Patent ID: 7508630

Claim:
A thin film magnetic head comprising: a thin film coil for generating a magnetic flux; a magnetic pole layer having a magnetic pole tip portion for emitting the magnetic flux generated by the thin film coil toward a recording medium traveling in a predetermined medium travel direction, and extending from a recording medium facing surface which faces the recording medium in the direction away from the recording medium facing surface; a first gap layer disposed so as to be adjacent to the magnetic pole layer in two side directions orthogonal to a medium outflow direction in the medium travel direction; a second gap layer disposed so as to be adjacent to the magnetic pole layer in the medium outflow direction and cover a top face of the magnetic pole layer; and a magnetic shield layer disposed so as to extend from the recording medium facing surface in the direction away from the recording medium facing surface and so as to surround the magnetic pole tip portion of the magnetic pole layer from three directions of the medium outflow direction and the two side directions via the first and second gap layers.