Patent ID: 7151647

Claim:
A thin film magnetic head comprising a write element, said write element comprising: a first yoke portion formed of a first magnetic film and having a flat surface; a first pole portion projecting from the flat surface of said first magnetic film at a medium-facing surface and having a reduced width at its upper end; a gap film; a second pole portion facing the upper end of said first pole portion, separated from the upper end of said first pole portion by said gap film and having the same width as the upper end of said first pole portion; a second yoke portion comprising: a wide portion having a flat surface and connected to said first magnetic film by a back gap portion that is recessed in the thin film magnetic head from the medium-facing surface; a narrow portion forming said second pole portion and the surface of the narrow portion being at a position lower than the surface of said wide portion; and a flare portion extending from said narrow portion to said wide portion, gradually increasing in width and its surface sloping upward away from the surface of said narrow portion to the surface of said wide portion; and a coil surrounding in a spiral form said back gap portion on a first insulating film formed on the flat surface of said first magnetic films, wherein said second yoke portion comprises a second magnetic film and a third magnetic film deposited on said second magnetic film, said wide portion is formed of the uniform-thickness parts of said second and third magnetic films and the surfaces of said narrow portion and sloping flare portion are obtained by etching part of the surface of said third magnetic film.