Patent ID: 8836059

Claim:
A magnetic head, comprising: a sensor stack formed over a substrate, the sensor stack having a pinned layer, a free layer and a non-magnetic layer sandwiched between the pinned layer and the free layer; a first hard or soft bias layer disposed within a first channel, positioned within the sensor stack and having a substantially uniform thickness, wherein the first channel is defined by a first barrier layer and bound by the free layer, the non-magnetic layer, the pinned layer and the substrate; a second hard or soft bias layer disposed within a second channel, positioned within the sensor stack and having a substantially uniform thickness, wherein the second channel is defined by a second barrier layer and bound by the free layer, the non-magnetic layer, the pinned layer and the substrate; a first dielectric layer bordered by and in contact with the first barrier layer, the pinned layer and the first hard or soft bias layer; and a second dielectric layer bordered by and in contact with the second barrier layer, the pinned layer and the second hard or soft bias layer.