Patent ID: 8196285

Claim:
A method for providing a PMR pole in a magnetic recording transducer including an intermediate layer having a surface, the method comprising: providing a mask on the intermediate layer, the mask including a line having at least one side; providing a hard mask on the mask, a first portion of the hard mask residing on the at least one side and a second portion of the hard mask residing on the surface of the intermediate layer, the hard mask including a wet-etchable layer and a high removal ratio layer on the wet-etchable layer; removing at least part of the first portion of the hard mask using a removal process at a low angle to the at least one side, at least a portion of the line being exposed, the high removal ratio layer having a low angle removal rate for the removal process at the low angle on the at least one side and a high angle removal rate for the removal process at the low angle on the surface of the intermediate layer, the low angle removal rate being at least four times the high angle removal rate; removing the line, thereby providing an aperture in the hard mask corresponding to the line; forming a trench in the intermediate layer under the aperture, the trench having a bottom and a top wider than the bottom; and providing the PMR pole, at least a portion of the PMR pole residing in the trench.