The magnetic head is formed with a narrow pole tip, and a pole tip heating element
is fabricated to reduce the pole tip stress and increase its permeability, such
that the magnetization switching speed of the pole tip is increased. The heating
element is preferably electrically interconnected within the induction coil circuit
of the magnetic head, such that the electrical current flowing through the induction
coil also flows through the heating element. In a preferred embodiment, the heating
element is fabricated above the second magnetic pole. The heating element is preferably
formed with a resistance of approximately 0.2 to 1.0 ohms, such that the approximately
40 mA current that flows through the induction coil and the heating element creates
a heating energy of the heating element of approximately 0.3 to 1.6 mW. The heating
element can be comprised of a variety of materials such as Cu, W, NiFe, NiCr and IrRh.