High areal density thin film magnetic head

Thin film magnetic recording heads are used in the data storage industry for recording data onto narrow tracks on a magnetic medium. In a hard disk drive, a thin film head may be mounted to a head-gimbal-assembly which is used to position the head over concentric data tracks on a disk surface. Thin film heads may also be used with other magnetic medium types. A method of forming a thin film magnetic recording head includes forming a shared pole having a first pole tip, a first top pole segment having a second pole tip, and a write gap layer between the first pole tip and the second pole tip. A write coil can be formed after the first top pole segment and then a second top pole segment can be formed. The second top pole segment includes a connection to the first top pole segment and a connection to the shared pole. A thin film magnetic head includes a shared pole having a first pole tip, a first top pole segment having a second pole tip, a write gap layer positioned between the first pole tip and the second pole tip, a second top pole segment connected to the first top pole segment and to the shared pole, and a write coil positioned between the second top pole segment and the shared pole.