A method and
system provide a magnetic
transducer including first and second shields, a read sensor, and magnetic bias structure(s) adjacent to the read sensor. The read sensor and magnetic bias structure(s) are between the shields. The second shield includes first and second ferromagnetic
layers, a nonmagnetic spacer layer and a pinning layer. The nonmagnetic spacer layer is between the first and second ferromagnetic
layers. The first ferromagnetic layer is between the read sensor and the nonmagnetic spacer layer. The pinning layer is adjacent to the second ferromagnetic layer. The first and second ferromagnetic
layers are coupled antiparallel. The first ferromagnetic layer includes magnetic layers interleaved with trilayer(s). Each
magnetic layer includes crystalline grains. The trilayer(s) include an amorphous nonmagnetic layer less than three Angstroms thick. Thus, the magnetic layers are ferromagnetically coupled but the crystalline grains in different magnetic layers are decoupled.