Head device having spin-valve read head for use in a disk storage apparatus
First Claim
1. A disk storage apparatus having a disk used as a storage medium and a head device provided for reading/writing data from/to the disk, said apparatus comprising:
- a read head mounted in the head device for reading the data from the disk and including a spin-valve magnetoresistive (MR) element and a control element provided in proximity to the spin-valve MR element and in parallel with the spin-valve MR element for correcting the magnetizing direction of a pinning magnetic layer in the spin-valve MR element; and
an amplifier means for driving the read head and amplifying a read signal from the read head and including a current control circuit for feeding the control element with a current which generates a magnetic field that controls a magnetization state of the pinning magnetic layer.
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Abstract
A read head of a head device used in a disk storage apparatus is provided including a spin-valve magnetoresistive (MR) element. The spin-valve MR element comprises a pinning magnetic layer of which magnetizing direction is determined, a free magnetic layer of which magnetizing direction can be shifted by a signal magnetic field derived from the disk, and a non-magnetic layer sandwiched between the pinning magnetic layer and the free magnetic layer. The head also includes a remagnetization layer which functions as a control element for correcting the magnetizing direction of the pinning magnetic layer.
10 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A disk storage apparatus having a disk used as a storage medium and a head device provided for reading/writing data from/to the disk, said apparatus comprising:
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a read head mounted in the head device for reading the data from the disk and including a spin-valve magnetoresistive (MR) element and a control element provided in proximity to the spin-valve MR element and in parallel with the spin-valve MR element for correcting the magnetizing direction of a pinning magnetic layer in the spin-valve MR element; and
an amplifier means for driving the read head and amplifying a read signal from the read head and including a current control circuit for feeding the control element with a current which generates a magnetic field that controls a magnetization state of the pinning magnetic layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
a pinning magnetic layer whose magnetizing direction is determined;
a free magnetic layer whose magnetizing direction can be shifted by a signal magnetic field derived from the disk; and
a non-magnetic layer sandwiched between the pinning magnetic layer and the free magnetic layer, and the control element is located in proximity to the spin-valve MR element and in parallel with the spin-valve MR element, and being made of a material that produces a magnetic field that controls the magnetizing state of the pinning magnetic layer.
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3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amplifier means includes a sense current control circuit for feeding the spin-valve MR element with a sense current.
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4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the head device includes a write head composed of an inductive film head in addition to the read head, and
the amplifier means includes a driver circuit for feeding the write head with a write current for writing data on to the disk. -
5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control element is a conductive layer.
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6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control element includes a pair of electrodes for receiving from outside a current that generates a magnetic field to correct the magnetizing direction of the pinning magnetic layer.
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7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein one of the paired electrodes is connected to a common grounded electrode of the spin-valve MR element.
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8. A method of controlling a head device in a disk storage apparatus having a disk used as a storage medium, the head device having a spin-valve magnetoresistive (MR) element in proximity of which a control element is provided in parallel with the spin-valve MR element, and being made of a material that produces a magnetic field that controls a magnetizing state of a pinning magnetic layer of the spin-valve MR element, said method comprising the steps of:
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examining the occurrence of a read error while reading data from the disk through the read head; and
feeding the control element with a current which generates a magnetic field to correct the magnetizing direction of the pinning magnetic field, if the read error is detected in the examining step. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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Specification