Patent ID: 8419954

Claim:
A method for fabricating a side shield for a magnetic transducer having a nonmagnetic layer, a pole, a gap layer, and a hard mask having a hard mask aperture therein, the pole having sidewalls and an air-bearing surface location (ABS location) corresponding to an air-bearing surface (ABS), the pole, the gap layer residing between the sidewalls of the pole and a portion of the nonmagnetic layer, a first portion of the hard mask residing on the pole, a second portion of the hard mask residing on a portion of nonmagnetic layer, the hard mask aperture residing between the first portion and the second portion of the hard mask, the method comprising: providing a removal mask having a removal aperture therein, the removal aperture exposing a portion of the pole proximate to the ABS location and a first portion of the aperture, the removal mask covering a second portion of the aperture in a track width direction from the ABS location of the pole and covering the second portion of the hard mask; removing a first portion of the nonmagnetic layer exposed by the removal aperture, forming a side shield trench in the nonmagnetic layer; depositing a seed layer for the side shield; providing a side shield deposition mask having a deposition aperture therein, the deposition aperture exposing a first portion of the side shield trench and a portion of the nonmagnetic layer in the track width direction from the ABS location of the pole, the side shield deposition mask covering a second portion of the side shield trench; depositing at least one side shield material, a portion of the side shield material residing in the deposition aperture; planarizing the transducer to remove a portion of the side shield material external to the side shield trench, a remaining portion of the side shield material forming the side shield.