Abstract: A recording head is disclosed that includes electrical pads on multiple surfaces. The recording head includes a substrate portion abutting a deposited portion. The deposited portion includes an air bearing surface (ABS) (or bottom surface), an end surface, and at least one other surface. The end surface is the surface traditionally used by head designers for electrical pads. In accord with the invention, one or more electrical pads are included on the other surfaces of the deposited portion (i.e., a surface other than the end surface). Electrical pads may also be included on the end surface.

Abstract: A method and system for providing a pedestal defined zero throat write head is disclosed. The method and system include providing a first pole having a pedestal, providing a gap and providing a second pole. The first pole has a pedestal. The gap separates the pedestal of the first pole from a portion of the second pole. The pedestal has a front, a back, a top and a bottom. The back of the pedestal has a recess therein, which runs from the top of the pedestal to the bottom of the pedestal.

Abstract: A magnetic head for a disk drive is disclosed that has a first soft magnetic pole layer disposed in the head adjacent to a medium-facing surface and extending perpendicular to the medium-facing surface; a second soft magnetic pole layer disposed closer than the first pole layer to the trailing end, the second pole layer magnetically coupled to the first pole layer in a backgap region; a soft magnetic pedestal adjoining the second pole layer, disposed closer than the second pole layer to the medium-facing surface and extending less than the second pole layer extends from the medium-facing surface, the pedestal separated from the first pole layer by a nonferromagnetic gap, the pedestal having a thickness that is less than four hundred and fifty nanometers between the gap and the second pole layer. Longitudinal and perpendicular recording embodiments are disclosed, as well as solenoidal, single-layer and dual-layer reversed-current coil structures.

Abstract: A magnetoresistive read sensor includes a first shield layer and a first gap layer over the first shield layer. The read sensor further includes a spin-valve stack over the first gap layer. The spin-valve stack includes a seed layer over the first gap layer. At least a portion of the seed layer includes a soft-magnetic material. The spin-valve stack further includes an antiferromagnetic layer over the seed layer. The antiferromagnetic layer is magnetically decoupled from the seed layer. The spin-valve stack further includes a free layer over a first portion of the antiferromagnetic layer. The read sensor further includes a bias structure adjacent to the free layer. The bias structure is located over a second portion of the antiferromagnetic layer and is isolated from the seed layer by the second portion.

Abstract: Magnetoresistive (MR) sensors are disclosed that have leads with reduced resistance, improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the sensors. The leads have broad layers of highly conductive material for connection to MR structures, as opposed to thin wires of highly conductive material or broad layers of resistive material, lowering the resistance of the leads. The low-resistance leads can be formed without increasing the shield-to-shield spacing, providing highly sensitive and focused MR sensors.

Abstract: A thin film electromagnetic head has an inductive transducer with a ferromagnetic pole layer terminating adjacent a media-facing surface at a pole tip surface. The pole layer has side surfaces each having an end region that meets the pole tip surface, the end regions increasingly separated with increasing distance from the pole tip surface. Having a pole layer that is tapered to the point at which it meets the pole tip surface channels flux more efficiently for writing on-track as opposed to off-track. Such a tapered pole tip can be formed for a pair of pole layers separated by a submicron nonferromagnetic gap, or for a single perpendicular writing pole layer.

Abstract: A T-shaped pole tip portion of an upper pole of a write element for a magnetic disk drive is provided. One end of the pole tip portion, constituting the bottom of the “T,” forms a narrow nose segment at an air bearing surface, while a wing segment at the opposite end of the pole tip portion constitutes the cross-bar top of the “T.” A transition segment extends between the nose segment and the wing segment. A yoke portion of the upper pole includes a surface that is parallel to the air bearing surface and recessed therefrom by a P3R depth. The transition segment does not widen significantly until after the P3R depth, accordingly, the wing segment is recessed from the air bearing surface by more than the P3R depth.

Abstract: A method and system for providing head is disclosed. The method and system include providing a first pole, a second pole, a write gap, at least one coil and an Fe3Pt alloy. The write gap separates the first pole from the second pole. The first and second poles are for writing to a medium. The coil(s) have a plurality of turns and reside between the roles. The Fe3Pt alloy is in proximity to the first pole and the second pole. The Fe3Pt alloy is configured to counteract expansion of the first pole and the second pole.

Abstract: A disk drive write head (10) having a bottom pole (60), a first insulation layer (64) formed on the bottom pole (60), a coil (38) formed on the first insulation layer (64), a second insulation layer (66) formed on the coil (38), a write gap layer (76) formed on the second insulation layer (66), and a top pole (12) formed on the write gap layer (76), where the top pole (12) is substantially flat. A second embodiment (100) is described which is produced by a damascene process.

