Patent ID: 6842969

Claim:
A process for manufacturing a magnetic read head, comprising: on a substrate, forming a GMR stack whose topmost layer is a magnetically free layer; then, by means of a liftoff technique, forming, on said free layer, a buffer layer having a trapezoidal cross-section, sloping sidewalls, a central area of uniform thickness and a width that defines a read track; then depositing a capping layer on all exposed surfaces; then, fully removing said capping layer everywhere except from said central area whereby at least some portion of said buffer layer also gets removed; selectively depositing a soft ferromagnetic layer on said sloping sidewalls, any residual buffer layer material on said sidewalls being thin enough to permit propagation of exchange forces between said soft ferromagnetic layer and said free layer; depositing an antiferromagnetic layer on said soft ferromagnetic layer; and depositing a conductive lead layer on only said antiferromagnetic layer.