METHOD FOR DRIVING MAGNETIC REPRODUCING HEAD, AND MAGNETIC RECORDING/REPRODUCING APPARATUS

摘要

A method for driving a magnetic reproducing head, most suitable for driving a tunneling magnetoresistance effect magnetic reproducing head having a bias voltage dependence and a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus mounted with a tunneling magnetoregistance effect magnetic reproducing head and capable of correcting the performance deteriorated with time and warning the user about the possibility of destruction of information so as to prevent destruction of information. A representative of such a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus has a tunneling magnetoresistance effect magnetic reproducing head and a signal processing circuit for supplying current and voltage for signal detection to the magnetic reproducing head and for amplifying/processing the signal from the magnetic reproducing head. If the SNR of the detection signal processed by the signal processing circuit has a maximum in a predetermined range of the voltage applied to the magnetic reproducing head, the magnetic reproducing head is driven by a voltage drive circuit; and otherwise the head is driven by a current drive circuit.