Patent ID: 8051552

Claim:
A method for forming a write head, the method comprising: forming a write pole of the write head; forming side shield gap structures on side regions of the write pole; forming side shields on the side regions of the write pole by: depositing a first layer of non-magnetic material; depositing a layer of side shield material; removing a portion of the layer of side shield material above the write pole by performing a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process on the layer of side shield material, wherein the first layer of non-magnetic material acts as a CMP stop layer during the CMP process; and removing the first layer of non-magnetic material above the write pole, wherein the side shield gap structures define a first gap separating the write pole and the side shields; forming a trailing shield gap structure above the write pole by: depositing a second layer of non-magnetic material; and fabricating contacts in the second layer of non-magnetic material on each side of the write pole to allow contact between the side shields and a trailing shield; and forming the trailing shield of the write head, wherein the trailing shield gap structure defines a second gap separating the write pole and the trailing shield, and wherein the second gap is less than the first gap.