Patent ID: 7154714

Claim:
A recording/reproducing separated type magnetic head, comprising: a magneto-resistive reproducing head including a lower shield, an upper shield, a magneto-resistive element having a stack of a free layer, a non-magnetic conductive layer, a pinned layer and an anti-ferromagnetic layer disposed by way of insulating layers between the lower shield and the upper shield, first magnetic domain control layers disposed on opposite ends of the magneto-resistive element for controlling the magnetizing direction of the free layer to take a predetermined direction, second magnetic domain control layers disposed on opposite ends of the magneto-resistive element for generating a magnetic field in the direction opposite to the magnetizing direction of the first magnetic domain control layer, and electrode layers which are disposed on opposite ends of the magneto-resistive element and supply an electric current to the magneto-resistive element; and an inductive type recording head disposed adjacent to the magneto-resistive reproducing head, wherein the first magnetic domain control layer is disposed near the free layer and the second magnetic domain control layer is disposed apart from the free layer, wherein the product BrTh of residual magnetization Br and film thickness Th of the first magnetic domain control layer is smaller than BrTh of the second magnetic domain control layer.