Method for manufacturing perpendicular magnetic recording transducers

A method for manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic recording transducer comprising:

• providing a metallic underlayer;
• providing an insulator, at least a portion of the insulator being on the metallic underlayer;
• providing a stop layer, wherein the stop layer has a first aperture therein;
• forming a trench in the insulator, the trench having a top, a bottom narrower than the top, and sides, the bottom of the trench including a portion of the metallic underlayer, the trench being formed under the first aperture;
• providing a nonmagnetic seed layer after the stop layer is provided, the nonmagnetic seed layer substantially covering at least the bottom and sides of the trench;
• plating a perpendicular magnetic pole material on at least a portion of the seed layer,
• removing a portion of the perpendicular magnetic pole material, a remaining portion of the perpendicular magnetic pole material forming a perpendicular magnetic recording pole, at least a portion of the nonmagnetic seed layer being removed during the removing of the portion of the perpendicular magnetic pole material, the stop layer being a stop for the removing step;
• the method further comprising providing a metal mask on the stop layer, the metal mask having a second aperture therein, the second aperture having a same size as and being aligned with the first aperture.

A method for manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic recording transducer comprising:

• providing a metallic underlayer;
• providing an insulator on the metallic underlayer;
• providing a stop layer on the insulator;
• providing a metal mask layer on the stop layer;
• removing a portion of the metal mask layer and the stop layer to form a first aperture in the stop layer and the second aperture in the metal mask layer;
• forming a trench in the insulator under the first aperture and the second aperture, the trench having a top, a bottom narrower than the top, and sides, the bottom of the trench including a portion of the metallic underlayer, the top of the trench having a width of not more than 0.28 micron;
• providing a nonmagnetic seed layer, the nonmagnetic seed layer substantially covering at least the bottom and sides of the trench, the nonmagnetic seed layer having a thickness of not more than five hundred Angstroms;
• plating a perpendicular magnetic pole material on at least a portion of the seed layer,
• performing a chemical mechanical polish (CMP) to remove a portion of the perpendicular magnetic pole material, a remaining portion of the perpendicular magnetic pole material forming a perpendicular magnetic recording pole, a portion of the nonmagnetic seed layer being removed by the CMP, the stop layer being a stop layer for the CMP.