Thin film magnetic head, method of manufacturing the same and magnetic recording apparatus

A method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head,

• the thin film magnetic head comprising:
• a thin film coil generating magnetic flux, and
• a pole layer comprising a laminate including a main pole layer having a plane shape including a uniform width region with a uniform width determining a recording track width of a recording medium and a widening width region with a larger width than the uniform width region, and having an end surface exposed to a recording-medium-facing surface facing the recording medium, an auxiliary pole layer being disposed so as to face a part of the main pole layer, and a non-magnetic layer being disposed in a region where the main pole layer and the auxiliary pole layer face each other so as to be sandwiched between these two layers, and the pole layer emitting the magnetic flux generated in the thin film coil to the recording medium,
• wherein a first mask layer to become a mask determining the widening width region and a second mask layer to become a mask determining the uniform width region are independently formed through separate steps, and
• the formation of the pole layer is completed through a series of patterning steps by use of the first mask layer and the second mask layer.

A magnetic recording apparatus, comprising:

• a recording medium;
• and
• a thin film magnetic head magnetically recording information on the recording medium,
• wherein the thin film magnetic head comprises a thin film coil generating magnetic flux and a pole layer emitting the magnetic flux generated in the thin film coil to the recording medium, and
• the pole layer comprises a laminate including a main pole layer having an end surface exposed to a recording-medium-facing surface facing the recording medium, an auxiliary pole layer being disposed so as to face a part of the main pole layer, and a non-magnetic layer being disposed in a region where the main pole layer and the auxiliary pole layer face each other so as to be sandwiched between these two layers.