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US 2004/0169963 A1Published application
Magnetoresistance effect element, its manufacturing method, magnetic reproducing element and magnetic memory
AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
InventorsShiho Okuno, Yuichi Ohsawa, Shigeru Haneda, Yuzo Kamiguchi, Tatsuya Kishi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A magnetoresistance effect element includes a first ferromagnetic layer (1), insulating layer (3) overlying the first ferromagnetic layer, and second ferromagnetic layer (2) overlying the insulating layer. The insulating layer has formed a through hole (A) having an opening width not larger than 20 nm, and the first and second ferromagnetic layers are connected to each other via the through hole.
Claims19
A magnetoresistance effect element comprising:
- a first ferromagnetic layer;
- an insulating layer overlying said first ferromagnetic layer;
- and
- a second ferromagnetic layer overlying said insulating layer,
- said insulating layer having a through hole penetrating its thickness direction at its predetermined position, said first ferromagnetic layer and said second ferromagnetic layer being electrically connected to each other via said through hole, and said through hole having an opening width not larger than 20 nm.
2 more elements
A magnetic reproducing element comprising a magnetoresistance effect element including:
- a first ferromagnetic layer;
- an insulating layer overlying said first ferromagnetic layer;
- and
- a second ferromagnetic layer overlying said insulating layer,
- said insulating layer having a through hole penetrating its thickness direction at its predetermined position, said first ferromagnetic layer and said second ferromagnetic layer being electrically connected to each other via said through hole, and said through hole having an opening width not larger than 20 nm,
- said magnetoresistance effect element being provided on a path of the magnetic flux emitted from a magnetic recording medium so that said first and second ferromagnetic layers are serially aligned on a path of the magnetic flux emitted from a magnetic recording medium, and said magnetoresistance effect element detects a difference between magnetization directions of said first and second ferromagnetic layers as a resistance change.
3 more elements
A magnetic reproducing element comprising a magnetoresistance effect element including:
- a first ferromagnetic layer;
- an insulating layer overlying said first ferromagnetic layer;
- and
- a second ferromagnetic layer overlying said insulating layer,
- said insulating layer having a through hole penetrating its thickness direction at its predetermined position, said first ferromagnetic layer and said second ferromagnetic layer being electrically connected to each other via said through hole, and said through hole having an opening width not larger than 20 nm, and said magnetoresistance effect element being arranged so as to make a main plane of said first ferromagnetic layer being substantially perpendicular to a recording surface of said magnetic recording medium.
2 more elements
A magnetic memory comprising:
- magnetoresistance effect element including:
- a first ferromagnetic layer being pinned in magnetization in a first direction;
- an insulating layer overlying said first ferromagnetic layer;
- a second ferromagnetic layer overlying said insulating layer, said second ferromagnetic layer being free in direction of magnetization, and at least one of a reading and a writing being executable by flowing a current in a direction of its layer thickness;
- a nonmagnetic intermediate layer overlying said second ferromagnetic layer;
- and
- a third ferromagnetic layer overlying said nonmagnetic intermediate layer and being pinned in magnetization in a second direction substantially opposite from said first direction,
- said insulating layer having a through hole penetrating its thickness direction at its predetermined position, said first ferromagnetic layer and said second ferromagnetic layer being electrically connected to each other via said through hole, and said through hole having an opening width not larger than 20 nm.
5 more elements
A magnetic memory comprising:
- magnetoresistance effect element including:
- a first ferromagnetic layer being pinned in magnetization in a first direction;
- an insulating layer overlying said first ferromagnetic layer;
- a second ferromagnetic layer overlying said insulating layer, said second ferromagnetic layer being free in direction of magnetization, and at least one of a reading and a writing being executable by flowing a current in a direction of its layer thickness;
- a nonmagnetic intermediate layer overlying said second ferromagnetic layer;
- and
- a third ferromagnetic layer overlying said nonmagnetic intermediate layer and being pinned in magnetization in said first direction,
- said insulating layer having a through hole penetrating its thickness direction at its predetermined position, said first ferromagnetic layer and said second ferromagnetic layer being electrically connected to each other via said through hole, and said through hole having an opening width not larger than 20 nm.
5 more elements
A magnetic memory comprising a magnetoresistance effect element including:
- a first ferromagnetic layer;
- an insulating layer overlying said first ferromagnetic layer;
- and
- a second ferromagnetic layer overlying said insulating layer,
- said insulating layer having a through hole penetrating its thickness direction at its predetermined position, said first ferromagnetic layer and said second ferromagnetic layer being electrically connected to each other via said through hole, and said through hole having an opening width not larger than 20 nm,
- one of said first and second ferromagnetic layers being pinned in magnetization in a first direction,
- another of said first and second ferromagnetic layers being free in direction of magnetization and
- at least one of reading and writing being executable by flowing a current in a direction of thicknesses of said first and second ferromagnetic layers.
5 more elements
A magnetic memory comprising a plurality of memory cells, said memory cells being two-dimensionally arranged, each of said memory cells being separated each other by insulating region, a current being provided to each of said memory cells by a conductive prove or fixed wiring, an absolute value of a writing current provided to each of said memory cells being larger than an absolute value of a reading current provided to each of said memory cells, and
- each of said memory cells having a magnetoresistance effect element including:
- a first ferromagnetic layer;
- an insulating layer overlying said first ferromagnetic layer;
- and
- a second ferromagnetic layer overlying said insulating layer,
- said insulating layer having a through hole penetrating its thickness direction at its predetermined position, said first ferromagnetic layer and said second ferromagnetic layer being electrically connected to each other via said through hole, and said through hole having an opening width not larger than 20 nm,
- one of said first and second ferromagnetic layers being pinned in magnetization in a first direction,
- another of said first and second ferromagnetic layers being free in direction of magnetization and
- said writing current and said reading current being provided in a direction of thicknesses of said first and second ferromagnetic layers.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.