Patent ID: 6888700

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a magnetic recording medium having a hard magnetic recording layer and a soft magnetic underlayer; and a perpendicular magnetic recording head comprising: a read element having a first side and a second side; a first magnetic flux generating element spaced apart from the first side of said read element, wherein said first magnetic flux generating element transmits a magnetic flux into the soft magnetic underlayer adjacent an air-bearing surface of the first magnetic flux generating element; and a second magnetic flux generating element spaced apart from the second side of said read element, wherein said second magnetic flux generating element transmits a magnetic flux into the soft magnetic underlayer adjacent an air-bearing surface of the second magnetic flux generating element, wherein the magnetic flux transmitted to the soft magnetic underlayer by the first magnetic flux generating element flows in an opposite direction within the soft magnetic underlayer than the flow of the magnetic flux transmitted to the soft magnetic underlayer by the second magnetic flux generating element.