Patent ID: 7675715

Claim:
A magnetoresistive head, comprising: a lower magnetic shield film; a lower gap film formed on an upper portion of the lower magnetic shield film; an antiferromagnetic layer formed on an upper portion of the lower gap film; a magnetoresistive sheet unit including a pinned layer, a nonmagnetic layer, and a free layer formed on an upper portion of the antiferromagnetic layer; a magnetic domain control layer formed on both end portions of the magnetoresistive sheet unit and on an upper portion of the antiferromagnetic layer; a first electrode film formed on an upper portion of the magnetic domain control layer; a second electrode film formed on an upper portion of the first electrode film and on an outside of a flat portion of the first electrode film and circumventing the flat portion; an insulating film formed on an upper portion of the second electrode film; an upper gap film formed on an upper portion of the insulating film, the first electrode film, and the magnetoresistive sheet unit; and an upper magnetic shield film formed on an upper portion of the upper gap film; wherein a step between the flat portion of the first electrode film adjacent to the magnetoresistive sheet unit and an upper surface of the magnetoresistive sheet unit is a flat surface with a difference of about 14 nm or less; and wherein a flat part of the upper magnetic shield film formed directly above an upper portion of the flat surface is wider in a track width direction than the free layer.