Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.

Hideto Ando

Shinji Sugihara

Takafumi Noguchi

Kiyoshi Sato

Hiroaki Endo

Fumihito Koike

Hideki Gochou

Shinichi Sasaki

Eiji Umetsu

Toshihiro Kobayashi

Masayuki Obana

Sumihito Morita

Daigo Aoki

Yoshito Sasaki

Tokuo Nakamura

Tsutomu Takeya

Yasushi Watanabe

Motoki Hirayama

Akira Miyatake

Kazuaki Kaneko

Kota Asatsuma

Kyoichi Kawase

Kunio Yamanaka

Yuki Imai

Kazushige Sejimo

Tatsuya Saito

Hiromitsu Sasaki

Hiroyuki Nakada

Hideki Gocho

Kyoko Hotta

Kenichiro Ikeda

Shuji Maekawa

Takashi Takabatake

Motoki Kirayama

A magnetic sensor including a first magneto resistive effect element located on a first surface of a substrate and having a sensitivity axis in a first direction that is one of in-plane directions of the first surface, a positioning soft magnetic body including a first most proximal portion of which a relative position with respect to the magneto resistive effect element is defined, and provided in a non-contact manner with respect to the first magneto resistive effect element, and a first soft magnetic body and a second soft magnetic body juxtaposed in the first direction and extending in a direction away from the first surface, and each of the first soft magnetic body and the second soft magnetic body is magnetically connected to the positioning soft magnetic body.

Magnetic sensor

A magnetic sensor includes a substrate, magnetoresistive effect elements arranged on a surface of the substrate, a first wiring line arranged on a surface of the substrate, an insulation layer configured to cover the magnetoresistive effect elements and the first wiring line, a soft magnetic body arranged on the insulation layer, and a second wiring line arranged on the insulation layer, wherein the magnetoresistive effect elements each extend in a first direction and are arranged while being separated from each other in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction in a case of viewing in plan the substrate, the soft magnetic body includes a first direction extension portion that extends in the first direction, and when viewed in plan, the first direction extension portion is arranged between the magnetoresistive effect elements, and the second wiring line is connected to the first wiring line.

A magnetic field component in a Z direction is guided by a magnetic field guide layer and applied to a magnetic sensor in an X direction that is the same as a sensitivity axis direction thereof, and a detection output is obtained. A bridge circuit is formed with a plurality of magnetic sensors and configured such that an output is not provided for a magnetic field component in the X direction. However, when an external magnetic field in the X direction is drawn to the magnetic field guide layer, variation of sensitivity for the X direction may occur. Thus, soft magnetic characteristics of a first portion of the magnetic field guide layer are deteriorated to decrease the magnetic permeability of the first portion.

Magnetic detection device

A magnetic sensor for detecting the position of a magnet in an X direction includes two magnetic sensor elements which are disposed to be spaced apart from each other in a Y direction and are disposed to face the magnet in a Z direction, in which a soft magnetic body is provided to be located between the magnet and the two magnetic sensor elements and to be located between the two magnetic sensor elements, the two magnetic sensor elements are provided in a range in which magnetic flux which is generated from the magnet saturates magnetization of free magnetic layers of the two magnetic sensor elements, magnetization directions of fixed magnetic layers of the two magnetic sensor elements are the same as each other, and a bridge circuit is configured with the two magnetic sensor elements.

A magnetic sensor includes magnetoresistive elements and a soft magnetic body. The magnetoresistive elements have multi layers including a magnetic layer and a nonmagnetic layer on a substrate, and exert a magnetoresistance effect. The soft magnetic body is electrically disconnected with the magnetoresistive elements, and converts a vertical magnetic field component from the outside into a magnetic field component in a horizontal direction so as to provide the magnetoresistive elements with the horizontally converted magnetic field component. The magnetoresistive elements have a pinned magnetic layer having a fixed magnetization direction and a free magnetic layer having a variable magnetization direction. The free magnetic layer is stacked on the pinned magnetic layer with a nonmagnetic layer interposed between the free magnetic layer and the pinned magnetic layer. The magnetization directions of the pinned magnetic layers of the magnetoresistive elements are the same direction. The magnetoresistive elements form a bridge circuit.

A magnetic sensor includes a non-bias structure element section that has a laminated structure in which a fixed magnetic layer, a non-magnetic material layer, a free magnetic layer, and a protection layer are laminated, and that is extended in an X1-X2 direction; and soft magnetic bodies that are arranged on the element section in a contactless manner. The soft magnetic bodies include a first section, a second section, and a third section. The second section is located on a Y2 side of the element section and the third section is located on a Y1 side thereof. The second section of one of soft magnetic bodies faces the third section of the other soft magnetic body in a Y1-Y2 direction through the element section. An electrode layer is provided on the element section which faces the joint sections of the second section and the third section in the Y1-Y2 direction.

Magnetic sensor for improving hysteresis and linearity

A magnetic sensor having no sensitivity differences between sensitivity axes, and an easy manufacturing method therefor are provided. The method includes a process of forming first stacked films for a magnetoresistive element on a substrate. This element has a sensitivity axis in a certain direction and includes a self-pinned ferromagnetic pinned layer in which first and second ferromagnetic films are antiferromagnetically coupled through an antiparallel coupling layer, a nonmagnetic intermediate layer, and a soft magnetic free layer. The method further includes a process of removing a region of the first stacked films from the substrate. The remaining region of the films includes at least a region to be left to form the element. The method furthermore includes a process of forming second stacked films for a magnetoresistive element, which has a sensitivity axis in a direction different from the certain direction and has the same structure, on the exposed substrate.

