Thin film magnetic head and process for producing same

摘要

A plan or vertical type thin film magnetic head is produced by a process comprising the steps of: forming a gap separator layer of a non-magnetic material on the surface of a substrate, while the forming process is not limited to plating; forming a mask layer on the gap layer; patterning the mask layer to form a shield; etching the gap layer, while the shield functions as a mask, thereby forming a gap wall having a width narrower than that of the shield independent of the resolution degree of the resist; forming a magnetic pole layer of a soft magnetic material on the surface of the substrate by exposing the resist at a time, thereby the formed magnetic pole layer being separated by the gap wall; and, utilizing the gap wall as a magnetic pole gap of the magnetic pole layer.