Air bearing thin film magnetic head with a wear-resistant end cap having alternating laminations

An air bearing thin film magnetic head for use in a disk drive comprising:

• a substrate having an air bearing surface and a trailing end surface disposed normal to said air bearing surface;
• a magnetic recording transducer deposited on said trailing end surface, said transducer including first and second magnetic pole piece layers forming a magnetic yoke, each of said pole piece layers being formed of a nickel-iron alloy or Permalloy;
• and
• an end cap deposited over said trailing end surface and said transducer for providing wear resistance and for protecting said transducer from damage and wear, the structure of said end cap being formed with a stack of alternating laminations of different materials, wherein said laminations are formed of materials other than nickel-iron or Permalloy, said lamination materials having substantially closely matched thermal coefficients of expansion.

A magnetic tape head assembly comprising:

• a nonmagnetic substrate;
• a first end cap deposited over said substrate for providing wear resistance;
• a read/write transducer formed over said first end cap, said transducer including first and second magnetic pole piece layers forming a magnetic yoke, each of said pole piece layers being formed of a nickel-iron alloy or Permalloy;
• a second end cap deposited over said read/write transducer, said first and second end caps being formed as laminated structures with alternating laminations of different materials including layers of wear resistant materials, said first and second end caps being formed without nickel-iron or Permalloy.