Magnetoresistive sensor having cobalt-iron alloy layer in free layer
US7310210B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 27, 2005 |
| Grant date | Dec 18, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 18, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B2005/3996
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A magnetoresistive sensor comprises a pinned layer having a magnetization direction fixed with respect to an external magnetic field, a free layer, having a magnetization direction variable in accordance with the external magnetic field, and a spacer layer mainly containing copper, sandwiched between the pinned layer and the free layer. A sense current flows through the pinned layer, the spacer layer, and the free layer substantially in a direction in which the layers are stacked. The free layer comprises at least one intermediate stack composed of a non-magnetic layer mainly containing copper, and a first cobalt iron layers made of a cobalt iron alloy and disposed on boundaries on both sides of the non-magnetic layer, a nickel iron alloy layers disposed on boundaries on both sides of the intermediate stack, and a second cobalt iron layer made of a cobalt iron alloy and formed in contact with the spacer layer on a boundary, opposing the spacer layer, of a stack composed of the intermediate stack and the nickel iron alloy layer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.