Patent ID: 7805828

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head comprising a magnetoresistive device including an antiferromagnetic layer, a ferromagnetic layer having a direction of magnetization that is fixed upon exchange-coupling with the antiferromagnetic layer, a free layer having a direction of magnetization that changes in response to external magnetization, and a nonmagnetic layer disposed between the ferromagnetic layer and the free layer; a domain control layer for regulating a magnetic domain of the free layer by applying a longitudinal bias magnetic field thereto; and first and second shield layers being disposed so as to oppose each other by way of the magnetoresistive device for shielding the magnetoresistive device; the method comprising: forming the first shield layer; forming the magnetoresistive device after forming the first shield layer; a heat treatment providing exchange coupling between the ferromagnetic layer and the antiferromagnetic layer so as to magnetize the ferromagnetic layer in a direction orthogonal to a track width direction; forming the domain control layer so as to hold the magnetoresistive device in the track width direction; magnetizing the domain control layer in a direction yielding a magnetic field in the direction orthogonal to the track width direction; forming the second shield layer after magnetizing the domain control layer; and remagnetizing the domain control layer in a direction yielding the longitudinal bias magnetic field by applying a magnetic field to the domain control layer in the track width direction after forming the second shield layer.