Patent ID: 8537505

Claim:
A magnetoresistive effect head, comprising: a lower magnetic shield on a substrate; a magnetoresistive effect film laminated from a pinned layer with a pinned direction of magnetization; an intermediate layer; a free layer having a varying direction of magnetization controlled by an applied external magnetic field; a magnetic domain control layer formed with an intervening insulation layer on both sides in a track width direction of the magnetoresistive effect film; an upper magnetic shield; and electrodes for directing sense current flow in a direction perpendicular to a film surface of the magnetoresistive effect film, wherein a magnetic field applied by the magnetic domain control layer to a region away from an air bearing surface (ABS) of the free layer is at least 1.4 times larger than a magnetic field applied by the magnetic domain control layer to a region near the ABS of the free layer, wherein the lower magnetic shield and the upper magnetic shield act as the electrodes such that the sense current flows in the direction perpendicular to the film surface of the magnetoresistive effect film, and wherein a distance between the upper magnetic shield and a center of the free layer in a region away from the ABS is at least 1.3 times a distance between the upper magnetic shield and the center of the free layer at the ABS.