Method of making a PMR writer with graded side shield

A method of forming a pole tip shielded by a graded side shield, comprising:

• providing a substrate;
• forming on said substrate a dielectric bilayer having a lower dielectric layer of a first material and a first thickness and an upper dielectric layer of a second material and a second thickness;
• using a first etch process, creating a first cavity in said bilayer, wherein said first cavity has an upper opening at the upper surface of said bilayer and a lower opening at an upper surface of said substrate, wherein said lower opening is narrower than said upper opening and wherein said first cavity is formed with a vertical cross-section having diminishing horizontal width in a downward vertical direction towards said substrate, and wherein said first cavity is substantially mirror symmetric about a vertical bisector of said upper opening;
• then
• coating the interior of said first cavity with a non-magnetic metallic coating of uniform width, wherein said coating creates a second cavity within said first cavity, wherein said second cavity is substantially congruent to said first cavity;
• then
• filling said second cavity with a magnetic material, forming thereby a main magnetic pole;
• then
• planarizing said upper surface of said dielectric bilayer, thereby removing excess of said magnetic material;
• then
• optionally milling an upper surface of said main magnetic pole to form a tapered edge in a direction transverse to said vertical cross-section;
• then
• using a photomasking and second etch process, etching vertically downward, at an angle α to the vertical, to said substrate to remove all portions of said dielectric bilayer laterally disposed from said first cavity to expose said substrate, leaving a small residual portion of said bilayer extending laterally outward from each side of said first cavity and extending downward to said substrate;
• then
• using a third etch process, removing said upper dielectric layer of said residual portion, exposing, thereby an upper portion of said non-magnetic metallic layer;
• then
• depositing a layer of write gap material to conformally cover the fabrication;
• then
• plating a blanket layer of magnetic material over said write gap layer, whereby said blanket layer of magnetic material creates a shield having a conformal upper portion and a graded side portion.