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:
Jun. 03, 2014
Filed:
Aug. 31, 2011
Jeffrey R. Childress, San Jose, CA (US);
John C. Read, San Jose, CA (US);
Neil Smith, San Jose, CA (US);
Jeffrey R. Childress, San Jose, CA (US);
John C. Read, San Jose, CA (US);
Neil Smith, San Jose, CA (US);
HGST Netherlands B.V., Amsterdam, NL;
Abstract
A method and apparatus for increasing the electrical resistivity and corrosion resistance of the material forming a spacer layer in current-perpendicular-to-the-plane (CPP) giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensors. The increased resistivity of the spacer layer, and thus, the CPP-GMR sensor permits a larger voltage across the sensor and a higher signal-to-noise ratio. The increased corrosion resistance of the spacer layer minimizes the effects of exposing the spacer layer to corrosive materials during fabrication. For example, adding tin to silver to form a metallic alloy spacer layer increases the corrosion resistance of the spacer layer and the electrical resisitivity of the CPP-GMR sensor relative to a spacer layer consisting solely of silver. The Ag—Sn alloy permits a larger current to flow through the sensor, which increases the signal-to-noise ratio.