remained the industry standard for read/write heads until early in the 21st century.
9. US patent 4,003,768: Introduced a thermal annealing technique performed within a magnetic field to enhance permalloy’s magnetic permeability and switching characteristics—resulting in superior writing accuracy.
In addition to his work on thin film heads, Romankiw’s inventions significantly advanced controlled collapse chip connection (flip chip) packaging technologies vital for computer processors as well as developments in copper interconnects, advanced packaging, thin film solar cell applications, and on-chip inductive power convertor systems.
Awards
- Research Award from the Electrodeposition Division of The Electrochemical Society, 1984
- Elevated to IEEE Fellow status, 1986
- Designated Fellow of The Electrochemical Society, 1990
- Recipient of the Perkin Medal from the Society of Chemical Industry, 1993
- Vittorio De Nora Award granted by The Electrochemical Society, 1994
- Awarded the Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award by IEEE, 1994
- Honored as an Honorary Member of The Electrochemical Society, 2003
- Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2012
- Appointed Foreign Member of the National Academy of Engineering, 2014
- Awarded the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 2020
External links
- IBM Press Release – Named Inventor of the Year by the NY Intellectual Property Law Association