Patent ID: 7116526

Claim:
A magnetic head assembly, which has a head surface, comprising: a read sensor being partially bounded by its top, bottom, first side and second side surfaces wherein the surfaces are substantially perpendicular to said head surface and the first and second side surfaces join the top and bottom surfaces; first and second hard bias layers wherein each first and second hard bias layer is partially bounded by its top, bottom and an end surfaces wherein the surfaces are substantially perpendicular to said head surface and the end surface joins the top and bottom surfaces; the end surfaces of the first and second hard bias layers being adjacent the first and second side surfaces of the sensor respectively for longitudinally magnetically biasing the sensor; the top surface of the sensor having a top middle surface portion and first and second top end surface portions with the top middle surface portion being located between the first and second top end surface portions; first and second leads overlaying the top surfaces of the first and second hard bias layers respectively and overlaying the first and second top surface end portions respectively of the sensor; first and second insulation layers with the first insulation layer being located between the top surface of the first hard bias layer and the first lead layer and the second insulation layer being located between the top surface of the second hard bias layer and the second lead layer; and each of the first and second insulation layers being made of a material which has a greater electrical resistivity than a material of the first and second hard bias layers; third and fourth insulation layers with the third insulation layer being located between the end surface of the first bard bias layer and the first side surface of the sensor and the fourth insulation layer being located between the end surface of the second hard bias layer and the second side surface of the sensor; and the third and fourth insulation layers being constructed of a material which has a greater electrical resistivity than the material of the first and second hard bias layers; a read head including: nonmagnetic electrically nonconductive first and second read gap layers; the sensor being located between the first and second read gap layers; ferromagnetic first and second shield layers; and the first and second read gap layers being located between the first and second shield layers.