A magnetic recording head comprises: a main magnetic pole for generating a recording magnetic field applied to a magnetic recording medium from an end surface that is one part of an air bearing surface facing the magnetic recording medium; a trailing shield that is placed by interposing a write gap at a trailing side of the main magnetic pole; and a spin torque oscillator provided in the write gap; wherein, when viewed from the air bearing surface side, the length in the down-track direction between the trailing shield and the cross-track direction end portion of a first end face positioned at the main magnetic pole side of the spin torque oscillator is longer than the length in the down-track direction between the trailing shield and the main magnetic pole at a center position in the cross-track direction of the spin torque oscillator.

An apparatus according to one embodiment includes an array of magnetic read transducers each having a current-perpendicular-to-plane sensor, magnetic shields on opposite sides of the sensor in an intended direction of media travel thereacross, and a stabilizing layered structure between at least one of the magnetic shields and the sensor. The stabilizing layered structure has an antiferromagnetic layer, a first ferromagnetic layer adjacent the antiferromagnetic layer, and a second ferromagnetic layer. The antiferromagnetic layer pins a magnetization direction in the first ferromagnetic layer along an antiferromagnetic polarized direction of the antiferromagnetic layer. An antiparallel coupling layer is positioned between the ferromagnetic layers such that a magnetization direction in the second ferromagnetic layer is opposite the magnetization direction in the first ferromagnetic layer.

The present disclosure generally relates to spin-orbit torque (SOT) device comprising a bismuth antimony (BiSb) layer. The SOT device comprises a seed layer and a BiSb layer having a (012) orientation. The seed layer comprises at least one of an amorphous/nanocrystalline material with a nearest neighbor x-ray diffraction peak with a d-spacing in the range of about 2.02 to about 2.20 ; a polycrystalline material having a (111) orientation and an a-axis of about 3.53 to about 3.81 ; and a polycrystalline material having a cubic (100) or tetragonal (001) orientation and an a-axis of about 4.1 to about 4.7 . When the seed layer comprises an amorphous material or a polycrystalline material having a (111), the BiSb layer is doped, and the seed layer has a lower a/c ratio than when the seed layer comprises polycrystalline material having a cubic (100) or tetragonal (001) orientation.