Patent ID: 7244368

Claim:
A manufacturing method of a magnetic head, comprising: a step for forming a lift-off mask pattern on a magnetoresistance effect element such that an upper part of the lift-off mask pattern is formed greater than a lower part of the lift-off mask pattern, said step for forming the lift-off mask pattern comprising the steps of: forming an organic polymer film on the magnetoresistance effect element; forming a resist pattern containing Si on the organic polymer film, and patterning the organic polymer film while using the resist pattern as a mask by conducting: a first dry etching process for patterning the organic polymer film using the resist pattern as a mask for forming an organic polymer pattern; and a second dry etching process for reducing magnitude of the resist pattern and the organic polymer pattern by laterally etching both the resist pattern and said organic polymer pattern, said second dry etching process being conducted such that an etching rate of said organic polymer pattern is larger than an etching rate of said resist pattern and such that said organic polymer pattern is formed with a lateral size smaller than a lateral size of the resist pattern, said organic polymer pattern and said resist pattern constituting said lift-off mask pattern, a step for forming a pair of electrodes on the magnetoresistance effect element using the lift-off mask pattern as a mask, and a step for removing the lift-off mask pattern, said second dry etching process being conducted by a mixed ambient containing first radicals etching said organic polymer pattern and second radicals etching said resist pattern.