Plating based side shield define and application in magnetic head
A magnetic recording head having air bearing surface (ABS) includes a main pole, a side shield laterally spaced from the main pole by a first side gap and a second side gap, an electrically conductive non-magnetic gap material layer disposed between the main pole and the side shield in the first side gap, and a dielectric non-magnetic gap material matrix and a conformal dielectric spacer layer disposed between the main pole and the side shield in the second side gap.
1. A magnetic recording head having an air bearing surface (ABS), comprising:
a main pole;
a side shield laterally spaced from the main pole by a first side gap and a second side gap;
an electrically conductive non-magnetic gap material layer;
a dielectric layer; and
a dielectric non-magnetic gap material matrix disposed between the main pole and a second portion of the side shield in the second side gap;
wherein:
a first portion of the side shield is located between the second portion of the side shield and the ABS;
a straight first throat height sidewall of the side shield is parallel to the ABS and is laterally offset from the ABS by a first throat height;
the first throat height sidewall is located between the first and the second portions of the side shield;
a pair of second throat height sidewalls of the side shield are parallel to the ABS and are laterally offset from the ABS by a second throat height which is greater than the first throat height;
only the electrically conductive non-magnetic gap material layer is located in the first side gap between the main pole and the first portion of the side shield; and
the electrically conductive non-magnetic gap material layer and the dielectric layer are located in the second side gap between the main pole and the second portion of the side shield; and
the dielectric layer comprises a conformal dielectric spacer layer that comprises a material that is different in composition from the dielectric non-magnetic gap material matrix.
2. The magnetic recording head of claim 1 , wherein:
the conformal dielectric spacer layer comprises silicon oxide; and
the dielectric non-magnetic gap material matrix comprises aluminum oxide.
3. The magnetic recording head of claim 1 , wherein:
the conformal dielectric spacer layer is located adjacent to the side shield in the second side gap; and
the dielectric non-magnetic gap material matrix is located between the conformal dielectric spacer and the electrically conductive non-magnetic gap material layer in the second side gap.
4. The magnetic recording head of claim 3 , further comprising:
a leading-edge plate located on a side of the main pole and having a planar interface with a planar portion of the conformal dielectric spacer layer within a two-dimensional plane that is perpendicular to the ABS; and
a seed layer located between the side shield and the leading-edge plate, and having an extent that is bounded by the conformal dielectric spacer layer and the ABS,
wherein the conformal dielectric spacer layer further comprises a sidewall portion that extends along directions that are perpendicular to the planar interface between the leading-edge plate and the planar portion of the conformal dielectric spacer layer, and wherein the conformal dielectric spacer layer contains a recess region through which the electrically conductive non-magnetic gap material layer and the main pole extend toward the ABS.