Patent ID: 8174790

Claim:
A thin-film magnetic head comprising: a main magnetic pole layer including a magnetic pole end part on a side of a medium-opposing surface opposing a recording medium; a write shield layer opposing the magnetic pole end part so as to form a recording gap layer on the medium-opposing surface side; a thin-film coil wound about the write shield layer or main magnetic pole layer, the main magnetic pole layer, the write shield layer and the thin-film coil being laminated in a laminate direction, the main magnetic pole layer being incorporated in a magnetic pole forming depression of a base insulating layer, the magnetic pole forming depression being sunken into a form corresponding to the main magnetic pole layer; a remnant insulating film, formed on the outside of the magnetic pole forming depression so as to substantially surround the magnetic pole forming depression, covering the base insulating layer, wherein a surface of the remnant insulating film and a surface of the main magnetic pole layer are formed flat without a step, and the recording gap layer is formed on the surface of the remnant insulating film and the surface of the main magnetic pole layer; a remnant coating, the remnant coating including a first portion formed in a part between the magnetic pole forming depression and the remnant insulating film on a surface of the base insulating layer, and a second portion formed outside the remnant insulating film on the surface of the base insulating layer, such that at least a portion of the remnant insulating film is arranged between the first and second portions of the remnant coating, the recording gap layer being formed on the first and second portions of the remnant coating and on the remnant insulating film, and the entire recording gap layer along the medium-opposing surface being flat within the medium-opposing surface; an upper magnetic pole layer formed below the thin-film coil in the laminate direction, the upper magnetic pole layer substantially across the thin-film coil; an insulating layer formed between the thin-film coil and the upper magnetic pole layer, the thin-film coil being formed directly on the insulating layer; a first shield part formed without a step to the upper magnetic pole layer; a second shield part that is connected to the first shield part and straddles the thin-film coil; and an upper insulating layer that is disposed within the medium-opposing surface and straddles the thin-film coil, wherein an outer peripheral distance indicating a gap between the magnetic pole forming depression and the remnant insulating film is set within the range of 10 to 1000 μm.