Patent ID: 6738222
Filing Date: 2004-05-18
Classification: B82Y,G11B

Abstract:
A thin-film magnetic head comprising:a medium facing surface that faces toward a recording medium; a first magnetic layer and a second magnetic layer that are magnetically coupled to each other at a distance from the medium facing surface, and include magnetic pole portions disposed so as to oppose to each other with a predetermined spacing interposed therebetween along the traveling direction of the recording medium; a gap layer made of a non-magnetic material and provided between the first and second magnetic layers; and a thin-film coil at least a part of which is disposed between the first and second magnetic layers and insulated from the first and second magnetic layers, wherein: the second magnetic layer has: a pole portion layer including the magnetic pole portion, the width of the pole portion layer measured in the medium facing surface defining a track width; and a yoke portion layer for magnetically connecting the pole portion layer and the first magnetic layer to each other, the pole portion layer and the yoke portion layer are separate from each other, and the pole portion layer has a saturated magnetic flux density greater than that of the yoke portion layer, the head further comprises a non-magnetic layer that is in contact with the entirety of a surface of the pole portion layer farther from the gap layer, the yoke portion layer is magnetically connected to the pole portion layer at least in part of: an end surface of the pole portion layer farther from the medium facing surface; and both side surfaces of the pole portion layer in the width direction, and in a cross section containing an interface between the yoke portion layer and the pole portion layer, the yoke portion layer is greater than the pole portion layer in thickness.