scispace - formally typeset
Patent

Shielded magnetic tunnel junction magnetoresistive read head

TLDR
In this article, the thickness of the spacer layers is selected to optimize the spacing between the shields, which is a parameter that controls the linear resolution of the data that can be read from the magnetic recording medium.
Abstract
A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) magnetoresistive read head for a magnetic recording system has the MTJ device located between two spaced-apart magnetic shields. The magnetic shields, which allow the head to detect individual magnetic transitions from the magnetic recording medium without interference from neighboring transitions, also function as electrical leads for connection of the head to sense circuitry. Electrically conductive spacer layers are located at the top and bottom of the MTJ device and connect the MTJ device to the shields. The thickness of the spacer layers is selected to optimize the spacing between the shields, which is a parameter that controls the linear resolution of the data that can be read from the magnetic recording medium. To reduce the likelihood of electrical shorting between the shields if the shield-to-shield spacing is too small, each of the shields can have a pedestal region with the MTJ device located between the two pedestals, so that the shield-to-shield spacing outside the pedestal regions is greater than in the pedestal regions.

read more

Citations
More filters
Patent

Copper alloy GMR recording head

TL;DR: In this article, a spin valve structure that is thinner than currently available spin valves is described, which is achieved through use of a thinner free layer and the insertion of a seed enhancement layer between the seed and the free layer.
Patent

Magnetic sensor having a seedlayer for providing improved hard magnet properties

TL;DR: In this article, the seed layer structure may be a CrMo/Si/CrMo sandwich or may also be a CMo/Ni/Cr/Cr sandwich and interrupts the epitaxial growth of an underlying crystalline structure, allowing a hard magnetic material formed over the seed layers to have a desired grain structure that is different from that of the underlying layer.
Patent

Magnetoresistive effect thin-film magnetic head and manufacturing method of magnetoresistive effect thin-film magnetic head

TL;DR: In this paper, an MR thin-film magnetic head includes a lower shield layer, a lower gap layer, an upper gap layer made of a nonmagnetic electrically conductive material and laminated on the lower shield, an MR multilayer in which a current flows in a direction perpendicular to surfaces of layers of the magnetoresistive effect multi-layer, an additional insulation gap layer formed so that a distance between the lower-shield layer and the upper-gap layer increases at a location where the MR multilayer is absent.
Patent

Magnetic head for hard disk drive having improved magnetic shield for MR sensor

TL;DR: In this paper, a first magnetic shield layer of the read head sensor is deposited upon a slider substrate surface, and a patterned photoresist is then photolithographically fabricated upon the first magnetically shielded layer with openings formed alongside the location at which the read sensor will be fabricated.
Patent

Differential yoke type read head

TL;DR: In this article, the magnetic moments of the read head are out-of-phase with respect to each other so that changes in resistances due to field signals, which have a spacing d 3 equal to the spacing d 2, cause resistances of the sensors to combine to increase the signal of the head and reduce noise by common mode rejection.
References
More filters
Patent

Magnetic tunnel junctions with controlled magnetic response

TL;DR: In this paper, a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device is used as a magnetic field sensor or as a memory cell in a magnetic random access (MRAM) array.
Patent

Magnetic tunnel junction device with longitudinal biasing

TL;DR: A magnetic tunnel junction device for use as a magnetic memory cell or a magnetic field sensor has one fixed ferromagnetic layer and one sensing magnetometer on opposite sides of the insulating tunnel barrier layer.
Patent

Multilayer magnetoresistance effect-type magnetic head

TL;DR: The magnetoresistance effect element is of a multilayered structure having at least magnetic layers and an intermediate layer of an insulating material, a semiconductor or an antiferromagnetic material against the magnetic layers, so that a current flows in the intermediate layer as discussed by the authors.
Patent

Magnetoresistive element and devices utilizing the same

TL;DR: In this article, the MR element of such arrangement offers a surprisingly large MR ratio under application of a sufficiently low magnetic field despite such a simple arrangement thereof, despite the fact that a simple three-layer structure has a relatively small MR ratio.
Patent

Electron tunneling device using ferromagnetic thin films

TL;DR: Ferromagnetic/insulator/ferromagnetic tunneling has been shown to give over 10% change in the junction resistance with H less than 100 Oe, at room temperature but decreases at high dc-bias across the junction.