Sensitivity of orthogonal magnetoresistive heads

In the orthogonal magnetoresistive (MR) sensor the sense current runs orthogonal to the air bearing surface (ABS). With the active portion of the sensor recessed from the ABS, the design is more robust than conventional MR designs. Test devices were fabricated to assess the suitability of the design for high density recording. The data show that the sensitivity is greatly reduced by the magnetic field induced by the sense current. This leads to a smaller signal compared to a conventional head design at present track widths. However, the signal is independent of the track width at a constant current density, leading to the possibility of submicron track width with peak to peak signal in excess of 400 μV