Read-Write Performance of GMR Heads with Lead Overlaid Structure.

GMR heads with lead overlaid structure were designed and fabricated, and their read-write performance was tested in comparison with that of conventional GMR heads with abutted junctions. Crosstalk was independent of the difference in the head structure, and decreased with a decrease in the magnetic read track width, defined by the half-width of the microtrack profile. Lead overlaid heads were 1.4 times as sensitive as abutted-junction-type heads when the magnetic read track width was 0.4 μm, because they were free of dead zones at both ends of the track. They also showed better stability in repeated read-write testing. This may be due to overlapping of the sensor edges by the leads that were deemed to be the most unstable, and sensing of only the stable central area. GMR heads with lead overlaid structure are promising for high-density recording.