DEPENDENCE OF MAGNETORESISTIVE HEAD READBACK CHARACTERISTICS ON SENSOR HEIGHT

The microtrack profile and bias point of a magnetoresistive (MR) head play a fundamental role in determining the full track response. In this paper the stripe height dependence of these properties is studied. The magnetic center of the MR head is found to approach the physical center, and microtrack side slopes become steeper and more equal as the stripe height is decreased. These experimentally observed trends can be understood using a simple model based on anisotropic flux propagation in the MR sensor.