Patent ID: 8149531

Claim:
A read head circuit, comprising: a read element configured to read data stored magnetically on a platter, the read element including a first terminal and a second terminal; a normally-ON transistor including a first terminal directly connected to the first terminal of the read element, a second terminal directly connected to the second terminal of the read element, and a control terminal, wherein responsive to the control terminal being powered, the normally-ON transistor provides an open circuit between the first terminal of the read element and the second terminal of the read element, and responsive to the control terminal not being powered, the normally-ON transistor is configured to short the first terminal of the read element to the second terminal of the read element; a first voltage limiting circuit configured to limit voltage input to the first terminal of the normally-ON transistor and the first terminal of the read element; and a second voltage limiting circuit configured to limit voltage input to the second terminal of the normally-ON transistor and the second terminal of the read element.