Tunnel MR head with long stripe height stabilized through side-extended bias layer
US7768749B2 · kind B2 · utility
3Cited by
18References
12Claims
0Family size
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Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 10, 2006 |
| Grant date | Aug 3, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 24, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B5/3912
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In a tunnel magnetoresistive (TMR) device, free stack sublayers are separated by an intermediate spacer layer that serves to ensure a uniform circumferential magnetization in the free stack, counterbalancing orange-peel coupling by antiferromagnetic exchange coupling. On top of the upper free stack sublayer a thin upper antiferromagnetic layer may be formed to act as a hard bias layer and suppress side reading. The thickness of the upper AF layer is established to tune sensor sensitivity to external fields as well as to promote greater sensor sensitivity.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.