Side-shielded tunneling magnetoresistive read head for high-density recording

To reduce the side-reading effect and obtain a narrower effective read track width, the side-shield effect was studied by computer simulations and experiments. Computer simulations show that the side shield, which consists of a soft magnet, can reduce the effective read track width. To examine the effect, a side-shielded tunneling magnetoresistive head was fabricated. In the head, to place a soft magnet by the sensor side, a closed-flux structure was applied for longitudinal bias instead of a conventional abutted junction. Microtrack profile measurements agreed with simulated results, and the side-shield effect was clearly demonstrated.