Method for manufacturing a floating type thin film magnetic head

A method for manufacturing a floating type thin film magnetic head which comprises the steps of:

• (a) depositing a large number of thin film transducers in a matrix form on a lapped plain surface of a core block stock;
• (b) cutting up the core block stock into a plurality of narrow parallelepiped core blocks each including a row of thin film transducers;
• (c) lapping the recording medium-facing lateral plane of the narrow parallelepiped core blocks so as to prepare a slider surface of connected heads;
• (d) covering the lapped recording medium-facing lateral plane of the core block with a thin film patterned mask;
• (e) ion-etching the lapped recording medium-facing lateral plane of the core block by irradiating accelerated ions of argon gas through the patterned mask to provide air-bearing surfaces each having a prescribed width, the ion-etching step comprising placing the core block in a bell-jar of a sputtering apparatus, introducing argon gas thereinto which contains hydrogen gas having a partial pressure of about 1.6.times.10.sup.-3 Torr, placing a moisture holding material in the bell-jar to substantially fix the content of residual moisture in the bell-jar, and supplying radio frequency electric power to the sputtering apparatus;
• (f) removing the patterned mask from the core block by a corrosive liquid;
• and
• (g) cutting up the processed core block into individual magnetic heads.