Granted Patent B1

US 9,087,534 · App. 14/290,932 · Granted Jul 21, 2015

Abstract

Claims (47)

1. A magnetic read transducer having an air-bearing surface (ABS) and comprising:

a first shield;

a read sensor including a sensor layer, the sensor layer having at least one edge in the track width direction along the ABS;

at least one soft magnetic bias structure adjacent to the at least one edge, the at least one soft magnetic bias structure having a first permeability;

at least one hard bias structure adjacent to a portion of the at least one soft bias structure and having a second permeability, the at least one soft bias structure being between the read sensor and the at least one hard bias structure, the first permeability is at least ten multiplied by the second permeability; and

a nonmagnetic layer residing between the at least one hard bias structure and the at least one soft magnetic bias structure;

a second shield, the read sensor residing between the first shield and the second shield, the at least one soft magnetic bias structure being physically connected with the second shield.

2. The magnetic read transducer of claim 1 wherein the at least one soft magnetic bias structure includes a plurality of layers.

3. The magnetic read transducer of claim 2 wherein the plurality of layers includes a plurality of ferromagnetic layers.

4. The magnetic read transducer of claim 3 wherein the plurality of ferromagnetic layers are antiferromagnetically aligned.

5. The magnetic read transducer of claim 3 wherein a first portion of the plurality of layers are ferromagnetically aligned and a second portion of the plurality of layers are antiferromagnetically aligned.

6. The magnetic read transducer of claim 1 wherein the read sensor has a stripe height perpendicular to the ABS and wherein the at least one soft bias structure and the at least one hard bias structure have a height substantially equal to the stripe height.

7. The magnetic read transducer of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the read sensor has a stripe height perpendicular to the ABS and wherein the at least one soft bias structure and the at least one hard bias structure have a height less than the stripe height.

8. The magnetic read transducer of claim 1 wherein the read sensor has a stripe height perpendicular to the ABS and wherein the at least one soft bias structure and the at least one hard bias structure have a height greater than the stripe height.

9. A magnetic read transducer having an air-bearing surface (ABS) and comprising:

a first shield;

a read sensor including a sensor layer, the sensor layer having at least one edge in the track width direction along the ABS;

at least one soft magnetic bias structure adjacent to the at least one edge, the at least one soft magnetic bias structure having a first permeability, the at least one soft magnetic bias structure includes a plurality of ferromagnetic layers;

at least one hard bias structure adjacent to a portion of the at least one soft bias structure and having a second permeability, the at least one soft bias structure being between the read sensor and the at least one hard bias structure, the first permeability is at least ten multiplied by the second permeability;

a nonmagnetic layer residing between the at least one hard bias structure and the at least one soft magnetic bias structure; and

a second shield, the read sensor residing between the first shield and the second shield, the at least one soft magnetic bias structure being physically connected with the second shield;

wherein adjacent ferromagnetic layers of the plurality of ferromagnetic layers are ferromagnetically aligned.

10. A method for providing a magnetic read transducer having an air-bearing surface (ABS) comprising:

providing a first shield;

providing a read sensor including a sensor layer, the sensor layer having at least one edge in the track width direction along the ABS;

providing at least one soft magnetic bias structure adjacent to the at least one edge, the at least one soft magnetic bias structure having a first permeability;

providing at least one hard bias structure adjacent to a portion of the at least one soft bias structure and having a second permeability, the at least one soft bias structure being between the read sensor and the at least one hard bias structure, the first permeability being at least ten multiplied by the second permeability;

providing a nonmagnetic layer residing between the at least one hard bias structure and the at least one soft magnetic bias structure; and

providing a second shield, the read sensor residing between the first shield and the second shield, the at least one soft magnetic bias structure being physically connected with the second shield.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein step of providing the at least one soft magnetic bias structure further includes:

depositing a plurality of layers.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the plurality of layers includes a plurality of ferromagnetic layers.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the plurality of ferromagnetic layers are antiferromagnetically aligned.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein a first portion of the plurality of layers are ferromagnetically aligned and a second portion of the plurality of layers are antiferromagnetically aligned.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein the read sensor has a stripe height perpendicular to the ABS and wherein the at least one soft bias structure and the at least one hard bias structure have a height substantially equal to the stripe height.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein at least a portion of the read sensor has a stripe height perpendicular to the ABS and wherein the at least one soft bias structure and the at least one hard bias structure have a height less than the stripe height.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein the read sensor has a stripe height perpendicular to the ABS and wherein the at least one soft bias structure and the at least one hard bias structure have a height greater than the stripe height.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of providing the at least one soft bias structure is performed before the step of providing the at least one hard bias structure.

19. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of providing the at least one hard bias structure is performed before the step of providing the at least one soft bias structure.

20. A method for providing a magnetic read transducer having an air-bearing surface (ABS) comprising:

providing a first shield;

providing a read sensor including a sensor layer, the sensor layer having at least one edge in the track width direction along the ABS;

providing at least one soft magnetic bias structure adjacent to the at least one edge, the at least one soft magnetic bias structure having a first permeability, the at least one soft magnetic bias structure includes a plurality of ferromagnetic layers;

providing at least one hard bias structure adjacent to a portion of the at least one soft bias structure and having a second permeability, the at least one soft bias structure being between the read sensor and the at least one hard bias structure, the first permeability being at least ten multiplied by the second permeability;

providing a nonmagnetic layer residing between the at least one hard bias structure and the at least one soft magnetic bias structure; and

providing a second shield, the read sensor residing between the first shield and the second shield, the at least one soft magnetic bias structure being physically connected with the second shield,

wherein adjacent ferromagnetic layers of the plurality of ferromagnetic layers are ferromagnetically aligned.

Assignments (9)