Patent ID: 6597534
Filing Date: 2003-07-22
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
A thin-film magnetic head comprising:a lower core layer, the lower core layer having a lower magnetic pole layer thereon; an upper core layer, the upper core layer having an upper magnetic pole layer thereunder; at least one insulating layer disposed between the lower core layer and the upper core layer, the insulating layer having a groove for defining a track width, at least one of the lower magnetic pole layer and the upper magnetic pole layer being provided in the groove; and a magnetic gap layer provided between the lower core layer and the upper core layer; wherein the insulating layer comprises at least one primary insulating layer lying at the lower core layer side and at least one auxiliary insulating layer formed on the primary insulating layer, the primary insulating layer comprises at least one insulating material selected from the group consisting of SiO2, TiO, WO, WO3, and SiON, the auxiliary insulating layer comprises at least one insulating material selected from the group consisting of Al2O3 and Si3N4, the groove is formed at least in the primary insulating layer, the auxiliary insulating layer has sloping faces gradually diverging in the track width direction from both top edges of the groove to the surfaces of the auxiliary insulating layer, and the upper core layer is formed on the sloping faces; and wherein the groove has a width of not more than 0.3 &mgr;m.