US Patent 10014012 Spin-orbit torque based magnetic recording

The present disclosure generally relates to data storage devices, and more specifically, to a magnetic media drive employing a magnetic recording head. The head includes a main pole, a spin-torque structure surrounding at least a portion of the main pole at a media facing surface (MFS), and a spin Hall structure surrounding the spin-torque structure. Strong spin-orbit torque (SOT) is generated from the spin Hall structure, enforcing in-plane magnetization oscillation in the spin-torque structure. The SOT based head with the spin Hall structure surrounding the spin-torque structure utilizes less current flowed to the spin Hall structure due to the strong SOT generated by the spin Hall structure.