Abstract: A disk drive write head having in consecutive layers a bottom pole, a write gap layer, a first insulation layer, a coil, a second insulation layer having an insulation layer boundary, and a top pole on the second insulation layer. The top pole includes a main body portion and a nose portion and has a flare line at the location where the nose portion expands to become the main body portion. The top pole further includes a curved contour portion having a contour boundary, a tip which terminates in an air bearing surface, and a flat portion on the top surface of the nose extending between the tip and the contour boundary. The insulation layer boundary is recessed from the air bearing surface such that the top pole contour boundary lies substantially close to the flare line, thus producing a top pole top surface which is substantially flat.

Abstract: Perpendicular recording and magnetoresistive sensing transducers are disclosed having additional coil windings carrying current in an opposite direction to windings encircled by a core. The magnetic influence of the recording transducer on the sense transducer is reduced or eliminated. The inductance of the coils used to drive the recording transducer is reduced, facilitating high-frequency operation. Moreover, the magnetic flux induced by the coils and transmitted by the recording pole tip is increased, improving recording capabilities.

Abstract: An inductive transducer has inorganic nonferromagnetic material disposed in an apex region adjacent to a submicron nonferromagnetic gap in a magnetic core. The inorganic nonferromagnetic material has a much lower coefficient of thermal expansion than that of hardbaked photoresist, reducing pole tip protrusion even if other insulation surrounding the coil sections within the core is made of hardbaked photoresist. Alternatively, the entire insulation surrounding the coil sections within the core, in addition to the apex region, can be formed of inorganic nonferromagnetic material, further reducing pole tip protrusion. The transducer has SiO2 rather than alumina in an undercoat layer joining the wafer substrate and the thin film layers of the transducer. SiO2 may also replace alumina in other areas, such as a piggyback layer joining the inductive transducer with a magnetoresistive transducer.

Abstract: A disk drive write head (10) having a bottom pole (60), a first insulation layer (64) formed on the bottom pole (60), a coil (38) formed on the first insulation layer (64), a second insulation layer (66) formed on the coil (38), a write gap layer (76) formed on the second insulation layer (66), and a top pole (12) formed on the write gap layer (76), where the top pole (12) is substantially flat.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed for reducing electrical noise from noise spikes in an electrical information signal. The invention can provide protection of a data storage system from soft errors rate due to noise spikes appearing in the signal from the input transducer. A cancellation signal for the low frequency component (i.e. in the system bandwidth) of the noise signal is generated. The cancellation signal is derived from a frequency band that appears in the noise spike, but does not appear in the system bandwidth for the information signal. The cancellation signal is generated in the preferred embodiment by a cancellation signal generator comprising a high pass filter and a mixer. The mixer generates a cancellation signal by processing the high frequency portion using a waveform above the normal high frequency cutoff to reconstitute the low frequency component of the noise spike in the normal frequency band.

Abstract: A method of lapping the air bearing surface of a magnetoresistive head which minimizes the likelihood of interelement shorts at the air bearing surface is described. In a final, linear lapping phase, the air bearing surface is lapped back and forth parallel to the longitudinal axis of the head elements in an oscillatory path across a stationary lapping surface. Any scratches or smears of the elements will be along the length of the elements rather than transverse to the elements. Any transverse scratches or smears occurring in earlier lapping phases will be removed during the linear lapping phase.

Abstract: A method of lapping magnetoresistive (MR) heads individually which provides an MR element having a desired height with minimized skew is described. During fabrication of the MR head, one or more shunt resistors are formed between the edge of the MR element and the head air bearing surface. The shunt resistors are electrically connected at each end to extensions of the MR electrical leads and connected to the MR element and to each other at points between the ends forming a resistor network. During lapping of the MR head, the resistance of the resistor network is measured by an Ohmmeter connected between the MR element leads. As portions of the shunt resistors are ground away, the changes in the measured resistance of the resistor network are used to monitor and control any skew in the lapping process.

Abstract: According to the present grinding method, a plurality of optical markers are formed by photolithography such that the markers are embedded in a chiplet having a magnetic head. Markers are preferably in the shape of a bar having predetermined height, width and length and are spaced from each other by a predetermined distance where one end of the bars are sequentially offset from each other by a predetermined amount. During coarse grinding of the magnetic head as the magnetic head surface material is ground away, the end-face of the bars, one at a time, become visible. The closer the grinding surface approaches the desired inductive throat or MR element height, more end-faces become visible. Coarse grinding continues until a predetermined number of end-faces become visible at which point the grinding process is terminated and the magnetic head is ready for the final lapping process.