Patent ID: 7929251

Claim:
A method for fabricating a structure on a disk drive air bearing slider body, comprising: disposing a protective layer above said slider body, wherein said protective layer mechanically and chemically protects said slider body, said protective layer resistant to chemical and mechanical treatments, applied via a single layer deposition, and removable with an ion beam etch; disposing a structural layer above said protective layer; disposing a patterned resist layer above said structural layer, such that said patterned resist layer is disposed over certain regions of said structural layer; removing unwanted regions of said structural layer that are not protected by the resist layer during a first material removal process, thereby leaving certain regions of said structural layer, wherein said protective layer is not affected or removed during said first photo resist material removal process; removing said patterned resist layer during a resist material removal process, such that a uniform protuberance with no fences, shadowed areas, or dimensional defects results, wherein said protective layer is not affected or removed during said resist material removal process; and removing certain regions of said protective layer utilizing an ion beam etch process, such that sub-etch regions are formed, wherein said sub-etch regions are defined by at least two unetched regions of the protective layer.