New Shaped Single-Pole Thin Film Head

Until now, the return-path core of single-pole thin film heads for perpendicular magnetic recording have been located at a finite distance from the main pole in the head scanning direc- tion. In this type of head, distortion of the reproduced waveform is introduced by the extra pulse appearing when the return path core comes into direct contact with the medium. In order to eliminate this distortion, we developed a single-pole thin film head with a new shape, called a FiTR head (single-pole thin Film head with Transverse Return flux path core), with the return-path core set at a definite distance to one side in the track width direction. The recording field distribution and reproduction characteristics of the head were investigated in simulations and experiments. The new thin film head has high sensitivity and an excellent recording field distribution. The reproduced waveform of the head is free of distortion.