Method for providing side shields for a magnetic recording transducer

A method for fabricating a side shield for a magnetic transducer having a nonmagnetic layer and a pole on the nonmagnetic layer, the pole having sidewalls and an air-bearing surface location (ABS location) corresponding to an air-bearing surface (ABS), the method comprising:

• depositing at least one side shield seed layer;
• providing a developable bottom antireflective coating (D-BARC) layer covering the pole, at least a portion of the nonmagnetic layer, and at least part of the at least one side shield seed layer, the D-BARC layer being photosensitive and removable using a photoresist stripping process;
• providing a photoresist layer on the D-BARC layer;
• exposing to light a first portion of the photoresist layer and a first portion of the D-BARC, the photoresist layer and the D-BARC layer being sensitive to the light;
• exposing the D-BARC layer and the photoresist layer to developer after the step of exposing to the light, the developer removing the first portion of the D-BARC layer and the first portion of the photoresist layer to form a bi-layer mask having an aperture therein, a part of the first portion of the D-BARC layer residing under a second portion of the photoresist layer different from the first portion of the photoresist layer such that the bi-layer mask has an undercut at the aperture;
• plating at least one magnetic side shield layer, at least a portion of the at least one magnetic side shield layer residing in the aperture;
• and
• removing the bi-layer mask using the photoresist stripping process.