University of Alabama

Tdk Corporation

Gary Mankey

Hideo Fujiwara

Isao Kanada

Yusuke Ariake

Takao Suzuki

Tim Mewes

An Fe&#x2014;Co&#x2014;Al alloy magnetic thin film contains, in terms of atomic ratio, 20% to 30% Co and 1.5% to 2.5% Al. The Fe&#x2014;Co&#x2014;Al alloy magnetic thin film has a crystallographic orientation such that the (100) plane is parallel to a substrate surface and the &#x3c;100&#x3e; direction is perpendicular to the substrate surface. The Fe&#x2014;Co&#x2014;Al alloy magnetic thin film has good magnetic properties, that is, a magnetization of 1440 emu/cc or more, a coercive force of less than 100 Oe, a damping factor of less than 0.01, and an FMR linewidth &#x394;H at 30 GHz of less than 70 Oe.

Fe&#x2014;Co&#x2014;Al alloy magnetic thin film

A spin-valve device of a CPP structure which has a high resistance, and which generates a high output signal with low current. The CPP spin-valve device including a spin-valve element having a substrate and a layered structure formed on the substrate. The layered structure includes a first thin film layer of ferromagnetic material, a second thin film layer of ferromagnetic material, and a thin non-magnetic layer structure separating the first and second layers. One of the first and second thin film layers is defined as a free layer and the other layer is defined as a pinned layer, where the free layer has a direction of magnetization that is easier to change than a direction of magnetization of the pinned layer by application of a magnetic field. The non-magnetic layer structure includes a conducting part and insulating part, with the conduction part having an area that is smaller than an area of the free layer. The device further includes a device for producing a current flow through the spin-valve element and a field sensor configured to sense variations in resistance of the spin-valve element due to a difference in rotation of the magnetizations in the free layer and the pinned layer caused by an applied magnetic field.

CPP spin-valve device

Growing community of inventors

Tuscaloosa, AL, United States of America

Gary Mankey