Patent ID: 7268981

Claim:
A spin valve sensor, comprising: a first gap layer; a free layer structure; an antiparallel pinned (AP) layer structure formed over the first gap layer; a non-magnetic electrically conductive spacer layer formed between the free layer structure and the AP pinned layer structure; first and second antiferromagnetic (AFM) pinning layer structures formed over the first gap layer in end regions of the sensor but absent from a central region of the sensor; the AP pinned layer structure including; a first AP pinned layer; a second AP pinned layer; an anti-parallel coupling (APC) layer formed between the first and the second AP pinned layers; the first AP pinned layer being formed in the central region and over the first and the second AFM pinning layer structures in the end regions; first and second lead layers formed in the end regions; and a second gap layer formed over the first and second lead layers in the end regions and over the sensor in the central region.