Spin valve head with exchange bias stabilized free layer
AssigneeSeagate Technology LLC
InventorsSining Mao, Zheng Gao, Anuja Goyal
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A spin valve head according to the present invention includes a spin valve stack having a free layer, a first spacer layer, a pinned layer and a pinning layer. The spin valve head includes a first shield and a second shield coupled to opposing sides of the spin valve stack. The first shield has a concave shape and substantially surrounds the free layer. The spin valve head also includes a second spacer layer and a layer of antiferromagnetic material. The second spacer layer is formed on the free layer. The layer of antiferromagnetic material is formed on the second spacer layer.
Claims15
A spin valve head having an air bearing surface (ABS), the spin valve head comprising:
- a top shield and a bottom shield, each shield having a first and a second outer region separated by a central region at the ABS;
- a first insulation layer positioned adjacent to the top shield;
- a second insulation layer positioned adjacent to the bottom shield;
- and
- a spin valve stack coupled between the top and the bottom shields in the central region, the spin valve head having a smaller shield-to-shield spacing at the outer regions than at the central region.
A spin valve head comprising:
- a spin valve stack including a free layer, a first spacer layer, a pinned layer and a pinning layer;
- a first shield and a second shield, the first shield and the second shield positioned on opposing sides of the spin valve stack, the first shield having a concave shape and substantially surrounding the free layer;
- a first and a second contact coupled to opposing sides of the spin valve stack, the first and the second contacts each decreasing in thickness with increasing distance from the spin valve stack;
- and
- stabilization means for stabilizing the free layer and controlling the sensitivity thereof, the stabilization means positioned within the spin valve stack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.