HARD BIAS LAYER FOR READ HEADS

A magnetoresistive (MR) read head is disclosed including a lower shield and gap layer with an MR sensor located on top of the lower gap layer. The MR sensor includes a free layer and a pinned layer. Located on top of the lower gap layer is a three-layer hard bias layer for stabilizing the free layer of the MR sensor. A pair of lead layers is located on top of the hard bias layer and coupled to the MR sensor. Associated therewith is an upper gap and shield layer located on top of the lead layers.