Current in plane magnetoresistive sensor having a contiguous hard bias layer located at back edge of stripe height
AssigneeHitachi Global Storage Technologies
InventorsHardayal Gill, Kuok Ho
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A current in plane giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor having a hard bias layer that extends along the back edge (strip height) of the sensor rather than from the sides of the sensor. The hard bias layer preferably extends beyond the track width of the sensor. Electrically conductive leads, which may be a highly conductive material such as Cu, Rh or Au, or may be an electrically conductive magnetic material extend from the sides of the sensor stack. The bias layer is separated from the sensor stack and from the leads by thin layer of electrically conductive material, thereby preventing current shunting through the hard bias layer.
Claims12
A current in plane giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor for use in magnetic data recording, the sensor comprising:
- first and second non-magnetic, electrically insulating gap layers;
- a sensor stack sandwiched between and contacting the first and second gap layers, the sensor stack including a magnetic free layer, a magnetic pinned layer structure and a non-magnetic spacer layer sandwiched between the free layer and pinned layer structure, the sensor stack having first and second laterally opposed sides that define a track width, the sensor stack also having an ABS surface and a back edge surface opposite the ABS surface and extending between the first and second laterally opposed sides;
- first and second non-magnetic electrically conductive leads extending laterally from the first and second sides of the sensor stack, each lead extending substantially from the first gap layer to the second gap layer;
- and
- a hard magnetic bias layer extending along the length of the back edge of the sensor stack between the first and second gap layers, the hard bias layer being separated from the sensor stack by a layer of electrically insulating material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.