Magnetic recording head having a sensor stack disposed along a stripe-height direction
AssigneeSeagate Technology LLC
InventorsVictor B. Sapozhnikov, Mohammed Shariat Ullah Patwari, Taras Grigorievich Pokhil
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Abstract
A magnetic recording head having a reader that includes a sensor stack with a free layer and a reference layer disposed above the free layer in the stripe-height direction. A method includes applying a current through the sensor stack while the magnetic recording head is positioned adjacent to a data track of a magnetic storage medium that is rotating, detecting a change in resistance in the sensor stack in response to a magnetic field of the magnetic storage medium; and processing the change in resistance in the sensor stack into data.
Claims20
A magnetic recording head having an air-bearing surface, wherein the magnetic recording head comprises a reader having at least one sensor stack, wherein the at least one sensor stack comprises:
- a free layer having an air-bearing-surface side and a side opposite to the air-bearing surface side, wherein the free layer has a magnetization direction that is free to rotate in response to an external magnetic field associated with recorded data on a magnetic storage medium;
- and
- at least one reference layer disposed above the side opposite the air-bearing surface side in a stripe-height direction, wherein the reference layer has a magnetization direction that is substantially fixed against rotation in response to the external magnetic field associated with recorded data on the magnetic storage medium, wherein the at least one reference layer has a first side and a second side opposite to the first side, wherein the first side faces the side opposite to the air-bearing surface side of the free layer, and wherein the at least one sensor stack is disposed along a stripe-height direction from the free layer.
A method comprising:
- applying a current through a sensor stack of a reader in a magnetic recording head having an air-bearing surface, wherein the sensor stack comprises:
- a free layer having an air-bearing surface side and a side opposite to the air-bearing surface side, wherein the free layer has a magnetization direction that is free to rotate in response to an external magnetic field associated with recorded data on a magnetic storage medium;
- and
- at least one reference layer disposed above the side opposite the air-bearing surface side in a stripe-height direction, wherein the reference layer has a magnetization direction that is substantially fixed against rotation in response to the external magnetic field associated with recorded data on the magnetic storage medium, wherein the at least one reference layer has a first side and a second side opposite to the first side, wherein the first side faces the side opposite to the air-bearing surface side of the free layer, and wherein applying the current occurs while the magnetic recording head is positioned adjacent to a data track of the magnetic storage medium that is rotating;
- detecting a change in resistance in the sensor stack in response to a magnetic field of the magnetic storage medium;
- and
- processing the change in resistance in the sensor stack into data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.