Patent ID: 6866751

Claim:
A method of making a magnetic head assembly that has a head surface for facing a magnetic medium comprising the steps of: forming a read head that includes a magnetoresistive sensor; a making of the magnetoresistive sensor including the steps of: forming an antiparallel (AP) pinned layer structure; forming a ferromagnetic free layer that has a magnetic moment that is free to rotate in response to a field signal; and forming a nonmagnetic electrically conductive spacer layer between the free layer and the AP pinned layer structure; the forming of the antiparallel (AP) pinned layer structure including the steps of: forming ferromagnetic first and second antiparallel (AP) pinned layers; forming an antiparallel coupling (APC) layer between and interfacing the first and second AP pinned layers; and the first and second AP pinned layers being further formed to self pin one another without assistance of an antiferromagnetic (AFM) pinning layer; and forming first and second hard bias layers abutting the first and second side surfaces of the layers of the magnetoresistive sensor for longitudinally biasing the free layer parallel to the head surface and parallel to the major plane surfaces of the AP pinned layers; and after forming the first and second hard bias layers, performing a referential setting of polarities of magnetic moments of the AP pinned layers by applying a canted magnetic field oriented within a plane parallel to the major plane surfaces of the AP pinned layers at an acute angle to said head surface.