Patent ID: 7554770

Claim:
A method of processing an air bearing surface of a thin-film magnetic head slider, comprising the steps of: laminating a first silicon film, a first carbon film, a second silicon film, and a second carbon film in that order on a face of the thin-film magnetic head slider, the face facing a medium; forming a protrusion resist pattern that defines the position and shape of a protrusion; performing reactive ion etching with O 2 and CF 4 to remove portions of the second carbon film and the second silicon film, the portions being not covered with the protrusion resist pattern, and the first carbon film that functions as an etch stop film during the reactive ion etching; forming a third carbon film over the first carbon film exposed by removing the second carbon film and the second silicon film; removing the protrusion resist pattern to expose the protrusion having the second silicon film and the second carbon film; forming an air-bearing-surface resist pattern that defines the position and shape of an air-bearing-surface uneven pattern on exposed surfaces of the protrusion and the third carbon film; and processing a surface not covered with the air-bearing-surface resist pattern to impart the air-bearing-surface uneven pattern.