Evaluation of front flux guide-type magnetic tunnel junction heads

Author

Shimazawa, K. ; Redon, O. ; Kasahara, N. ; Sun, J.J. ; Sato, K. ; Kagami, T. ; Saruki, S. ; Umehara, T. ; Fujita, Y. ; Yarimizu, S. ; Araki, S. ; Morita, H. ; Matsuzaki, M.

Author_Institution

R&D Dept., TDK Corp., Nagano, Japan

Volume

36

Issue

5

fYear

2000

fDate

9/1/2000 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

2542

Lastpage

2544

Abstract

Magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) heads have been successfully fabricated using the free layer as flux guide to prevent electrical short during the definition of the air bearing surface (ABS). For a 6 Gbits/in² design, an output as high as 5740 μVpp was achieved for 3 mA sense current, and the output waveform was stable and noise free. Noise analysis confirmed that shot noise is prevailing in these MTJ heads, suggesting that the junction resistance has to be further reduced to challenge spin-valve heads in terms of signal to noise ratio. Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert simulations showed that for 20 Gbits/in² application, the flux guide height should not exceed 0.1 μm

Keywords

magnetic heads; magnetic recording noise; magnetoresistive devices; shot noise; tunnelling; 0.1 micron; 5740 muV; Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert simulations; air bearing surface; electrical short; flux guide height; front flux guide-type magnetic tunnel junction heads; junction resistance; output waveform; sense current; shot noise; signal to noise ratio; Acoustical engineering; Magnetic field measurement; Magnetic flux; Magnetic heads; Magnetic shielding; Magnetic tunneling; Noise reduction; Signal to noise ratio; Sun; Temperature;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.908501

Filename

908501