Seagate Technology Incorporated

Dmitri Litvinov

Sakhrat Khizroev

Billy Wayne Crue

Mark H Kryder

Roy Wallace Gustafson

Robert Earl Rottmayer

Nisha Shukla

James Kent Howard

Erik Bjorn Svedberg

Eric Walter Singleton

Dieter Klaus Weller

Nurul Amin

Alexander Mikhailovich Shukh

James A Bain

Earl Chrzaszcz Johns

Thomas McLendon Crawford

Bill Crue

A write pole for a magnetic recording head, such as a perpendicular magnetic recording head, includes a first magnetic layer comprising a material having a first saturation magnetic moment and a second magnetic layer adjacent the first magnetic layer wherein the second magnetic layer comprises a material having a second saturation magnetic moment that is greater than the first saturation magnetic moment. The write pole also comprises a non-magnetic layer between a portion of the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer. The non-magnetic layer may be formed between the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer adjacent an air-bearing surface of the recording head. A disc drive storage system having a recording head with means for reducing skew sensitivity of the recording head is also disclosed.

Low moment-high moment write pole with non-magnetic layer for establishing a magnetic path discontinuity between layers of the write pole

A perpendicular magnetic recording system is provided which eliminates unwanted side writing to adjacent recording tracks due to the skew angle effect. The system includes a perpendicular magnetic recording head with a write pole that is used to sequentially write to adjacent tracks of a magnetic recording disk. In one embodiment, the write pole is aligned at a compensation angle with respect to the recording tracks which remains greater than zero as the recording head travels in an arc across the disk. When the recording head moves radially inwardly or outwardly across the tracks of the disk, the compensation angle remains greater than zero. Any side writing by the write pole to adjacent tracks is eliminated as the write pole sequentially writes to the next adjacent track. By eliminating the skew angle effect, smaller spacings may be provided between adjacent tracks, thereby increasing data storage densities.

Magnetic recording system which eliminates skew angle effect

A perpendicular recording head for use with magnetic recording media includes an unusually thin main pole. The main pole is made by depositing magnetically permeable material on a nonmagnetic substrate. The main pole is then magnetically coupled with an opposing pole so that the deposited magnetically permeable material is oriented parallel to the recording head's direction of travel.

Perpendicular recording head with trackwidth defined by plating thickness

A perpendicular magnetic recording head for improving resolution includes a read element and a magnetic flux generating element spaced apart from the read element. The magnetic flux generating element transmits a magnetic flux into a soft magnetic underlayer of a magnetic recording medium adjacent an air-bearing surface of the magnetic flux generating element. The magnetic flux transmitted to the soft magnetic underlayer flows in the soft magnetic underlayer away from an area of the soft magnetic underlayer beneath the read element.

Perpendicular magnetic recording apparatus for improved playback resolution having flux generating elements proximate the read element

Magnetic films are annealed by radio frequency (RF) radiation. During the RF annealing process, the layers may be subjected to a magnetic field in order to control their anisotropy axes. The RF annealed layers are useful for applications such as longitudinal and perpendicular magnetic recording layers of magnetic data storage media.

Selective annealing of magnetic recording films

A perpendicular recording head () for use with magnetic recording media () includes a main pole () and a magnetic field source which is positioned sufficiently close to the main pole tip to generate a background magnetic field in the recording media. A conductive magnetizing coil () surrounding the main pole is preferably used as the magnetic field source. The background magnetic field generated by the magnetizing coil effectively reduces the coercivity of the magnetic recording media in the region affected by the background field. The recording head enables writing on high coercivity/high anisotropy magnetic media, thereby achieving extremely high recording densities.

Magnetic recording head including background magnetic field generator

A perpendicular magnetic recording head having an air bearing surface and comprising a substantially planar top pole and a shared pole is disclosed. The top pole and shared pole are connected distally from the air bearing surface by a yoke. A conductive coil wraps around the top pole and is positioned adjacent to the air bearing surface, with a lower portion of the coils extending between the top pole and the shared pole.

