Method and system for providing a side shield for a perpendicular magnetic recording pole

A method for fabricating a perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) transducer having an intermediate layer and an air-bearing surface (ABS), the method comprising:

• providing a PMR pole on the intermediate layer, the PMR pole having a plurality of sides, a bottom, a top wider than the bottom and a leading bevel proximate to an ABS location;
• providing a side gap adjacent to at least the plurality of sides of the pole, the side gap being nonmagnetic;
• spin coating a developable bottom antireflective coating (BARC) layer on the intermediate layer, the developable BARC layer being removable using a developer and having a thickness of not more than one hundred nanometers;
• spin coating a mask layer on the BARC layer;
• exposing a portion of the mask layer to light;
• exposing the transducer to the developer, the portion of the mask layer and a portion of the BARC layer being removed by the developer, forming a shield mask and removing any portion of the BARC layer from the plurality of sides of the PMR pole and the side gap layer;
• providing a magnetic side shield;
• deposit a nonmagnetic gap layer on at least the PMR pole and the side gap;
• and
• providing a magnetic top shield, the nonmagnetic gap layer residing between the PMR pole and the magnetic top shield.