Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Tdk Corporation

Takuya Seino

Naoya Hasegawa

Masamichi Saito

Yosuke Ide

Masahiko Ishizone

Ryo Nakabayashi

Kazumasa Nishimura

Eiji Umetsu

Fumihito Koike

Kazuaki Ikarashi

Kazumi Matsuzaka

Naoya Hasegawn

A tunneling magnetic sensing element is provided, in which an increase in the magnetostriction of a free magnetic layer is reduced and the rate of change in resistance is high. A laminate Tconstituting the tunneling magnetic sensing element includes a portion in which a pinned magnetic layer, a barrier layer, and a free magnetic layer are disposed in that order from the bottom. An enhancing layer disposed on the barrier layer side of the free magnetic layer includes a first enhancing layer on the barrier layer side and a second enhancing layer on the soft magnetic layer side, and the Fe content of a CoFe alloy constituting the first enhancing layer is specified to be larger than the Fe content of the CoFe alloy of the second enhancing layer.

Tunneling magnetic sensing element including enhancing layer having high Fe concentration in the vicinity of barrier layer

A tunnel-type magnetic detecting element is provided. The tunnel-type magnetic detecting element includes a first ferromagnetic layer; an insulating barrier layer; and a second ferromagnetic layer. The first ferromagnetic layer, the second ferromagnetic layer, or both have a Heusler alloy layer contacting the insulating barrier layer. Equivalent planes represented by {110} surfaces, are preferentially oriented parallel to a film surface in the Heusler alloy layer. The insulating barrier layer is formed of MgO and the equivalent crystal planes represented by the {100} surfaces or the equivalent crystal planes represented by the {110} surfaces are oriented parallel to the film surface.

Tunnel-type magnetic detecting element and method of manufacturing the same

A magnetic sensing element and exchange coupling film is disclosed. The magnetic sensing element has a free magnetic layer, nonmagnetic material layers disposed on the top and bottom of the free magnetic layer, pinned magnetic layers disposed on the top of one nonmagnetic material layer and on the bottom of the other nonmagnetic material layer, and antiferromagnetic layers containing IrMn disposed on the top of one pinned magnetic layer and on the bottom of the other pinned magnetic layer. The magnetization of the free magnetic layer is aligned in a direction orthogonal to the magnetization direction of the pinned magnetic layers. The exchange coupling film is formed by the antiferromagnetic layer and the pinned magnetic layer above the free magnetic layer. At least an interfacial portion of the ferromagnetic layer which is adjacent to the antiferromagnetic layer contains CoFewherein 30%&#x2266;x&#x2266;90% in atomic percent.

Exchange coupling film and magnetic sensing element including the same

An exchange-coupled film includes a ferromagnetic layer and an antiferromagnetic layer disposed on each other, the magnetization direction of the ferromagnetic layer being pinned in one direction by an exchange coupling magnetic field generated at the interface between the ferromagnetic layer and the antiferromagnetic layer, wherein the antiferromagnetic layer is composed of IrMn(wherein 2 atomic percent&#x2266;z&#x2266;80 atomic percent), the ferromagnetic layer has a two-layer structure including a CoFelayer having a face-centered cubic structure (wherein 80 atomic percent&#x2266;y&#x2266;100 atomic percent), the CoFelayer being in contact with the antiferromagnetic layer, and an FeColayer (wherein x&#x2267;30 atomic percent), the FeColayer being disposed on the CoFelayer, and the thickness of the FeColayer is 30% to 90% of the total thickness of the ferromagnetic layer.

Exchange-coupled film including pinned magnetic layer composed of a plurality of cobalt-iron alloys having different compositions disposed on antiferromagnetic layer, and magnetic sensing element

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Niigata-ken, Japan

Takuya Seino