Patent ID: 6842307

Claim:
A thin-film magnetic head comprising: a medium facing surface that faces toward a recording medium; a first pole layer and a second pole layer that are magnetically coupled to each other and include magnetic pole portions opposed to each other and located in regions of the pole layers on a side of the medium facing surface; a gap layer provided between the magnetic pole portions of the first and second pole layers; a thin-film coil at least part of which is disposed between the first and second pole layers and insulated from the first and second pole layers; and a lead layer connected to the thin-film coil, wherein: the first pole layer includes a magnetic layer having a wholly flat top surface; the thin-film coil is disposed over the magnetic layer; and the lead layer is disposed outside the first pole layer, the thin-film magnetic head further comprising a connecting layer disposed on the thin-film coil and the lead layer, for connecting the thin-film coil and the lead layer to each other.