Patent ID: 6870718

Claim:
A magnetoresistive sensor including a substrate, a pair of magnetic shield layers consisting of a lower magnetic shield layer and an upper magnetic shield layer, a magnetoresistive sensor layer disposed between the pair of magnetic shields, an electrode terminal for flowing a signal current perpendicular to the plane of the magnetoresistive sensor layer, and magnetic domain control layers for controlling Barkhausen noise of said magnetoresistive sensor layer, wherein said magnetic domain control layers disposed on opposite ends of the magnetoresistive sensor layer in a region from the end surface of a media-opposed surface side of the magnetoresistive sensor layer to the depth position are made of a material having a specific resistance not less than 10 mΩcm, and are in contact with at least opposite end surfaces of said magnetoresistive sensor layer in said region; wherein each magnetic domain control layer of said magnetic domain control layers includes regions of hard magnetic material having high coercivity made of a metal magnetic material having a composition including at least one of the elements of Co (cobalt), Cr (chromium), Pt (platinum), Ta (tantalum), and Nb (niobium), and regions of insulating material made of at least one of Al2O3, SiO2, HfO2, TaO2, TiO2, Ta2O5, AlN, AlSlN, or ZrO2, said each magnetic domain control layer including at least two of the regions of hard magnetic material which are separated from one another.