A perpendicular magnetic recording write head has a write pole, a trapezoidal-shaped trailing shield notch, and a metal gap layer between the write pole and notch. The write pole has a trailing edge that has a width substantially defining the track width and that faces the front edge of the notch but is spaced from it by the gap layer. The write head is fabricated by reactive ion beam etching of a thin mask film above the write pole to remove the mask film and widen the opening at the edges of the write pole. The gap layer and notch are deposited into the widened opening above the write pole. The write pole has nonmagnetic filler material, such as alumina, surrounding it except at its trailing edge, where it is in contact with the gap layer, which is formed of a different material than the surrounding filler material.