Multichannel magnetic head

A multichannel magnetic head means comprising:

• magnetic circuit means including a gap for detecting a magnetic flux and adapted to lead said magnetic flux;
• an amorphous magnetic thin film held in said gap and consisting essentially of an alloy containing a rare earth element and a transition metal, said thin film having a single pair of current terminals and a plurality of Hall voltage terminals;
• said amorphous thin film being arranged such that its surface is positioned substantially normal to the direction of the magnetic flux to be detected, and the composition ratio of said rare earth element is selected to be within a range of from about 10 to about 40 atomic percent so that said amorphous thin film has a magnetic anisotropy in a direction substantially normal to the surface thereof;
• current leading means connected to said single pair of current terminals for leading a biasing current of said thin film along said gap;
• the spacing between adjacent ones of said Hall voltage terminals for outputting said Hall voltage being more than about four times the width of said amorphous thin film so that crosstalk between channels due to domain wall motion is substantially eliminated;
• said magnetic circuit means comprising a first ferromagnetic block and a second ferromagnetic block, each of said first and second ferromagnetic blocks having one or more ferromagnetic shielding portions which are sandwiched between non-magnetic portions arranged on said magnetic circuit means, said magnetic circuit means of said first ferromagnetic block being face to face with said magnetic circuit means of said second ferromagnetic block, and said first and second ferromagnetic blocks holding said amorphous magnetic thin film therebetween;
• and
• voltage outputting means connected to said Hall voltage terminals for outputting a Hall voltage for each channel corresponding to said magnetic flux, said voltage outputting means being provided in the corresponding number to the channels of said head and extending parallel to the direction in which said biasing current flows.