Non-penetration of periodic structure to PM
View Patent ↗A magnetoresistive read head having a corrugated magnetoresistive layer wherein the corrugated section does not encroach on magnetic elements on either end of the magnetoresistive layer. The corrugations in the magnetoresistive layer stabilize the magnetization in the center region of the read head, while the magnetic elements stabilize the magnetization at the ends. By separating the two stabilization methods, unfavorable interactions between them is reduced.
1. A read head structure, comprising:
a magnetoresistive element deposited on a substrate, the magnetoresistive element having a grating region on at least one surface of the magnetoresistive element;
a first magnetic element formed at a first end of the magnetoresistive element, the first magnetic element terminating before it encroaches on the grating region of the magnetoresistive element.
2. The read head structure of claim 1 , further comprising a second magnetic element formed at a second end of the magnetoresistive element, the second magnetic element terminating before it encroaches on the grating region of the magnetoresistive element.
3. The read head structure of claim 1 , wherein the first magnetic element is a permanent magnet.
4. The read head structure of claim 1 , wherein the magnetoresistive element comprises a first layer, a second magnetoresistive layer, and a third layer.
5. A read head, comprising:
a substrate;
a magnetoresistive element deposited on a region of the substrate;
a first magnetic element positioned at a first end of the region;
a second magnetic element positioned at a second end of the region;
wherein the magnetoresistive element comprises a topographic section and a flat section; and
wherein the first and second magnetic elements are formed on the flat section and not on the topographic section of the magnetoresistive element.
6. The read head of claim 5 , wherein the first magnetic element is a permanent magnet.
7. The read head of claim 5 , wherein the first magnetic element is a magnetic exchange tab.
8. The read head of claim 5 , wherein the magnetoresistive element comprises a first layer, a second magnetoresistive layer, and a third layer.
9. A read head, comprising:
a substrate, having a magnetoresistive element formed thereon, wherein the magnetoresistive element has a grating pattern formed on a section of at least one surface of the magnetoresistive element;
a first magnetic element formed at a first end of the magnetoresistive element;
wherein the first magnetic element is not contiguous with the section of the magnetoresistive element.
10. The read head of claim 9 , further comprising a second magnetic element formed at a second end of the magnetoresistive element, and wherein the second magnetic element is not contiguous with the section of the magnetoresistive element.
11. The read head of claim 9 , wherein the first magnetic element is a permanent magnet.
12. The read head of claim 9 , wherein the magnetoresistive element comprises a plurality of layers, at least one of which is a magnetoresistive layer.
13. A method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive head for reading a magnetic media, said method comprising the steps of:
forming a magnetoresistive element on a substrate, the magnetoresistive element having a corrugated section between first and second ends of the magnetoresistive element;
forming a first magnetic element at the first end of the magnetoresistive element outside the corrugated section; and
forming a second magnetic element at the second end of the magnetoresistive element outside the corrugated section.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first magnetic element is a permanent magnet.
15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the magnetoresistive element comprises a magnetoresistive layer between two substantially non-magnetoresistive layers.
16. A magnetoresistive read head, comprising:
means for stabilizing a magnetic field in a first region of a read head;
means for stabilizing a magnetic field in a second region of the read bead;
means for stabilizing a magnetic field in a third region of the read head;
wherein the second region is between the first and third regions, and wherein the regions are spatially separate.
17. The read head of claim 16 , wherein the means for stabilizing the second region comprises a corrugated structure in a magnetoresistive layer in the second region, and the means for stabilizing the first and third regions comprise permanent magnets positioned at either end of the second region.