Thin film magnetoresistive head with reduced lead-shield shorting

摘要

A magnetoresistive head is provided which includes a magnetoresistive thin film sensing element. The sensing element has film surfaces which are bounded by top and bottom surfaces and side surfaces, the bottom surface forming a portion of an air bearing surface. First and second thin film gap layers and first and second thin film shield layers are provided. The magnetoresistive element and between the first and second gap layers. The magnetoresistive element, the first and second gap layers are located between the first and second shield layers. One end of the MR element is electrically shorted to the first shield layer, and an opposite end of the MR element is electrically shorted to the second shield layer. This arrangement makes each shield layer serve as current carrying leads for the magnetoresistive head. By eliminating prior art current carrying lead layers, the electrical shorting problem is minimized because the gap insulation between the shields is twice the thickness of the gap insulation between the leads and the shields of prior art heads.