US Patent 7248436 Thin film magnetic head and method of manufacturing the same

Provided are a thin film magnetic head and a method of manufacturing the same, which can locally miniaturized a pole width with high accuracy. A thin film coil is provided in a region located more rearward than a position (a first position) of a rear end of a top shield layer. A position of a surface of an underlayer of a rearward region of a write gap layer, i.e., the region in which the thin film coil is to be formed is lower than a position of a surface of an underlayer of a frontward region. Thus, a height (μm) of an apex portion formed of an insulating film decreases. Thus, a top pole can be formed so that a tip portion has a local miniature uniform width. Therefore, the pole width can be locally miniaturized with high accuracy.