MR structures for high areal density reader by using side shields

A magnetoresistive (MR) sensor comprising:

• a plurality of generally parallel layers forming an MR stack;
• a top shield and a bottom shield spaced apart on opposite sides of the MR stack in a longitudinal direction;
• a first and a second side shield spaced apart on opposite sides of the MR stack in a transverse direction;
• and
• the top shield, bottom shield, first side shield and second side shield substantially surrounding the MR stack.

A magnetic storage system including a magnetic reader and a magnetic storage media, the magnetic storage media having multiple concentric microtracks having a width and having information stored thereon, the magnetic reader configured to travel relative to the microtracks in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the width of the microtracks, the magnetic reader further comprising:

• an MR stack;
• a top shield and a bottom shield spaced apart on opposite sides of the MR stack in a direction parallel to the direction of relative travel between the microtrack and the magnetic reader;
• a first and a second side shield spaced apart on opposite sides of the MR stack in a direction transverse to the direction of relative travel between the microtrack and the magnetic reader;
• and
• wherein the first and second side shields are located closer to the microtrack being read than they are to adjacent microtracks that are not being read.