Spin valve sensor with improved magnetic stability of the pinned layer
US5768071A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 19, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jun 16, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 19, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B2005/3996
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A multilayered spin valve read head including an antiferromagnetic pinning layer and a ferromagnetic pinned layer which can maintain a high pinning field between the layers while minimizing the coercivity of the pinning layer. The apparatus and method of the invention comprise placing a thin discontinuous nonmagnetic interlayer such as Cu between the antiferromagnetic and the ferromagnetic layers. In one aspect, the invention comprises a supporting substrate or carrier; a first layer of antiferromagnetic material formed over the substrate; a second layer comprising a discontinuous nonmagnetic material formed over the antiferromagnetic first layer; a third layer comprising a ferromagnetic material formed over the discontinuous nonmagnetic material second layer, the first and third layer exhibiting exchange anisotropy which fixes the direction of magnetization of the third layer; a fourth layer comprising a nonmagnetic material formed over the ferromagnetic third layer; and, a fifth layer comprising a ferromagnetic material formed over the nonmagnetic fourth layer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.