Magnetic layered material, and magnetic sensor and magnetic storage/read system based thereon

A magnetic sensor comprising a ferromagnetic material and an antiferromagnetic material in intimate contact with said ferromagnetic material, at least a part of said antiferromagnetic material acting to bring about unidirectional anisotropy in the ferromagnetic material being made of Cr--Mn-based alloy, and at least a part of said ferromagnetic material in intimate contact with said antiferromagnetic material being made of Co or Co-based alloy.

A magnetic recording medium comprising ferromagnetic material and an antiferromagnetic material in intimate contact with said ferromagnetic material, at least a part of said antiferromagnetic material acting to bring about unidirectional anisotropy in the ferromagnetic material being made of Cr--Mn-based alloy, and at least a part of said ferromagnetic material in intimate contact with said antiferromagnetic material being made of Co or Co-based alloy.

A magnetic storage/read system comprising a disk which has a ferromagnetic recording medium magnetically recording a signal and which has a magnetic head performing relative movement relative to said disk, which head has a surface sliding in the vicinity of said disk, so that a magnetic field leaking from said disk is detected, wherein said magnetic head has a thin film formed by sequentially laminating a soft magnetic layer, a non-magnetic layer, a ferromagnetic layer and an antiferromagnetic layer, and in which magnetization of said soft magnetic layer rotates in response to an external magnetic field, resulting in a change in a relative angle defined by both the rotated magnetization and that of said ferromagnetic layer, thus imparting magnetoresistance, and wherein said ferromagnetic layer is made of a layered material having a first ferromagnetic layer, a second ferromagnetic layer and a third ferromagnetic layer.

A magnetic head for detecting a magnetic field leaking from a ferromagnetic recording medium in which signals are magnetically recorded, said magnetic head being relatively movable in close vicinity to the recording medium, said magnetic head comprising a magnetic layered material having a ferromagnetic layer and an antiferromagnetic layer in intimate contact with the ferromagnetic layer, at least a part of the antiferromagnetic layer, by which antiferromagnetic layer uniaxial anisotropy is brought about in the ferromagnetic layer, being a Cr--Mn based alloy, at least a part of the ferromagnetic layer in intimate contact with the antiferromagnetic layer being Co or Co alloy.