Method and system for providing a perpendicular magnetic recording head utilizing a mask having an undercut line

1. A method for providing a PMR pole in a magnetic recording transducer including an intermediate layer, the method comprising:

providing a mask on the intermediate layer, the mask including a line having at least one side, a top, and a bottom, the at least one side having an undercut such that the top is wider than the bottom;

providing a hard mask on the PMR transducer, the hard mask including an aperture corresponding to the line;

forming a trench in the intermediate layer under the aperture, the trench having a bottom and a top wider than the bottom; and

providing a PMR pole, at least a portion of the PMR pole residing in the trench.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing the hard mask further includes:

removing the line without removing all of the hard mask, thereby providing the aperture in the hard mask corresponding to the line.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the removing the line further includes:

performing a lift-off.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the line includes a photoresist line.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the mask is a bi-layer mask.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the bi-layer mask includes a photoresist layer and a polydimethylglutarimide layer on the photoresist layer.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of forming the trench further includes:

performing at least one reactive ion etch to remove a portion of the intermediate layer.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing a nonmagnetic layer in the trench, at least a portion of the nonmagnetic layer residing in the trench, the PMR pole residing on the nonmagnetic layer.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing a planarization stop layer under the line.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of providing the PMR pole further includes:

plating a PMR pole layer; and

performing a planarization.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing the PMR pole further includes:

providing a seed layer for the PMR pole layer.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the top of the PMR pole has a width of not more than one hundred fifty nanometers.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the width is not more than one hundred nanometers.

14. A method for providing a magnetic recording transducer including an intermediate layer, the method comprising:

providing a planarization layer on the intermediate layer;

providing a bi-layer mask on the planarization layer, the bi-layer mask including a line having at least one side, a top, and a bottom, the at least one side having an undercut such that the top is wider than the bottom;

providing a hard mask layer on the bi-layer mask;

performing a lift-off to remove the line to form an aperture in the hard mask layer;

performing a reactive ion etch to form an additional aperture in the planarization layer and a trench in the intermediate layer under the aperture, the trench having a bottom and a top wider than the bottom;

providing the PMR pole layer; and

performing a planarization on the PMR pole layer to form a PMR pole, at least a portion of the PMR pole residing in the trench.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

providing a nonmagnetic layer in the trench, at least a portion of the nonmagnetic layer residing in the trench.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of providing the PMR pole further includes:

providing a seed layer on the nonmagnetic layer.