Method for manufacturing a magnetic sensor

A magnetic sensor includes a plurality of magnetoresistive elements that are formed by stacking a magnetic layer and a non-magnetic layer on a substrate and that exhibit a magnetoresistive effect and a soft magnetic member that converts a vertical magnetic field component into a horizontal magnetic field component. The soft magnetic member is formed of a plurality of first and second soft magnetic portions respectively extending in an X1-X2 direction and a Y1-Y2 direction, combined together in the shape of a lattice. The magnetoresistive elements have a sensitivity direction in the Y2 direction and include a magnetoresistive element located on a Y1 side portion side of the first soft magnetic portion and a magnetoresistive element located on a Y2 side portion side of the first soft magnetic portion, respectively receiving horizontal magnetic field components from the Y1 direction and Y2 direction.

A magnetic detecting device includes a first and a second magnetoresistive element, and a first and a second fixed resistor connected in series to the first and the second magnetoresistive element, respectively. The first and the second magnetoresistive element each include a pinned magnetic layer and a free magnetic layer with a nonmagnetic conductive layer in between. The first and the second magnetoresistive element have the same layer structure except that the nonmagnetic conductive layers have different thicknesses. The thicknesses of the nonmagnetic conductive layers are set so that a positive interlayer coupling magnetic field acts between the free magnetic layer and the pinned magnetic layer of the first magnetoresistive element and a negative interlayer coupling magnetic field acts between the free magnetic layer and the pinned magnetic layer of the second magnetoresistive element. The first and the second fixed resistor have the same layer structure.

Magnetic detecting device and method for manufacturing the same

A magnetoresistive element includes, in plan view, an element section and an extension region extending from an end portion of the element section; and an insulation layer is formed on the element section and the extension region. A contact hole having a recessed shape, penetrating through the insulation layer, and extending at least to the extension region is formed; an electrode pad is formed in the contact hole; a surface of the electrode pad is exposed to outside; and the electrode pad is electrically connected to the extension region. The element section and the extension region are integrally formed so as to have an identical layer configuration employing a magnetoresistive effect in which electrical resistance varies in response to external magnetic fields.

Magnetic sensor and method for producing the same

A magnetic sensor including a magnetoresistive effect element has the following structure. Element units each having an element width Wand an element length Lperpendicular to the element width Wand producing a magnetoresistive effect in which electrical resistance changes in response to an external magnetic field are arranged in an element-length direction with a space therebetween. An intermediate permanent magnet layer is disposed in the space, and the element units are connected to each other with the intermediate permanent magnet layer therebetween to form a connected-element body. A plurality of the connected-element bodies are arranged so as to be adjacent to one another in an element-width direction with a space therebetween, the ends of the connected-element bodies are connected to each other with an outer permanent magnet layer therebetween to form a magnetoresistive effect element having a meandering shape.

Magnetic sensor and magnetic sensor module

A magnetic detection device includes a sensor unit including a sensor pattern having a plurality of magnetoresistance effect films whose ends in the length direction thereof are coupled via return portions, and electrode units formed at both ends of the sensor pattern in the longitudinal direction thereof. A non-magnetic conductor is electrically connected across a top surface of one of a pair of magnetoresistance effect films that are coupled via the corresponding one of the return portions and that face each other and a top surface of the other magnetoresistance effect film. Therefore, the resistance value between the electrode units can be adjusted without increasing the dimensions of the sensor unit, and deterioration or variation in magnetic characteristics can be reduced.

An integrated circuit is provided with two output terminals and a mode switch circuit which includes a pair of switch terminals. The mode switch circuit is allowed to switch the output mode between the 1-output mode for outputting the (+) magnetic field detection signal and the (&#x2212;) magnetic field detection signal from the output terminal, and the 2-output mode for outputting the (+) magnetic field signal from the output terminal as one of the output terminals, and the (&#x2212;) magnetic field detection signal from the output terminal as the other output terminal in accordance with the shortcircuit state or the non-shortcircuit state between the switch terminals. The switch terminals are exposed on the surface of the device, and the shortcircuit state and the non-shortcircuit state may be externally adjusted.

Magnetic detection device and electrical product

In a magnetic detection device using a magnetic resistance element, the resistance of a layer having a multi-layer structure can be easily adjusted without causing damages to the layer. A magneto-resistance layer is connected in series to a reference resistance layer, and a magneto-resistance layer is connected in series to a reference resistance layer on a substrate. A voltage is applied between a power supply layer and a grounding layer. A first output conductive layer and the reference resistance layer extend in parallel to each other so that they are partially electrically connected to each other via a connection layer. A second output conductive layer and the reference resistance layer extend in parallel to each other so that they are partially electrically connected to each other via a connection layer. Accordingly, it is possible to adjust the resistance of the reference resistance layers by selecting the respective positions of the connection layers.

Magnetic detection device having bridge circuit provided with resistance adjustment portion and method of manufacturing the same

A magnetic detection device has stable characteristics having an area of a resist layer covering an insulating passivation layer, forming the magnetic detection element and a connection layer on a small stepped surface with high-precision, and preventing the resist layer from peeling, thereby providing a method of manufacturing the magnetic detection device. A resist layeris overlapped through the insulating passivation layeron an interconnection layer

Growing community of inventors

Niigata-ken, Japan

Hideto Ando