Hard disk drive with magnetoresistive head and perpendicular media

An information storage system comprising:

• a rigid disk having a major surface and an associated magnetic media layer with an easy axis of magnetization oriented substantially perpendicular to said major surface, said disk spinning at greater than one thousand revolutions per minute, and
• a microscopic transducer having a disk-facing surface including a plurality of protuberances, said transducer including a magnetoresistive layer and a conductive coil that is inductively coupled to a loop of magnetically coupled material having a pair of poletips that are encased by one of said protuberances adjacent to said disk,
• wherein said one protuberance is disposed in dynamic contact with said major surface, such that a magnetic signal transmitted from said media to said transducer has a component directed perpendicular to said major surface and a component directed parallel to said major surface, and said magnetoresistive layer predominantly senses said component directed perpendicular to said major surface.

An information storage system comprising:

• a rigid disk having a major surface and an associated magnetic media layer, said disk spinning at greater than one thousand revolutions per minute, and
• a plank-shaped body having a disk-facing surface, said disk-facing surface including a plurality of protuberances and said body including a magnetoresistive read circuit and an inductive write circuit, such that said write circuit is coupled to a pair of magnetic layers each having a poletip that is encased in one of said protuberances adjacent to said disk, said poletips being separated by a submicron amagnetic gap, wherein said protuberance contacts said major surface amid communication between said poletips and said media,
• wherein a magnetic signal from said media layer crosses said major surface with a component parallel to said major surface and a component perpendicular to said major surface, and said magnetoresistive read circuit senses said perpendicular component more than said parallel component.