Patent ID: 7379268

Claim:
A thin-film magnetic head comprising: a medium facing surface that faces toward a recording medium; a first magnetic layer and a second magnetic layer that are magnetically coupled to each other at a distance from the medium facing surface, and include magnetic pole portions disposed so as to oppose each other with a predetermined spacing interposed therebetween along the traveling direction of the recording medium; a gap layer made of a non-magnetic material and provided between the first and second magnetic layers; and a thin-film coil at least a part of which is disposed between the first and second magnetic layers and insulated from the first and second magnetic layers, wherein: the second magnetic layer has: a pole portion layer including the magnetic pole portion, the width of the pole portion layer measured in the medium facing surface defining a track width; and a yoke portion layer for magnetically connecting the pole portion layer and the first magnetic layer to each other; at a location apart from the medium facing surface, the pole portion layer is not in contact with the first magnetic layer but is connected to the first magnetic layer via at least the yoke portion layer; the gap layer has an end located in the medium facing surface next to the second magnetic layer, the part of the thin-film coil disposed between the first and second magnetic layers has a surface closer to the second magnetic layer, and this surface of the part of the thin-film coil is located closer to the first magnetic layer than is the end of the gap layer; and the yoke portion layer is magnetically connected to the pole portion layer at least in part of: an end surface of the pole portion layer farther from the medium facing surface; a surface of the pole portion layer closer to the gap layer; and both side surfaces of the pole portion layer in the width direction, the thin-film magnetic head further comprising a non-magnetic layer that is in contact with the entire surface of the pole portion layer farther from the gap layer.