Patent ID: 8168310

Claim:
A magnetic storage system, comprising: a magnetic storage medium; at least one head for reading from and writing to the magnetic medium: a slider for supporting the head; and a control unit coupled to the head for controlling operation of the head, wherein the magnetic storage medium comprises: a substrate; a first oxide magnetic layer formed above the substrate; a second oxide magnetic layer formed above the first oxide magnetic layer; an exchange coupling layer formed above the second oxide magnetic layer, the exchange coupling layer comprising an oxide; and a magnetic cap layer formed above the exchange coupling layer, wherein an overwrite characteristic is greater than about 28 dB with a magnetic core width of less than about 85, wherein a first portion of the exchange coupling layer adjacent the second oxide magnetic layer is formed of a same material as the second oxide magnetic laver, the first portion of the exchange coupling layer having a lower oxygen content than the second oxide magnetic layer, wherein a second portion of the exchange coupling layer is formed of a different material than the first portion of the exchange coupling layer.