Patent ID: 8902548

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a first read shield and a second read shield; and a reader stack between the first and second read shields; the first and second read shields each comprise a thin high permeability layer closest to the reader stack and a low permeability layer, wherein the thin high permeability layer in the first read shield and the thin high permeability layer in the second read shield are configured to control magnetic field flux lines in a free layer of the reader stack, wherein, in each of the first and second read shields, a portion of the low permeability layer is substantially flush with a bearing surface, and wherein a depth to which the thin high permeability layer in the first read shield extends from the bearing surface and a depth to which the thin high permeability layer in the second read shield extends from the bearing surface are each substantially greater than a depth to which the reader stack extends from the bearing surface.