Patent ID: 6657826
Filing Date: 2003-12-02
Classification: B82Y,G11B,Y10T

Abstract:
A head gimbal assembly comprising a slider that includes a thin-film magnetic head and is located to face toward a recording medium, and a suspension that flexibly supports the slider, the thin-film magnetic head incorporating a magnetoresistive device that is a device for reading a magnetic signal, the magnetoresistive device comprising:a magnetoresistive element having two surfaces that face toward opposite directions and two side portions that face toward opposite directions; two bias field applying layers that are located adjacent to the side portions of the magnetoresistive element and apply a bias magnetic field to the magnetoresistive element, each of the bias field applying layers having two surfaces that face toward opposite directions; two electrode layers that feed a current used for magnetic signal detection to the magnetoresistive element, each of the electrode layers being adjacent to one of the surfaces of each of the bias field applying layers and overlapping one of the surfaces of the magnetoresistive element; and two nonconductive layers that are located between the one of the surfaces of the magnetoresistive element and the two electrode layers and located in two regions including ends of the magnetoresistive element near the side portions thereof, the two regions being parts of a region in which the electrode layers face toward the one of the surfaces of the magnetoresistive element, wherein: the magnetoresistive element incorporates: a nonmagnetic layer having two surfaces that face toward opposite directions; a soft magnetic layer adjacent to one of the surfaces of the nonmagnetic layer; a pinned layer, located adjacent to the other one of the surfaces of the nonmagnetic layer, whose direction of magnetization is fixed; and an antiferromagnetic layer located adjacent to one of surfaces of the pinned layer that is farther from the nonmagnetic layer, the antiferromagnetic layer fixing the direction of magnetization of the pinned layer; the soft magnetic layer is located closer to the one of the surfaces of the magnetoresistive element than the antiferromagnetic layer; and each of the bias field applying layers incorporates a first layer made of a ferromagnetic substance and a second layer made of an antiferromagnetic substance wherein the first layer is located on a side of the nonmagnetic layer. the pinned layer, and the soft magnetic layer, and the second layer is located between the first layer and each of the electrode layers.