Patent ID: 8873203

Claim:
A magnetic head, comprising: a read sensor configured to sense an external magnetic field; an upper magnetic shield positioned above the read sensor along a media-facing surface of the read sensor; a lower magnetic shield positioned below the read sensor along the media-facing surface of the read sensor; a rear insulating layer positioned on a rear side of the read sensor, the rear side being on an opposite side of the read sensor as the media-facing surface of the read sensor; and a soft magnetic layer positioned near the rear side of the read sensor opposite the media-facing surface of the read sensor, wherein the rear insulating layer is positioned between the soft magnetic layer and the read sensor, wherein the rear insulating layer is positioned between the soft magnetic layer and the lower magnetic shield, and wherein crystal grains of the soft magnetic layer are inclined from a surface of the soft magnetic layer that is perpendicular to the media-facing surface of the read sensor.