Patent ID: 6944939

Claim:
A method for forming a GMR sensor having improved longitudinal biasing comprising: providing a substrate; forming a first insulating layer on said substrate; forming a GMR sensor element on said first insulating layer, the formation of said element further comprising: depositing a layered GMR structure on said first insulating layer, said structure including a ferromagnetic free layer and said structure having a substantially planar upper surface; forming from said GMR structure a GMR sensor element having a readwidth defined by lateral edges, by removing laterally disposed regions from about a central region with an ion-beam etch and a first photoresist mask; forming, on said first insulating layer, two longitudinal biasing structures, laterally disposed to either side of said GMR sensor element, the formation of each said structure further comprising: forming, using said first photoresist mask as a deposition mask, a soft magnetic layer abutting the lateral edge of said GMR sensor element, said layer extending laterally outward from said sensor element edge; forming, using said first deposition mask, a self-aligned conducting layer on said soft magnetic layer; trimming said soft magnetic and conducting layers, using a second mask and an ion-beam etch, to form a common, substantially planar lateral edge; forming, using said second mask as a deposition mask, a hard magnetic layer abutting said soft magnetic and conducting layers at said lateral edge and substantially covering said lateral edge; forming a conducting lead layer over each hard magnetic layer; forming a second insulating layer over all exposed surfaces of said conducting lead layer, said conducting layer and said GMR sensor element.