Piggyback magneto-resistive read/write tape head with optimized process for same gap read/write

摘要

A magneto-resistive read/write tape head is provided for reading and writing to tape media along a tape head face. The tape head comprises a plurality of modules, each module comprising a read element and a write element spaced apart and terminating at the tape head face and formed over a substrate. The read element comprises a soft film bias layer and a hard film bias layer butted against the SFB layer. The write element comprises two pole tips spaced apart by a gap. The tape head further includes a plurality of activating conducting coil turns operatively associated with the write element and covered by a cross-linked photoresist and positioned between the gap and one of the pole tips and set back from the tape head face. The tape head has at least one of the following elements: (a) a wear shield between the read element and the write element for limiting wear of the gap between the two pole tips, the wear shield being grounded for decoupling read and write functions of the tape head, for allowing same module read/servo/write functions simultaneously, and for grounding static charge from the tape media; (b) a layer of electrically conductive and corrosion-resis tant material, such as rhodium, under the hard film bias layer to reduce its resistance; and (c) a non-activating dummy coil turn closer to the pole tips than the activating coil turns for defining a forward termination of the cross-linked photoresist between the activating coil turns and the tape head face to thereby provide improved ease of processability.