Effect of Electrostatic Discharge on Tunneling Magnetoresistive Recording Head

Tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR) head are promising device for high storage density of 100 Gbit/in magnetic recording head. Structure of TMR recording head is different from typical giant magnetoresistive (GMR) spin-valve read head. It is essential to understand the electrostatic discharge (ESD) effect on TMR device behavior and its impacts on device characterization. In this paper, we reported several AlOx TMR device behaviors upon ESD stressing, which are different from GMR head.