Seagate Technology Incorporated

Juren Ding

Yonghua Chen

Qing I He

Konstantin Nikolaev

Song Sheng Xue

Patrick Joseph Ryan

Mark Ostrowski

Zhongyan Wang

Xilin Peng

James F Dolejsi

Hao Meng

Stacey Christine Wakeham

Yifan Zhang

Juan Fernandez-deCastro

In some embodiments, a current perpendicular to the plane giant magneto-resistance (CPP GMR) read sensor may include a reference layer and/or a free layer that includes a plurality of sub-layers. For example, at least one of the reference layer or free layer may include a first ferromagnetic sub-layer, a second ferromagnetic sub-layer, and a Heusler alloy layer located between the first ferromagnetic sub-layer and the second ferromagnetic sub-layer. In some embodiments, a CPP GMR read sensor may include a current closed path (CCP) spacer layer between the reference layer and the free layer. The CCP spacer layer may include Ag and AlO. In further embodiments, a CPP GMR read sensor may include a Heusler alloy free layer, a Heusler alloy reference layer, and a CCP spacer layer.

Data reader with heusler alloy reference lamination

A magnetoresistive device having a high giant magnetoresistance (GMR) value and a moderate low resistance area product (RA) includes a first magnetic layer, a second magnetic layer, and a current confined path (CCP) spacer layer positioned between the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer. The spacer layer includes copper current confined paths extending between the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer in a matrix of magnesium oxide. The spacer layer is formed by a mixture copper and magnesium oxide, which is heattreated to form the copper current confined paths within the magnesium oxide matrix.

CCP-CPP magnetoresistive reader with high GMR value

A method of fabricating a magnetic device is described. A mask removing layer is formed on a layered sensing stack and a hard mask layer is formed on the mask removing layer. A first reactive ion etch is performed with a non-oxygen-based chemistry to define the hard mask layer using an imaged layer formed on the hard mask layer as a mask. A second reactive ion etch is performed with an oxygen-based chemistry to define the mask removing stop layer using the defined hard mask layer as a mask. A third reactive ion etch is performed to define the layered sensing stack using the hard mask layer as a mask. The third reactive ion etch includes an etching chemistry that performs at a lower etching rate on the hard mask layer than on the layered sensing stack.

Magnetic device definition with uniform biasing control

Overlaid MR structure with magnetostatic stabilized soft adjacent layer

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Eden Prairie, MN, United States of America

Juren Ding