Thin film recording head with a buried coil providing a shortened yoke and improved dimension control

A system for storing and retrieving digital data to and from a magnetic recording media, comprising:

• a head assembly positionable adjacent the magnetic recording media comprising:
• a read head;
• and
• a write head comprising:
• a bottom magnetic pole having a recessed surface defining a bottom of a coil trench;
• a write gap layer deposited on the upper surface of first magnetic pole extending to cover at least a portion of the recessed surface;
• a top magnetic pole disposed above the first magnetic pole and the write gap layer including a first layer comprising a front pole tip and a back pole tip space apart with side walls defining side walls of the coil trench, wherein the pole tips each include an upper surface distal to the first magnetic pole with the upper surfaces being substantially coplanar;
• a pole-coil separator disposed over the recessed surface of the bottom magnetic pole and over the side walls of the top pole tips;
• an electrically conducting coil with elements disposed on the pole cover layer between the top pole tips;
• and
• an insulator covering the coil and filling gaps between the coil elements and the top pole tips;
• and
• a drive device for coupling to the media so as to move the media with respect to the head assembly.

A method of fabricating a thin film write head, comprising:

• forming a first magnetic pole with an upper surface;
• removing a portion of the upper surface to create a bottom of a coil trench;
• depositing a layer of write gap material on the upper surface of the first magnetic pole and at least a portion of the bottom of the coil trench;
• forming a first layer of a second magnetic pole, wherein the first layer includes a front pole tip and a back pole tip each having interior side walls substantially perpendicular to the upper surface of the magnetic pole and being space apart so as to define sides of the coil trench;
• depositing a film of insulating material over the side walls of the pole tips and the bottom of the coil trench;
• and
• forming an electrically conducting coil with coil insulation materials upon the deposited film of insulating material, the coil insulation materials filling the coil trench.