A magneto-resistive(MR)/Inductive integrated head for high density magnetic recording was developed. The MR element is fabricated as a laminated permalloy layer of vertical type, whose structure reduces the Barkhausen noise. And to improve the reliability of the head, the head surface, which is exposed to the air, is set to the ground level. As the result, the electro-discharge causes no damage on the MR element. It is indicated that the output level of the vertical type MR is independent of the track width, and its offtrack characteristic is excellent. Therefore this type of MR head has capability of over 5000TPI track density.
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