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:
Mar. 02, 2010
Filed:
Jun. 21, 2006
Kunliang Zhang, Milpitas, CA (US);
Min LI, Dublin, CA (US);
Yu-hsia Chen, Mountain View, CA (US);
Hui-chuan Wang, Pleasanton, CA (US);
Tong Zhao, Fremont, CA (US);
Kunliang Zhang, Milpitas, CA (US);
Min Li, Dublin, CA (US);
Yu-Hsia Chen, Mountain View, CA (US);
Hui-Chuan Wang, Pleasanton, CA (US);
Tong Zhao, Fremont, CA (US);
Headway Technologies, Inc., Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
A spin valve structure is disclosed in which an AP1 layer and/or free layer are made of a laminated Heusler alloy having Al or FeCo insertion layers. The ordering temperature of a Heusler alloy such as CoMnSi is thereby lowered from about 350° C. to 280° C. which becomes practical for spintronics device applications. The insertion layer is 0.5 to 5 Angstroms thick and may also be Sn, Ge, Ga, Sb, or Cr. The AP1 layer or free layer can contain one or two additional FeCo layers to give a configuration represented by FeCo/[HA/IL]HA, [HA/IL]HA/FeCo, or FeCo/[HA/IL]HA/FeCo where n is an integer ≧1, HA is a Heusler alloy layer, and IL is an insertion layer. Optionally, a Heusler alloy insertion scheme is possible by doping Al or FeCo in the HA layer. For example, CoMnSi may be co-sputtered with an Al or FeCo target or with a CoMnAl or CoFeSi target.