The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 04, 2004
Filed:
Mar. 22, 2002
Tatsuya Kishi, Kanagawa-Ken, JP;
Minoru Amano, Kanagawa-Ken, JP;
Yoshiaki Saito, Kanagawa-Ken, JP;
Shigeki Takahashi, Kanagawa-Ken, JP;
Kentaro Nakajima, Tokyo, JP;
Masayuki Sagoi, Kanagawa-Ken, JP;
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A magnetoresistance effect devices having a magnetization free layer free to rotate in an applied magnetic field. The magnetization free layer may include first and second ferromagnetic material layers with a nonmagnetic material layer disposed between the two ferromagnetic material layers. Those ferromagnetic materials are antiferromagnetically coupled with each other at a magnetic coupling field J (−3 [kOe]≦J<0 [kOe]) or ferromagnetically coupled with each other. Alternatively, the magnetization free film includes a first ferromagnetic material layer including a center region having a first magnetization and edge regions having a second magnetization different from the first magnetization and a second ferromagnetic material layer including a center region having a third magnetization parallel to the first magnetization and edge regions having a fourth magnetization different from the third magnetization. In another embodiment, a roughness at an interface between the first ferromagnetic material layer and the first nonmagnetic material coupling layer or an interface between the first second ferromagnetic material layer and the first nonmagnetic material coupling layer is more than 2 angstroms. Also, the magnetization free layer may be formed of ferromagnetic material portions ferromagnetically coupled to each other, or of a nonmagnetic material layer and a first ferromagnetic material layer having a non-uniform film thickness.