Patent ID: 6952325

Claim:
A thin film magnetic head used for a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus including a recording medium moving to a predetermined direction of movement, the thin film magnetic head comprising: a first and a second magnetic layers including pole portions facing each other in a recording-medium-facing surface facing the recording medium and its vicinity, and being magnetically coupled to each other in a position far from the recording-medium-facing surface; a gap layer being disposed between the pole portions facing each other; and a thin film coil being disposed between the first and the second magnetic layers and insulated from the first and the second magnetic layers, wherein the second magnetic layer includes a track width determining portion having an exposed surface exposed to the recording-medium-facing surface and determining a recording track width of the recording medium, the exposed surface includes a first edge positioned on a medium-outgoing side in the direction of movement and a second edge positioned on a medium-incoming side in the direction of movement, and a width of the first edge is larger than a width of the second edge, and is equal to or larger than a width of the exposed surface in any middle position between the first and the second edges, the exposed surface includes a first region on the medium-incoming side and a second region on the medium-outgoing side, and a width of the first region is reduced with increasing proximity to the second edge, and a width of the second region is uniform irrespective of a distance from the second edge.