Abstract: A head gimbal assembly includes a slider and novel gimbal that may reduce crown sensitivity to temperature without substantially sacrificing the ability of a bond between the gimbal tongue and slider to resist applied forces and torques. The gimbal has a tongue that includes at least one weakening region. The weakening region extends more in a direction perpendicular to the length of the slider than it does in a direction parallel to the length of the slider. A bonding surface of the slider is attached to the tongue in a first bonding region that extends closer to a leading end of the slider than the weakening region does, and in a second bonding region that extends closer to a trailing end of the slider than the weakening region does. The gimbal can be used in a head gimbal assembly of a magnetic hard disk drive or other information storage device.

Abstract: A head has a slider with an air bearing surface having a left trailing air flow dam extending from a trailing pad along a lateral axis, and a right trailing air flow dam extending from the trailing pad along the lateral axis in an opposing direction. A sub-ambient pressure cavity is disposed adjacent to and upstream of at least one of the trailing air flow dams. The trailing pad and the left and right trailing air flow dams together laterally span at least 75% of the width of the slider. Each of the left and right trailing air flow dams is recessed from the primary plane by a step depth in the range 0.05 to 0.5 microns, and the sub-ambient pressure cavity is recessed from the primary plane by a cavity depth in the range 0.8 to 2 microns.

Abstract: A head for use in an information storage device includes a novel ABS, and a transducer with a heating element. The ABS includes a transducer pad that includes a surface in a first plane. The ABS also includes a pressure-relief trough that is recessed from the first plane by at least 0.1 microns and has an upstream breadth of no more than one fourth of the total length of the slider. The pressure-relief trough is disposed immediately upstream of the transducer pad and continuously spans the total width of the transducer pad. The ABS also includes a flow-diversion dam that has a dam surface that lies in the first plane. The dam surface continuously spans the total width of the transducer pad. The dam surface is disposed immediately upstream of the pressure-relief trough and generally downstream of a sub-ambient pressure cavity.

Abstract: A head for use in a magnetic hard disk drive or other information storage device includes a novel ABS. The novel ABS includes an inter-cavity dam that is disposed between at least a portion of a cavity and a trailing pad. The inter-cavity dam is spaced longitudinally from the trailing pad by at least one thirtieth of the slider length. The inter-cavity dam includes an OD dam surface and an ID dam surface, with a slider-bisecting longitudinal plane passing between a majority of the OD dam surface and a majority of the ID dam surface. The OD dam surface is recessed from the first plane by an OD dam recession, and the ID dam surface is recessed from the first plane by an ID dam recession that is not equal to the OD dam recession.

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: A magnetic head is disclosed that has first and second substantially flat soft magnetic pole layers that are magnetically coupled together in a backgap region that is removed from the medium-facing surface; a soft magnetic pedestal having a leading edge and a trailing edge, the trailing edge adjoining the second pole layer adjacent to the medium-facing surface, the leading edge defining a throat area that is spaced from the first pole layer by a submicron nonferromagnetic gap and defining an apex area that is spaced from the first pole layer by a greater separation than the gap, the throat area meeting the apex area at a throat height; and a plurality of substantially parallel, electrically conductive sections disposed between the first and second pole layers, the conductive sections disposed in a single layer that is aligned along a plane that intersects the pedestal and the backgap region.

Abstract: A write element for perpendicular recording in a data storage system is fabricated to maintain the thickness of a side shield at both edges of a pole P3, and to form the pole P3 in a trapezoidal shape. Forming a side shield around the pole P3 removes stray fields, creating a quiet, noise-free write element and preventing side erasure. The fabrication method utilizes a magnetic buffer layer to protect a shield gap during trim of the pole P3, and thus to provide the shield gap with a uniform thickness. The magnetic buffer layer also protects the shield gap and pole P3 when the top hard mask is removed. Consequently, the write field is made uniform across the track width. The fabrication method uses a metal in the shield gap to improve the pole geometry after pole trim and to provide a uniform edge to the pole P3.

Abstract: A head including a write element for writing data to a magnetic media, and methods for its production are provided. A write element of the invention includes one or more of a recessed first pole, a heat sink layer, and a shortened yoke length. A method of the invention provides forming an anti-reflective layer before forming a mask layer. During photolithography the anti-reflective layer suppresses undesirable reflections off of features, such as vertical sidewalls, that otherwise limit how closely to such features portions of the mask layer can be formed.

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 read element includes a magnetoresistive sensor having a side and an upper surface that defines an edge. An underlayer overlies the side of the magnetoresistive sensor, and a hard bias layer overlies at least part of the underlayer and defines a hard bias junction with the underlayer. A lead is formed atop the hard bias layer. The hard bias junction is recessed from the edge of the magnetoresistive sensor by a predetermined recess distance, to provide stability and sensitivity to the read element.

Abstract: A write element for use in a read/write head having an air bearing surface, so as to reduce pole tip protrusion. The write element includes a pole tip region; an insulation layer formed adjacent to the pole tip region; a coil embedded in the insulation layer which contributes to a protrusion force that generates a pole tip protrusion; and a layer of thermally expansive material formed over the insulation layer, and recessed from the air bearing surface, that expands in response to heat absorption, causing a rotational moment of force that counteracts the protrusion force thus reducing the pole tip protrusion.

