Magnetic annealing sequences for patterned MRAM synthetic antiferromagnetic pinned layers

A method for fabricating an integrated circuit (IC) device, comprising:

• providing a substrate;
• providing a ferromagnetic pinned layer over the substrate, the pinned layer having a first thickness;
• providing a ferromagnetic reference layer over the pinned layer, the reference layer having a second thickness;
• and
• annealing the pinned layer and the reference layer using magnetic field conditions selected based on the first thickness and the second thickness, the conditions having a maximum magnetic field magnitude (Hanneal), wherein a first condition is selected when the first thickness is substantially equal to the second thickness, a second condition is selected when the first thickness is substantially greater than the second thickness, and a third condition is selected when the first thickness is substantially less than the second thickness.