Abstract: A magnetic head including a media heating device that is fabricated within the magnetic head structure. The media heating device includes an electrically resistive element that is fabricated above the first magnetic pole layer close to the ABS surface of the head. A P1 pole pedestal is fabricated above the heating element. Electrical insulation layers are fabricated beneath and above the heating element to prevent electrical shorting to the P1 pole layer and the P1 pole pedestal that are disposed beneath and above the heating element, respectively.

Abstract: A method is described for making a merged thin film read/write head where a common layer serves as both a magnetic shield for the magentoresistive read element and the first pole piece for the inductive write element, and where the first pole piece thus includes a pedestal pole tip portion that extends up from the first pole piece layer. During fabrication a nonmagnetic spacer layer is deposited over the second pole tip and the gap layer, and then reactive ion etching (RIE) removes the spacer layer from the top of the second pole tip and the gap layer not beneath the second pole piece, but leaves the spacer layer on the sidewalls of the second pole tip. The ion bombardment of the RIE process is perpendicular to the gap layer and is continued after removal of the spacer layer to also remove the gap layer in the region not beneath the second pole piece so that the first pole piece layer is exposed.