Curved trim profile for ABS trimmed inductive heads

This invention relates to recording heads, and particularly to inductive heads having magnetic poles separated by a trimmed gap. A slider includes a magnetic head having first and second magnetic poles separated by a gap. A recess in the air-bearing surface extends into at least the first magnetic pole and has a first portion having a length parallel to the gap length to define a gap width orthogonal to the gap length. The first portion of the recess has a curved depth defining a curved profile along its length. In one embodiment, the recess has a second portion having a length orthogonal to the gap length and a depth defining a curved profile along its length.