G11B 5/31
Using thin films
Official title: using thin films {(G11B5/1274, G11B5/1278, G11B5/1874, G11B5/1875, G11B5/33, G11B5/49 take precedence; magnetic thin film structures H01F10/00)}
G11B5/31 (Using thin films) appears on 7,587 US grants and 5,067 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in G11B- Granted patents
- 7,587
- Published applications
- 5,067
- Assignees
- 448
- Inventors
- 5,760
- Latest grant
- 6 Oct 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 8 | 0 |
| 1977 | 8 | 0 |
| 1978 | 9 | 0 |
| 1979 | 6 | 0 |
| 1980 | 15 | 0 |
| 1981 | 10 | 0 |
| 1982 | 12 | 0 |
| 1983 | 17 | 0 |
| 1984 | 18 | 0 |
| 1985 | 18 | 0 |
| 1986 | 27 | 0 |
| 1987 | 53 | 0 |
| 1988 | 37 | 0 |
| 1989 | 53 | 0 |
| 1990 | 62 | 0 |
| 1991 | 59 | 0 |
| 1992 | 69 | 0 |
| 1993 | 63 | 0 |
| 1994 | 67 | 0 |
| 1995 | 65 | 0 |
| 1996 | 84 | 0 |
| 1997 | 124 | 0 |
| 1998 | 177 | 0 |
| 1999 | 203 | 0 |
| 2000 | 205 | 0 |
| 2001 | 233 | 121 |
| 2002 | 263 | 302 |
| 2003 | 281 | 285 |
| 2004 | 323 | 367 |
| 2005 | 229 | 303 |
| 2006 | 311 | 303 |
| 2007 | 249 | 290 |
| 2008 | 242 | 369 |
| 2009 | 224 | 315 |
| 2010 | 244 | 261 |
| 2011 | 334 | 259 |
| 2012 | 422 | 241 |
| 2013 | 449 | 233 |
| 2014 | 358 | 232 |
| 2015 | 403 | 268 |
| 2016 | 295 | 164 |
| 2017 | 235 | 127 |
| 2018 | 190 | 108 |
| 2019 | 167 | 101 |
| 2020 | 166 | 78 |
| 2021 | 128 | 67 |
| 2022 | 98 | 61 |
| 2023 | 97 | 52 |
| 2024 | 77 | 73 |
| 2025 | 67 | 49 |
| 2026 | 33 | 38 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Subgroups
Granted patents
- G11B 5/3109Details5,537
- G11B 5/3163Fabrication methods or processes specially adapted for a particular head structure3,330
- G11B 5/3103Structure or manufacture of integrated heads or heads mechanically assembled and electrically1,371
- G11B 5/3176Structure of heads comprising at least in the transducing gap regions two189
- G11B 5/3189Testing70
Recent patents
- Hard disk drive and write heads having refilled structures at side edges of an assist device6 Oct 2026US 12,755,755 B1Headway Technologies, Inc.
- Write head designs with refill materials on a back edge of an assist device for improved write head reliability and performance6 Oct 2026US 12,755,756 B1Headway Technologies, Inc.
- Magnetic flux guiding device with spin torque oscillator (STO) film having negative spin polarization layers in assisted writing application8 Sep 2026US 12,731,605 B2Headway Technologies, Inc.
- Magneto-resistive reader utilizing read shields to maintain reference layer magnetization25 Aug 2026US 12,718,839 B2Headway Technologies, Inc.
- Perpendicular magnetic recording writer with tunable pole side bridge design11 Aug 2026US 12,706,113 B2Headway Technologies, Inc.
- Ferroelectric storage apparatus and method of reading information8 Oct 2026US 2026/0311721 A1Resonac Hard Disk Corporation
- Magnetic head and magnetic recording device24 Sep 2026US 2026/0290385 A1Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
- Magnetic sensor and magnetic recording device17 Sep 2026US 2026/0279389 A1Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
- Tapered Magnetic Main Pole Structure With Variable Peg Gap For Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording Technology17 Sep 2026US 2026/0279390 A1Headway Technologies, Inc.
- Magnetic recording device10 Sep 2026US 2026/0268928 A1Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Most cited
By later US patents
- Electronic device using magnetic components385US 5,695,864 AInternational Business Machines Corporation · 1997
- Reactive ion beam etching method and a thin film head fabricated using the method287US 6,238,582 B1Veeco Instruments Inc. · 2001
- Antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic exchange bias films230US 4,103,315 AInternational Business Machines Corporation · 1978
- Read/write head with shifted waveguide218US 6,016,290 ARead-Rite Corporation · 2000
- Magnetoresistive sensor and head216US 6,153,062 AAlps Electric Co., Ltd. · 2000