Perpendicular magnetic recording head

A longitudinal recording head for use with magnetic recording media includes a gapless yoke with a cavity that expels magnetic flux onto a small area of the magnetic recording medium. Longitudinal recording heads incorporating the gapless yoke and flux cavity are capable of improved recording densities.

Gapless longitudinal magnetic recording head with flux cavity

A longitudinal recording head () for use with magnetic recording media includes a non-uniform gap () between first () and second magnetic () poles which focuses magnetic flux onto a small area of the magnetic recording medium. The non-uniform gap is preferably in the form of a cavity that is contoured to produce the desired flux pattern. Longitudinal recording heads incorporating the non-uniform gap are capable of improved recording densities.

Longitudinal magnetic recording heads with variable-length gaps

A perpendicular magnetic recording medium with antiferromagnetic coupling in a soft magnetic underlayer. The soft magnetic underlayer includes a first magnetic soft layer, a first interface layer on the first magnetic soft layer, a second magnetic soft layer, a second interface layer on the second magnetic soft layer, and a non-magnetic coupling layer between the first interface layer and the second interface layer. The first and second magnetic soft layers are antiferromagnetically exchange coupled to one another through the non-magnetic coupling layer, wherein the first and second interface layers increase the exchange coupling between the first and second magnetic soft layers.

Perpendicular recording medium with antiferromagnetic exchange coupling in soft magnetic underlayers

A perpendicular magnetic recording head includes a perpendicular writing pole and a longitudinal field generator which rotates the magnetization of the perpendicular recording media prior to writing, thereby facilitating magnetization switching. The longitudinal magnetic field may be provided by a narrowed gap between the trailing write pole and the leading return pole of the head. The gap structure is designed to provide a fringing magnetic field between the poles which generates the longitudinal magnetic field in perpendicular recording media as the media travels under the perpendicular writing pole.

Perpendicular magnetic recording head with longitudinal magnetic field generator to facilitate magnetization switching

A perpendicular magnetic recording head includes a main write pole and multiple return poles. The size of each return pole is controlled in order to provide substantially the same magnetic reluctance through each return pole. The return poles effectively reduce or eliminate the flux antenna effect caused by stray magnetic fields.

Perpendicular recording head with return poles which reduce flux antenna effect

A perpendicular recording head for use with magnetic recording media includes a main pole having a concave tip. The concave tip focuses the magnetic flux from the main pole onto a smaller area of the magnetic recording medium than a conventional main pole when the main pole is at its flying height from the magnetic recording medium. Although the most preferred perpendicular recording head includes a concave cavity having an elliptical profile when viewed from the side, any substantially concave cavity may be used advantageously.

Perpendicular recording head including concave tip

A read head for perpendicular magnetic recording that reduces side reading. The read head includes a read element and a magnetic shield spaced apart from the read element. The magnetic shield at least partially surrounds the read element at an air-bearing surface of the read element. The ratio of an air-bearing surface area of the magnetic shield to an air-bearing surface area of the read element is from about 1:1 to about 40:1.

Perpendicular magnetic recording head with a magnetic shield to reduce side reading

A main write pole for a perpendicular recording head for use with magnetic recording media includes a main body portion of a material with a low magnetic moments, a trailing edge of a material having a high magnetic moment and a non-magnetic de-coupling layer therebetween. The strong magnetic recording field generated by the high moment magnetic material permits the use of a magnetic recording media having high anisotropy, thereby reducing super paramagnetic instabilities at high recording densities. Additionally, the high magnetic moment of the trailing edge, combined with the low magnetic moments of the remainder of the write pole, results in a highly localized magnetic recording field, thereby reducing the sensitivity of the recording process to the skew angle. Further, the de-coupling between the low and high magnetic moment portions of the write pole minimize the problem of magnetic remanence.

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Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America

Dmitri Litvinov