Fabricating narrow and trapezoidal main poles for single-pole-type heads

We investigated the fabrication processes used for perpendicular recording heads. To solve the problem of side write/erase on adjacent tracks, it is necessary to develop a trapezoidal main pole for single-pole-type heads. We therefore proposed a fabrication process using ion milling and an alumina hard mask for a sputtered film. We successfully made a narrow (120-nm wide) trapezoidal main pole using the process. The beveled angle of the pole depended on both the throat height and the angle at the flare point. When the flare point angle was 90°, the beveled angles of the trapezoid were about 10°. Evaluation data confirmed that perpendicular recording heads with a trapezoidal main pole solved the side write/erase problem.