Title :
DC resistance instability in magnetoresistive recording heads
Author :
Du, Shawn X. ; Villaume, Garrick M. ; Henderson, Michael R.
Author_Institution :
Recording Head Oper., Seagate Technol., Minneapolis, MN, USA
fDate :
9/1/2000 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
A resistance instability under DC bias condition in anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) recording heads has been observed. AC-coupled reader output voltage fluctuation across the biased sensor shows a square wave pulse profile with pulse width ranging from 1 to 500 μs. An irregular pattern of pulse amplitude, width, and occurrence has been observed. Such instability has been found sensitive to the bias current, but not to external magnetic fields up to 200 Oe. Surface treatment has been found effective in eliminating this instability in AMR recording heads. Intermittent shorting due to metal smearing has been suggested as the mechanism that supports the above observations
Keywords :
giant magnetoresistance; magnetic heads; magnetoresistive devices; surface treatment; 1 to 500 mus; AC-coupled reader; DC bias condition; DC resistance instability; anisotropic magnetoresistive recording heads; bias current; external magnetic fields; intermittent shorting; metal smearing; output voltage fluctuation; pulse width; square wave pulse profile; surface treatment; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Frequency; Giant magnetoresistance; Low-frequency noise; Magnetic fields; Magnetic heads; Magnetic noise; Magnetic recording; Noise level; Space vector pulse width modulation;
Journal_Title :
Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on
