MAGNETORESISTIVE THIN FILM MAGNETIC HEAD AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin film magnetic head having an upper gap insulating part formed by using a thin film having a uniform and highly uniform film thickness and ensuring excellent insulation between an electrode lead layer and an upper shielding layer, in a reproducing head having a narrow track width and a narrow gap length for reproducing recorded signals having a short wavelength suitable for the higher recording density and to provide a method for manufacturing the thin film magnetic head. SOLUTION: Thin films are layered on a GMR element film to form an upper gap insulating film and it is scraped by milling or the like to form a GMR element and at the same time the upper gap insulating part is formed integrally. And an upper gap insulating layer having a film thickness thicker than that of the upper gap insulating part is formed on the electrode lead layers positioned on both the left and the right sides of the GMR element. Therefore, the thin film magnetic head can be obtained, wherein a reproducing gap length can be reduced while the insulation between the electrode lead layer and the upper shielding layer are excellently ensured and the recording density can be enhanced.