A magnetoresistive sensor having magnetically anisotropic bias layers for
biasing the free layer of the sensor. The hard magnetic layer is formed
over a seed layer structure that has been treated to induce the magnetic
anisotropy in the hard bias layers. The treated seed layers also allow
the hard bias layers to be deposited over a crystalline material such as
in a partial mill design, without the need for a buffer layer such as Si
to break the epitaxial growth initiated by the underlying crystalline
layer.