Patent ID: 6972935
Filing Date: 2005-12-06
Classification: B82Y,G01R,G11B,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A disk drive including: a magnetic recording disk; and a magnetoresistive sensor for reading data recorded on the magnetic recording disk comprising: a substrate; a fixed ferromagnetic layer on the substrate, the magnetization of the fixed layer being fixed in a preferred direction; an electrically conductive spacer layer on the fixed ferromagnetic layer; a free ferromagnetic layer on the spacer layer and having two end regions and a central region between the two end regions; an antiparallel coupling layer on each free layer end region; a bias ferromagnetic layer on each antiparallel coupling layer for biasing the magnetization of each free layer end region in a direction substantially antiparallel to the magnetization of the bias layer; and a nonmagnetic layer on the free layer central region, the nonmagnetic layer being contiguous with each bias layer and being formed of one or more oxides of the same ferromagnetic material present in the bias layers, whereby the magnetization of the free layer central region is substantially free to rotate in the presence of an applied magnetic field, wherein the bias layers are formed of a bilayer of a CoFe alloy and a NiFe alloy, and wherein the nonmagnetic layer is formed of one or more oxides of cobalt, nickel or iron.