A reader having a sensor stack and a top shield above the sensor stack. The top shield has an upper surface and a lower surface. The reader also includes at least one side shield below the top shield and adjacent to the sensor stack. The reader further includes a decoupling layer between the upper surface of the top shield and the at least one side shield. The decoupling layer is configured to decouple a first portion of the at least one side shield, proximate to the sensor stack, from at least a portion of the top shield.

A reader includes a bearing surface and a free layer having a front surface that forms a portion of the bearing surface. The reader also includes a synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) structure below the free layer, the SAF structure has a narrow portion with a front surface that forms a portion of the bearing surface and a wide portion behind the narrow portion. The reader further includes an antiferromagnetic (AFM) layer in contact with the wide portion of the SAF structure. The SAF structure is configured to prevent switching from one magnetic state to another magnetic state in the wide portion under thermal fluctuations.

A magnetic sensor of the present invention has an elongate element portion having a magnetoresistive effect and a pair of elongate soft magnetic bodies that are arranged along the element portion on both sides of the element portion with regard to a short axis thereof. Each soft magnetic body includes a central portion that is adjacent to the element portion from one end to another end of the element portion with regard to a long axis direction thereof and a pair of end portions that protrude from the central portion in the long axis direction. A width of at least one of the end portions gradually decreases in a direction away from the central portion in at least a part of the end portions in the long axis direction thereof.

A read head is disclosed wherein a Spin Hall Effect (SHE) layer is formed on a free layer (FL) in a sensor and between the FL and top shield (S2). Preferably, the sensor has a seed layer, an AP2 reference layer, antiferromagnetic coupling layer, AP1 reference layer, and a tunnel barrier sequentially formed on a bottom shield (S1). In a three terminal configuration, a first current flows between S1 and S2 such that the AP1 reference layer produces a first spin torque on the FL, and a second current flows across the SHE layer thereby generating a second spin torque on the FL that opposes the first spin torque. When the stripe heights of the FL and SHE layer are equal, a two terminal configuration is employed where a current flows between one side of the SHE layer to a center portion thereof and then to S1, or vice versa.

The present disclosure generally relates to a read head assembly having a dual free layer (DFL) structure disposed between a first shield and a second shield at a media facing surface. The read head assembly further comprises a rear hard bias (RHB) structure disposed adjacent to the DFL structure recessed from the media facing surface, where an insulation layer separates the RHB structure from the DFL structure. The insulation layer is disposed perpendicularly between the first shield and the second shield. The DFL structure comprises a first free layer and a second free layer having equal stripe heights from the media facing surface to the insulation layer. The RHB structure comprises a seed layer, a bulk layer, and a capping layer. The capping layer and the insulation layer prevent the bulk layer from contacting the second shield.

A method, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, includes forming various layers of a data read transducer structure and of a lower shield layer of a servo read transducer structure in an array with the data read transducer structure in common fabrication steps. The formed dielectric layers of both read transducer structures, coupled with the unique shield structure of the data read transducer structure, work in concert to provide robust resistance to asperity-induced shorting while also lower smaller read gap thickness.

A reader having a sensor stack and a top shield above the sensor stack. The top shield has an upper surface and a lower surface. The reader also includes at least one side shield below the top shield and adjacent to the sensor stack. The reader further includes a decoupling layer between the upper surface of the top shield and the at least one side shield. The decoupling layer is configured to decouple a first portion of the at least one side shield, proximate to the sensor stack, from at least a portion of the top shield.

A junction shield (JS) structure is disclosed for providing longitudinal bias to a free layer (FL) having a width (FLW) and magnetization in a cross-track direction between sidewalls in a sensor. The sensor is formed between bottom and top shields and has sidewalls extending from a front side at an air bearing surface (ABS) to a backside that is a stripe height (SH) from the ABS. The JS structure has a single layer (JS1) adjacent to each sensor sidewall and with a magnetization parallel to that of the FL, and a tapered top surface such that JS1 has decreasing thickness with increasing height from the ABS. As aspect ratio or AR (SH/FLW) increases above 1, longitudinal bias increases proportionally to slow an increase in asymmetry as AR increases, and without introducing a loss in amplitude for a reader with low AR.

A junction shield (JS) structure and method of forming the same are disclosed for providing longitudinal bias to a free layer (FL) having a width (FLW) and magnetization in a cross-track direction between sidewalls in a sensor. The sensor is formed between bottom and top shields and has sidewalls extending from a front side at an air bearing surface (ABS) to a backside at a stripe height (SH) from the ABS. The JS structure has a lower layer (JS1) with magnetization parallel to that of the FL, and a tapered top surface such that JS1 has decreasing thickness with increasing height from the ABS. As aspect ratio or AR (SH/FLW) increases above 1, longitudinal bias increases proportionally to slow an increase in asymmetry as AR increases, and without decreasing amplitude for a reader with low AR. The JS1 layer may be antiferromagnetically coupled to an upper JS layer for stabilization.

A recording head that includes a reader having a front end at a bearing surface of the recording head and a rear end behind the bearing surface. The reader has a non-rectangular shape with a front-end width that is less than an average width of the reader. A first bias element is positioned proximate to a first side of the reader, and a second bias element is positioned proximate to a second side of the reader. Each of the first and second bias elements has a bias level that is a function of a ratio of the front-end width to the average width of the reader.