Patent ID: 7328499

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, the thin film magnetic head comprising a thin film coil generating a magnetic flux, a pole layer having a pole end surface exposed to a recording-medium-facing surface facing a recording medium and emitting the magnetic flux generated by the thin film coil from the pole end surface toward the recording medium, and a return magnetic layer, a tip of the return magnetic layer being at a same position as a tip of the pole layer, where the magnetic flux emitted from the pole layer to magnetize the recording medium is returned, the pole layer emits a magnetic flux for magnetizing the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the recording medium, the method comprising the steps of: forming a precursor return magnetic layer as a preparatory layer of the return magnetic layer so as to include a precursor width change portion with a continuously narrowed width; and polishing a laminate including the precursor return magnetic layer until reaching a halfway point of the precursor width change portion so as to form the recording-medium-facing surface, thereby forming the return magnetic layer so as to have an end surface exposed to the recording-medium-facing surface and include a width change portion with a width continuously narrowed toward the end surface.