Abstract: A magnetic head for writing information on a relatively-moving medium is disclosed, the head having a leading end, a trailing end and a medium-facing surface, the head comprising: a soft magnetic write pole that terminates in a pole tip that is disposed adjacent to the medium-facing surface; at least one coil section that is disposed adjacent to the write pole to induce a magnetic flux in the write pole; and a hard magnetic bias structure disposed within one micron of the pole tip to magnetically bias the pole tip.

Abstract: A spin valve device includes a non-magnetic enhancement layer adjacent an ultra thin free layer. The thickness of the free layer may be less than the mean free path of a conduction electron through the free layer. The GMR ratio is significantly improved for free layer thicknesses below 50 ?. The enhancement layer allows electrons to travel longer in their spin state before encountering scattering sites. The electronic properties of the enhancement layer material can be matched with the adjacent free layer without creating a low resistance shunt path. Because the free layer may be made ultra thin and the enhancement layer is formed of a nonmagnetic material, less magnetic field is required to align the free layer, allowing for improved data density. Also, the enhancement layer allows for effective bias point control by shifting sensor current density distribution.

Abstract: A read/write head for use in a perpendicular magnetic recording head in a data storage system. The read/write head includes a write section that is comprised of a first pole layer, a second pole layer, a third pole layer, and a shield layer. The third pole layer defines a write pole tip, and the third pole layer and the shield layer are separated from each other to define a write gap therebetween. At least part of the shield layer has a generally uniform width, and wherein the write pole tip defines a track width that is substantially equal to the uniform width of the shield layer. According to one embodiment the entire shield layer has a generally uniform width that is substantially equal to the track width. According to another embodiment, the shield layer includes a lower section and an upper section, wherein the lower section has a generally uniform width along its entire length, and wherein the upper section is wider than the lower section.

Abstract: A method of fabrication of a slider includes forming a first ferromagnetic layer, a second ferromagnetic layer, and an antiferromagnetic layer and applying a layer of protective material to proximal ends of those layers that are proximal to the disk surface. The method further includes recessing a proximal end of a non-magnetic metal layer formed on the first ferromagnetic layer from the disk surface to form at least one recessed area. The method also includes filling the recessed area with protective material to a depth such that when the layer of protective material is worn from the ends of the first ferromagnetic layer, the second ferromagnetic layer, and the antiferromagnetic layer by burnishing of the ends by the disk surface, protective material still remains in the recessed area of the non-magnetic metal layer.

Abstract: A magnetic head comprising a first layer containing NiFe having a concentration of iron that is at least thirty percent and not more than seventy percent; a second layer that adjoins the first layer and contains FeCoN having a concentration of iron that is greater than the second layer's concentration of cobalt, having a concentration of nitrogen that is less than the second layer's concentration of cobalt and less than three percent; and a third layer containing FeCoNi having a concentration of nickel that is less than eight percent, having a concentration of cobalt that is less than the third layer's concentration of iron and greater than the third layer's concentration of nickel, the third layer adjoining only one of the first and second layers. The first and second layers may be repeated to form a magnetically soft high BS laminate for a pole layer.

Abstract: A magnetic sensor is disclosed that is disposed between top and bottom magnetic shield layers, the sensor comprising: a nonferromagnetic layer disposed beneath the top shield layer; a magnetically soft layer disposed beneath the nonferromagnetic layer, the magnetically soft layer having a magnetization that rotates in response to an applied magnetic field; a ferromagnetic pinned layer disposed beneath the magnetically soft layer; an antiferromagnetic layer disposed beneath the ferromagnetic layer; and an aluminum-nitride seed layer disposed between the antiferromagnetic layer and the bottom shield layer. The aluminum-nitride seed layer decreases sense current shunting, increases pinning strength, increases magnetoresistance and/or increases yield.

Abstract: A magnetic transducing element in which a ferromagnetic tunneling junction film, including first and second ferromagnetic layers and an insulating layer are enclosed between the ferromagnetic layers, and a nonmagnetic metal thin film is inserted between the second ferromagnetic layer and the insulating layer, is formed on a substrate.

Abstract: A method and system for forming a microscopic transducer are described. The method and system include forming a plurality of adjoining sensor layers. The sensor layers include a first magnetically soft layer, a nonmagnetic layer on the first magnetically soft layer, and a second magnetically soft layer on the nonmagnetic layer. The method and system also include forming a sidewall over the second magnetically soft layer. The sidewall formation includes forming a base having a surface oriented substantially perpendicular to the sensor layers and depositing an electrically conductive material on the surface. The method and system also include removing a portion of the sensor layers not covered by the sidewall.

Abstract: A magnetic head suspension assembly is fabricated with an integral piece which includes a load beam section, a flexure section, a rest mount section and a leaf spring section between the load beam and rear mount. A tongue extends from the load beam to the flexure and has a down-facing load dimple which contacts the non-air bearing surface of an attached air bearing slider. The flexure includes narrow thin legs adjacent to a cutout that delineates the load beam tongue. The head suspension is characterised by a high first bending mode frequency and low pitch and roll stiffness.