Patent ID: 7707707

Claim:
A method of temporarily protecting an electrically sensitive component from damage due to electrostatic discharge, the method comprising: (a) defining a component and first and second leads that are separated by a gap; (b) forming a portion of a shield layer between the first and second leads that spans the gap to define a shunt therebetween and form a shunted assembly; (c) lapping the shunted assembly and component to form an air bearing surface (ABS) at the component; (d) depositing a sacrificial carbon overcoat on the ABS; (e) performing additional processing on the shunted assembly; and (f) removing a portion of the shunted assembly to remove the shunt and portions of the sacrificial carbon overcoat to form an electrical open for an unshunted assembly having ABS features comprising an air bearing cavity at a location of the shunted assembly.