Patent ID: 8499435

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head constructed such that a main magnetic pole layer having a magnetic pole end face on a side of a medium- opposing surface opposing a recording medium, a lower shield layer and an upper shield layer having respective shield end faces arranged in the medium-opposing surface and arranged to hold the main magnetic pole layer therebetween, and a thin-film coil wound around any one of the main magnetic pole layer, the lower shield layer, and the upper shield layer are laminated on a substrate, the method comprising: a lower shield layer forming step of forming the lower shield layer, wherein the lower shield layer forming step comprises: a first lower shield part forming step of forming a first lower shield part constituting the lower shield layer in a lower shield planned area on the substrate, including a planned line along the medium-opposing surface which the medium-opposing surface is formed later; a lower seed layer forming step of forming a partial lower seed layer having a partial arrangement structure in which the partial lower seed layer is arranged on a lower formation zone except a lower exception zone including the planned line when forming a lower seed layer for forming a second lower shield part constituting the lower shield layer on the first lower shield part; and a second lower shield part forming step of forming the second lower shield part on the partial lower seed layer.