Patent ID: 8310792

Claim:
A magnetoresistive element (MR element) for reading a change in a magnetic field of a magnetic recording medium, the MR element comprising: first and second electrode layers for providing a sensing current, the first and second electrode layers disposed in parallel to each other along a moving direction of the magnetic recording medium, and perpendicular to an air bearing surface (ABS) facing the magnetic recording medium; first and second free layers disposed between the pair of electrode layers in a stacking configuration, the first and second free layers having a magnetization direction which changes in accordance with an external magnetic field; and a spacer layer composed of non-magnetic material and disposed between the first and second free layers, wherein: a ratio of a representative length and a representative width of each of the first and second free layers is at least 2 to 1, to thereby provide initial magnetizations along a direction of the representative length of each of the first and second free layers, the representative width and the representative length defined in a plane perpendicular to the ABS; and the first and second free layers include an overlapping region in a vicinity of the ABS in which the first and second free layers overlap each other in the moving direction of the magnetic recording medium, the first and second free layers overlapping each other at a substantially perpendicular angle, and the first and second free layers respectively include first and second bias layers in rear portions of the first and second free layers so that no bias layer is present at a rear portion of the overlapping region.