Patent ID: 8171618

Claim:
A method of forming a write pole for a magnetic recording device, comprising: providing a layer of magnetic material covered with a secondary hard mask layer and a patterned primary hard mask; a first milling step comprising milling at a first milling angle to transfer a pattern from the patterned primary hard mask to the secondary hard mask; a second milling step comprising milling at a second milling angle to transfer the pattern from the secondary hard mask to the layer of magnetic material to form the write pole, wherein the second milling angle is greater than the first milling angle; a third milling step comprising milling at a third milling angle to adjust a side wall angle of the write pole to about a desired side wall angle; and a fourth milling step comprising milling at a fourth milling angle to reduce a track width of the write pole to a desired track width, wherein the fourth milling angle is configured to maximize a rate of change of the track width while minimizing a rate of change of the side wall angle.