A magnetic head includes a first magnetic pole, a second magnetic pole, and a stacked body provided between the first and second magnetic poles. The stacked body includes a first magnetic member, a second magnetic member provided between the first magnetic member and the second magnetic pole, a first layer provided between the first and second magnetic members, and a second layer provided between the second magnetic member and the second magnetic pole. The first magnetic member includes first magnetic regions and a first nonmagnetic region. The first nonmagnetic region is between the one of the first magnetic regions and the other one of the first magnetic regions.

A magnetic head includes a first magnetic pole, a second magnetic pole, and a stacked body provided between the first and second magnetic poles. The stacked body includes a first magnetic member, a second magnetic member provided between the first magnetic member and the second magnetic pole, a first layer provided between the first and second magnetic members, and a second layer provided between the second magnetic member and the second magnetic pole. The first magnetic member includes first magnetic regions and a first nonmagnetic region. The first nonmagnetic region is between the one of the first magnetic regions and the other one of the first magnetic regions.

A magnetic head includes a main pole, a write shield and a gap section. The write shield includes a trailing shield, a leading shield and two side shields. The gap section includes a trailing gap section, a leading gap section and two side gap sections. Each of the two side gap sections and the leading gap section increases in thickness with increasing distance from a medium facing surface. In the medium facing surface, the thickness of the leading gap section is greater than the width of each of the two side gap sections, and the width of each of the two side gap sections decreases with decreasing distance to the leading gap section.

A data writer can have at least a write pole separated from a return pole by a non-magnetic lamination. The non-magnetic lamination may consist of first, second, and third non-magnetic materials that are each different and configured to provide a physical protrusion on an air bearing surface of less than 4 Angstroms.

A magnetic write apparatus has a media-facing surface (MFS), a pole, a write gap, a top shield and coil(s). The pole includes a yoke and a pole tip. The pole tip includes a bottom, a top wider than the bottom and first and second sides. The pole tip has a height between the top and the bottom. At least part of the top of the pole tip is convex in a cross-track direction between the first and second sides such that the height at the MFS is larger between the first and second sides than at the first and second sides. The height increases in a yoke direction perpendicular to the MFS. The write gap is adjacent to and conformal with the top of the pole at the MFS and is between part of the top shield and the pole. The top shield is concave at the MFS.

An apparatus has a main pole layer of magnetic material, a second layer of magnetic material, a first gap layer of non-magnetic material between the main pole layer and the second layer of magnetic material, and a second gap layer of non-magnetic material disposed between the main pole layer and the second layer of magnetic material. The second gap layer of non-magnetic material can be directly adjacent to the second layer of magnetic material. In accordance with one embodiment, this allows the gap to serve as a non-magnetic seed for the second layer of magnetic material. A method of manufacturing such a device is also described.

A magnetic sensor comprising a first shield and a second shield and a sensor stack between the first and the second shield, the sensor stack having a plurality of layers wherein at least one layer is annealed using in-situ rapid thermal annealing. In one implementation of the magnetic sensor a seed layer is annealed using in-situ rapid thermal annealing. Alternatively, one of a barrier layer, an antiferromagnetic (AFM) layer, and a cap layer is annealed using in-situ rapid thermal annealing.

According to one embodiment, a magnetic head includes a first magnetic pole, a second magnetic pole, and a stacked body provided between the first and second magnetic poles. The stacked body includes a first magnetic member, a second magnetic member provided between the first magnetic member and the second magnetic pole, a first layer provided between the first and second magnetic members, and a second layer provided between the second magnetic member and the second magnetic pole. The first magnetic member includes first magnetic regions and a first nonmagnetic region. The first nonmagnetic region is between the one of the first magnetic regions and the other one of the first magnetic regions. The second magnetic member includes second magnetic regions and a second nonmagnetic region. The second nonmagnetic region is between the one of the second magnetic regions and the other one of the second magnetic regions.

The present disclosure generally relates to spin-orbital torque (SOT) differential reader designs. The SOT differential reader is a multi-terminal device that comprises a first shield, a first spin hall layer, a first free layer, a gap layer, a second spin hall layer, a second free layer, and a second shield. The gap layer functions as an electrode and is disposed between the first spin hall layer and the second spin hall layer. Electrical lead connections are located about the first spin hall layer, the second spin hall layer, the gap layer, the first shield, and/or the second shield. The electrical lead connections facilitate the flow of current and/or voltage from a negative lead to a positive lead. The positioning of the electrical lead connections and the positioning of the SOT differential layers improves reader resolution without decreasing the shield-to-shield spacing (i.e., read-gap).

According to one embodiment, a magnetic head includes a first magnetic pole, a second magnetic pole, and a stacked body provided between the first and second magnetic poles. The stacked body includes a first magnetic member, a second magnetic member provided between the first magnetic member and the second magnetic pole, a first layer provided between the first and second magnetic members, and a second layer provided between the second magnetic member and the second magnetic pole. The first magnetic member includes first magnetic regions and a first nonmagnetic region. The first nonmagnetic region is between the one of the first magnetic regions and the other one of the first magnetic regions. The second magnetic member includes second magnetic regions and a second nonmagnetic region. The second nonmagnetic region is between the one of the second magnetic regions and the other one of the second magnetic regions.