Read sensitivity in abutted-junction type spin-valve head

The sensitivity and the distribution of read heads have become more and more vital as the recording track density has increased. From the view point of the sensitivity distribution, the read performance of abutted-junction type spin-valve (SV) heads are investigated by using Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert micromagnetic simulation. In this model, the hard magnet film is set up at a slant to be abutted with the SV sensor edge. A long overlap length introduces negative longitudinal field. This inadequate field distribution causes the magnetization array to be disordered and irreversible magnetization changes in the free layer of the head. We also investigated the relationship between the magnetization state and the micro-track profile, as a function of sense current direction and track width. As a result, it is confirmed that the micro-track profile can be explained by the magnetization state of the free layer