Method for providing a side shield for a magnetic recording transducer

A method for fabricating a side shield for a magnetic transducer having a nonmagnetic layer, a pole, a gap layer, and a hard mask having a hard mask aperture therein, the pole having sidewalls and an air-bearing surface location (ABS location) corresponding to an air-bearing surface (ABS), the gap layer residing between the sidewalls of the pole and a portion of the nonmagnetic layer, a first portion of the hard mask residing on the pole, a second portion of the hard mask residing on a portion of nonmagnetic layer, the hard mask aperture residing between the first portion and the second portion of the hard mask, the method comprising the sequential steps of:

• providing a removal mask having a removal aperture therein, the removal aperture exposing a portion of the pole proximate to the ABS location and a first portion of the aperture, the removal mask covering a second portion of the aperture in a track width direction from the ABS location of the pole and covering the second portion of the hard mask, the removal aperture having a back edge and a front edge, the front edge of the removal aperture forming a canted region having an angle canted from the ABS;
• wet etching a first portion of the nonmagnetic layer exposed by the removal aperture, forming a side shield trench in the nonmagnetic layer, the side shield trench including a canted trench region corresponding to the canted region of the removal mask;
• removing the removal mask;
• depositing a seed layer for the side shield;
• providing a side shield deposition mask having a deposition aperture therein, the deposition aperture exposing a portion of the side shield trench and a portion of the nonmagnetic layer in the track width direction from the ABS location of the pole, the deposition aperture having a deposition aperture front edge and a deposition aperture back edge, at least a portion of the deposition aperture front edge being further from the ABS than the front edge of the removal mask, at least a portion of the deposition aperture back edge being closer to the ABS than the back edge of the removal aperture, the deposition aperture back edge of the deposition mask defining a side shield throat height;
• depositing at least one side shield material, a portion of the side shield material residing in the deposition aperture;
• removing the side shield deposition mask;
• depositing an additional nonmagnetic layer;
• and
• planarizing the transducer to remove a portion of the side shield material external to the side shield trench, a remaining portion of the side shield material forming the side shield having a canted region defined by the removal mask and a throat height defined by the side shield deposition mask.