Patent ID: 7140095

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head comprising a thin film coil for generating a magnetic flux and 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, comprising: a first step of forming a first photoresist layer in a pattern so as to have a shape in plan view corresponding to a shape in plan view of the magnetic pole layer; a second step of forming a first gap layer so as to cover the first photoresist layer and a peripheral region of the first photoresist layer; a third step of forming a second photoresist layer so as to cover the first gap layer; a fourth step of exposing the first photoresist layer by etching at least the second photoresist layer and the first gap layer halfway; a fifth step of removing the first and second photoresist layers to thereby form a magnetic pole formation region surrounded by the first gap layer in a region from which the first photoresist layer is removed; a sixth step of forming the magnetic pole layer in a pattern in the magnetic pole formation region so as to extend from a recording medium facing surface which faces the recording medium in the direction away from the recording medium facing surface; a seventh step of forming a second gap layer in a pattern on the magnetic pole layer to thereby surround the magnetic pole layer from three directions of a medium outflow direction in the medium travel direction and two side directions orthogonal to the medium outflow direction by the first and second gap layers; and an eighth step of forming a magnetic shield layer in a pattern on the first and second gap layers so as to extend from the recording medium facing surface in the direction away from the recording medium facing surface and to surround the magnetic pole tip portion of the magnetic pole layer from the three directions.