Patent ID: 6865062

Claim:
A magnetic head assembly that has a head surface for facing a magnetic medium comprising: a read head that includes a magnetoresistive sensor; the magnetoresistive sensor including: an antiparallel (AP) pinned layer structure; a ferromagnetic free layer having a magnetic moment that is free to rotate in response to a field signal; and a nonmagnetic electrically conductive spacer layer located between the free layer and the AP pinned layer structure; the antiparallel (AP) pinned layer structure including: ferromagnetic first and second antiparallel (AP) pinned layers; an antiparallel (AP) coupling layer located between and interfacing the first and second AP pinned layers; the second AP pinned layer being Co 90 Fe 10 and the first AP pinned layer having an iron (Fe) content greater than the iron (Fe) content in the second AP pinned layer up to 40% so that the first and second AP pinned layers self pin one another without assistance of a pinning layer; and the free layer having first and second wing portions that extend in first and second lateral directions beyond a track width of the sensor; and first and second antiferromagnetic (AFM) layers exchange coupled to said first and second wing portions for longitudinally biasing the magnetic moment of the free layer parallel to the head surface and parallel to major planes of the layers of the read head.