Seagate Technology Incorporated

Dion Song

Dimitar Velikov Dimitrov

Mark William Covington

Wonjoon Jung

James Gary Wessel

Wayne Allen Bonin

Wei Tian

Mark Thomas Kief

Victor Sapozhnikov

Michael Thomas Johnson

Qing I He

Erik Jon Hutchinson

Raul Horacio Andruet

Neil Zuckerman

Christopher James Rea

Lijuan Zou

Mohammed Sharia Ullah Patwari

Sunita B Gangopadhyay

Yifan Zhang

Charles Everett Hawkinson

Xiaohang Kong

A recording head that includes at least one protection feature that prevents at least one other feature of the recording head from directly colliding with a data storage medium with which the recording head communicates. The recording head includes a transducer element having a leading edge and a trailing edge. The recording head also includes a transducer element heater located closer to the leading edge of the transducer element than the trailing edge of the transducer element. A contact pad is interposed between the leading edge of the transducer element and the transducer element heater to prevent the transducer element from directly colliding with the data storage medium.

Contact pad for recording heads

Implementations disclosed herein allow a signal detected by a magnetoresistive (MR) sensor to be improved by providing for one or more regions of reduced anisotropy proximal to a sensor stack within a shielding structure.

Magnetoresistive sensor with variable shield permeability

A magnetoresistive read sensor with improved sensitivity and stability is described. The sensor is a trilayer stack positioned between two electrodes. The trilayer stack has two free layers separated by a nonmagnetic layer and a biasing magnet positioned at the rear of the stack and separated from the air bearing surface. Current in the sensor is confined to regions close to the air bearing surface by an insulator layer to enhance reader sensitivity.

Trilayer reader with current constraint at the ABS

A magnetic element capable of detecting changes in magnetic states, such as for use as a read sensor in a data transducing head or as a solid-state non-volatile memory element. In accordance with various embodiments, the magnetic element includes a magnetically responsive stack or lamination with a first areal extent. The stack includes a spacer layer positioned between first and second ferromagnetic free layers. At least one antiferromagnetic (AFM) tab is connected to the first free layer on a surface thereof opposite the spacer layer, the AFM tab having a second areal extent that is less than the first areal extent.

Magnetic element with improved stability and including at least one antiferromagnetic tab

Disclosed herein are magnetic sensors that include: a sensor stack having a front and an opposing back, wherein the front of the sensor stack defines an air bearing surface of the magnetic sensor, and the sensor stack includes: a free layer assembly having a second magnetization direction, that is substantially perpendicular to a plane of each layer of the sensor stack; and a stabilizing structure positioned away from the air bearing surface at the back of the sensor stack.

Magnetic sensors having perpendicular anisotropy free layer

A magnetic writer has at least a write pole with a first partial side shield and a second partial side shield. The write pole has a leading edge and a trailing edge along an air bearing surface (ABS) and a first side and a second side along an axis orthogonal to the ABS. The first partial side shield is separated from the first side of the write pole and extends from adjacent the write pole from the trailing edge to a location intermediate that trailing edge and the leading edge.

Write pole trailing edge partial side shield

An apparatus includes a magnetoresistive read element, first and second primary shields, and an auxiliary shield. The magnetoresistive read element is located between the first and the second primary shields, and the auxiliary shield is located between the magnetoresistive read element and the first primary shield. In another embodiment, the apparatus includes a plurality of magnets located between a plurality of shields for a magnetoresistive element. The plurality of magnets is optionally offset from the magnetoresistive element.

Auxiliary magnetoresistive shield

A transducing device responsive to magnetic fields includes a writer, a reader, an actuator, and a void. The actuator is positioned proximate the writer and reader. The void is positioned between at least one of the reader and writer and a substrate of a sensing device. The void is also positioned proximate an external surface.

Growing community of inventors

Eden Prairie, MN, United States of America

Dion Song