Patent ID: 7327539
Filing Date: 2008-02-05
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
1. A CPP giant magnetoresistive head comprising: lower and upper shield layers with a predetermined shield distance therebetween; and a giant magnetoresistive element disposed between the upper and lower shield layers and comprising a pinned magnetic layer, a free magnetic layer, and a nonmagnetic layer disposed between the pinned magnetic layer and the free magnetic layer, a current flowing perpendicularly to a film plane of the giant magnetoresistive element; wherein a lower large-area nonmagnetic metal film is provided directly above the lower shield layer and an upper large-area nonmagnetic film is provided directly below the upper shield layer to make direct contact with the pinned magnetic layer and the free magnetic layer, respectively, of the giant magnetoresistive element, and the lower and upper large-area nonmagnetic metal films have larger areas than those of the pinned magnetic layer and the free magnetic layer, respectively.