METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING A SIDE SHIELD FOR A PERPENDICULAR MAGNETIC RECORDING POLE

1 . A method for fabricating a magnetic transducer having an intermediate layer and an air-bearing surface (ABS), the method comprising:

providing a pole on the intermediate layer, the pole having a plurality of sides, a bottom, a top wider than the bottom and a leading bevel proximate to an ABS location;

providing a side gap adjacent to at least the plurality of sides of the pole;

providing a bottom antireflective coating (BARC) layer on the intermediate layer, the BARC layer being removable using a wet etchant and adjacent to at least a portion of the side gap;

providing a mask layer on the BARC layer;

photolithographically transferring a pattern into the mask layer, forming a shield mask;

exposing a portion of the BARC layer to the wet etchant such that the plurality of sides of the pole and the side gap are free of the BARC layer;

providing at least a side shield, the side shield being magnetic.

2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

depositing a gap layer on at least the pole and the side gap.

3 . The method of claim 2 wherein the step of providing the at least the side shield further includes:

providing a magnetic top shield.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the BARC layer is developable.

5 . The method of claim 4 wherein the BARC layer includes ARC DS-K101.

6 . The method of claim 4 wherein the wet etchant is a developer

7 . The method of claim 6 wherein the step of photolithographically transferring the pattern further includes:

exposing a portion of the mask layer to light; and

removing the portion of the mask layer using the developer.

8 . The method of claim 6 wherein the step of exposing the BARC layer to the wet etchant is performed as part of the step of photolithographically transferring the pattern.

9 . The method of claim 2 wherein the BARC layer is not more than one hundred nanometers thick.

11 . The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing the at least the side shield layer further includes:

plating at least one shield layer.

12 . The method of claim 1 wherein the pole is a perpendicular magnetic recording write pole.

13 . The method of claim 1 wherein the portion of the BARC layer exposed to the wet etchant is uncovered by the shield mask.

14 . A method for fabricating a perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) transducer having an intermediate layer and an air-bearing surface (ABS), the method comprising:

providing a PMR pole on the intermediate layer, the PMR pole having a plurality of sides, a bottom, a top wider than the bottom and a leading bevel proximate to an ABS location;

providing a side gap adjacent to at least the plurality of sides of the pole, the side gap being nonmagnetic;

spin coating a developable bottom antireflective coating (BARC) layer on the intermediate layer, the developable BARC layer being removable using a developer and having a thickness of not more than one hundred nanometers;

spin coating a mask layer on the BARC layer;

exposing a portion of the mask layer to light;

exposing the transducer to the developer, the portion of the mask layer and a portion of the BARC layer being removed by the developer, forming a shield mask and removing any portion of the BARC layer from the plurality of sides of the PMR pole and the side gap layer;

providing a magnetic side shield;

deposit a nonmagnetic gap layer on at least the PMR pole and the side gap; and

providing a magnetic top shield, the nonmagnetic gap layer residing between the PMR pole and the magnetic top shield.