Thin seeded Co/Ni multilayer film with perpendicular anisotropy for read head sensor stabilization

A magnetic read head, comprising:

• (a) a bottom shield having a top surface;
• (b) a sensor element having a plurality of layers including a free layer formed therein, said sensor element has a top surface, sidewalls, and contacts the top surface of the bottom shield;
• (c) a metal oxide, metal nitride, or metal oxinitride isolation layer formed on the top surface of the bottom shield in regions adjacent to the sensor element and along the sidewalls of the sensor element;
• (d) a composite seed layer including at least a lower Ta layer formed on the isolation layer, and a metal (M1) layer having a fcc(111) or hcp(001) crystal structure disposed on the lower Ta layer;
• said composite seed layer has a horizontal section formed in a plane parallel to the top surface of the bottom shield, and a second section formed proximate to said sidewalls and connected to the horizontal section;
• (e) a (R1/R2)x laminated hard bias layer having inherent PMA and formed on the composite seed layer where R1 is Co or CoFe, R2 is NiFe or NiCo, x is an integer, and wherein a thickness (t2) of each R2 layer is greater than a thickness (t1) of each R1 layer;
• (f) a capping layer formed on the (R1/R2)x laminated hard bias layer;
• (g) a non-magnetic separation layer formed on the capping layer and contacting the top surface of the sensor element;
• and
• (h) a top shield on the non-magnetic separation layer that is electrically connected to the bottom shield through the non-magnetic separation layer and sensor element.