Origin of microtrack side bumps for a shared pole MR head on isotropic media

MFM observations on oriented and isotropic media are used to identify the source of side bumps seen for microtrack profiles written with a shared pole MR head. The effect is shown to arise from side writing and the orientation of the medium. MFM results for a pole-trimmed writer are also presented and the side-writing effect is shown to be diminished on isotropic media.