Seagate Technology Incorporated

Victor Sapozhnikov

Mohammed Shariat Ullah Patwari

Taras Grigorievich Pokhil

Eric Walter Singleton

Shaun Eric McKinlay

Mohammed Sharia Ullah Patwari

Konstantin Nikolaev

Jae-Young Yi

Liwen Tan

Harry Sam Edelman

Scott Wilson Stokes

Taras Grigoryevich Pokhil

Kevin Anthony McNeill

Jae Young Yi

Dimitar Velikov Dimitrov

Mark William Covington

Jason Bryce Gadbois

Yonghua Chen

Wonjoon Jung

Andrzej Adam Stankiewicz

Mohammed Patwari

Stacey Christine Wakeham

Steven Paul Bozeman

Mohammed Sharia Ullah Petwari

Kaizhong Gao

Declan Macken

Mourad Benakli

Mark Thomas Kief

Aidan Dominic Goggin

Kirill A Rivkin

Olle Gunnar Heinonen

Dian Song

Marcus Winston Ormston

Thomas Roy Boonstra

Dion Song

Janusz Josef Nowak

ZhiGuo Ge

Zhiguo Ge

Janusz Jozef Nowak

Dimitar Velikov Demitrov

Taras Pohkil

Pavol Krivosik

Disclosed are methods for linearizing the response of a non-linear magnetic reader, for example in the operation of a hard disk drive. Magnetic readers generally exhibit non-linearities in their response to an applied magnetic field, and those non-linearities may be particularly pronounced when the field strength is high. This deviation from linearity at larger field strengths can limit the useful range of field amplitudes. To expand the useful range of field amplitudes and thereby increase the available signal at the reader, the reader bias current may be varied in such a way to compensate for the natural non-linearity of the reader, thus making the reader output signal linear over a larger range of detected field strengths.

Reader with linearizing bias current

A reader of a magnetic recording head includes a sensor stack, a first side shield and a second side shield disposed on opposite sides of the sensor stack in a cross-track dimension, and a bridge. The bridge is configured to align magnetic moments of the first side shield and the second side shield. The bridge is disposed above the sensor stack relative to a media-facing surface of the magnetic recording head and proximate to the first side shield and the second side shield.

Magnetic storage reader having a bridge to align magnetic moments

A reader includes a bearing surface and a free layer having a front surface that forms a portion of the bearing surface. The reader also includes a synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) structure below the free layer, the SAF structure has a narrow portion with a front surface that forms a portion of the bearing surface and a wide portion behind the narrow portion. The reader further includes an antiferromagnetic (AFM) layer in contact with the wide portion of the SAF structure. The SAF structure is configured to prevent switching from one magnetic state to another magnetic state in the wide portion under thermal fluctuations.

Reader with wide synthetic antiferromagnetic structure optimized for high stability and low noise

A reader having a sensor stack and a top shield above the sensor stack. The top shield has an upper surface and a lower surface. The reader also includes at least one side shield below the top shield and adjacent to the sensor stack. The reader further includes a decoupling layer between the upper surface of the top shield and the at least one side shield. The decoupling layer is configured to decouple a first portion of the at least one side shield, proximate to the sensor stack, from at least a portion of the top shield.

Reader with side shields decoupled from a top shield

A recording head that includes a reader having a front end at a bearing surface of the recording head and a rear end behind the bearing surface. The reader has a non-rectangular shape with a front-end width that is less than an average width of the reader. A first bias element is positioned proximate to a first side of the reader, and a second bias element is positioned proximate to a second side of the reader. Each of the first and second bias elements has a bias level that is a function of a ratio of the front-end width to the average width of the reader.

Reader with shape optimized for higher SNR

A reader includes a free layer and a side shield that biases the free layer. The side shield includes a main bias layer having a first magnetic moment value and a first magnetization direction. The side shield also includes a compensation bias layer having a second magnetic moment value that is less than the first magnetic moment value and a second magnetization direction that is opposite to the first magnetization direction.

Reader with bi-layered side shields

A hybrid dual reader. The hybrid dual reader includes first and second read sensors with conflicting design characteristics. The first read sensor includes at least one signal-to-noise ratio favoring design characteristic. The second read sensor includes at least one pulse width favoring design characteristic. The at least one signal-to-noise ratio favoring design characteristic is in conflict with the at least one pulse width favoring design characteristic.

Read head having sensors with conflicting design characteristics

A multi-sensor reader includes first and second read sensors. The first read sensor includes a first sensor stack including a sensing layer having a magnetization that changes according to an external magnetic field, and a first biasing component configured to magnetically bias the sensing layer of the first sensor stack in a first direction. The second read sensor includes a second sensor stack including a sensing layer having a magnetization that changes according to an external magnetic field, and a second biasing component configured to magnetically bias the sensing layer of the second sensor stack in a second direction that is substantially opposite the first direction.

Multi-sensor reader having oppositely biased sensing layers

A method of forming a read head. The method includes forming first and second read sensors that are substantially trapezoidal in shape. A first read measurement is performed on a storage medium using the first read sensor. A second read measurement is performed on the storage medium using the second read sensor. Based on a comparison of the first and second read measurements to a predetermined quantity, either the first read sensor or the second read sensor is selected to be operational in a data storage device.

Selectable readers for better performance

A method of forming a read head. The method includes forming first and second read sensors. A first read measurement is performed on a storage medium using the first read sensor. A second read measurement is performed on the storage medium using the second read sensor. Based on a comparison of the first and second read measurements to a predetermined quantity, either the first read sensor or the second read sensor is selected to be operational in a data storage device.

Selectable readers for improvements in yield, reliability and performance

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Minnetonka, MN, United States of America

Victor Sapozhnikov