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:
Nov. 08, 2011
Filed:
Feb. 11, 2011
Kazumasa Nishimura, Niigata-ken, JP;
Ryo Nakabayashi, Niigata-ken, JP;
Yosuke Ide, Niigata-ken, JP;
Hasahiko Ishizone, Niigata-ken, JP;
Masamichi Saito, Niigata-ken, JP;
Naoya Hasegawa, Niigata-ken, JP;
Yoshihiro Nishiyana, Niigata-ken, JP;
Akio Hanada, Niigata-ken, JP;
Hidekezu Kobayashi, Niigata-ken, JP;
Kazumasa Nishimura, Niigata-ken, JP;
Ryo Nakabayashi, Niigata-ken, JP;
Yosuke Ide, Niigata-ken, JP;
Hasahiko Ishizone, Niigata-ken, JP;
Masamichi Saito, Niigata-ken, JP;
Naoya Hasegawa, Niigata-ken, JP;
Yoshihiro Nishiyana, Niigata-ken, JP;
Akio Hanada, Niigata-ken, JP;
Hidekezu Kobayashi, Niigata-ken, JP;
Alps Electric Co., Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A tunnel magnetoresistive element includes a laminate including a pinned magnetic layer, an insulating barrier layer, and a free magnetic layer. The insulating barrier layer is composed of Ti—Mg—O or Ti—O. The free magnetic layer includes an enhancement sublayer, a first soft magnetic sublayer, a nonmagnetic metal sublayer, and a second soft magnetic sublayer. For example, the enhancement sublayer is composed of Co—Fe, the first soft magnetic sublayer and the second soft magnetic sublayer are composed of Ni—Fe, and the nonmagnetic metal sublayer is composed of Ta. The total thickness of the average thickness of the enhancement sublayer and the average thickness of the first soft magnetic sublayer is in the range of 25 to 80 angstroms. Accordingly, the tunneling magnetoresistive element can consistently have a higher rate of resistance change than before.