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US 5,847,904 AGranted
Magnetoresistive device incorporating conductor geometry providing substantially uniform current flow for improved magnetic stability
AssigneeQuantum Peripherals Colorado, Inc.
InventorShridhar Bharthulwar
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A magnetoresistive ("MR") device incorporating an improved conductor geometry to provide enhanced magnetic stability by providing essentially uniform current flow through the device active region in order to effectively obviate the formation of undesired domain walls, particularly during read back operations. A pair of current conductors are provided in electrical contact with the magnetoresistive device and configured to provide current to the magnetoresistive device at an angle of less than 90.degree. to the easy axis.
Claims42
A magnetoresistive device, comprising:
- an elongated magnetoresistive layer having a centrally located active region;
- said active region having first and second longitudinally spaced ends, and said active region providing an easy axis that extends longitudinally of said active region between said first and second ends;
- an elongated soft adjacent layer underlying said magnetoresistive layer for providing a transverse bias;
- an elongated magnetic spacing layer underlying said magnetoresistive layer and interposed between said magnetoresistive layer and said soft adjacent layer, and
- first and second current conductors respectively physically overlying and in electrical contact with said first and second ends of said active region;
- said first and second conductors each having a first medial edge that overlies said first and second ends respectively of said active region;
- said first and second conductors each having a second medial edge that is non-colinear with a corresponding first medial edge and is physically displaced from said corresponding first medial edge in a direction away from a corresponding end of said active region;
- said first medial edge of each of said first and second conductors being substantially equal in length to a stripe height of said active region, as said stripe height is measured in a direction that is generally perpendicular to said easy axis;
- and
- said second medial edge of each of said conductors being displaced from a corresponding first medial edge by a distance that is at least two times greater than said stripe height.
7 more elements
A magnetoresistive device, comprising:
- a magnetoresistive structure having a generally elongated active region that forms a generally centrally located portion of an elongated magnetoresistive layer;
- said magnetoresistive layer having longitudinally spaced first and second ends;
- said active region having longitudinally spaced first and second ends that correspond respectively to said first and second ends of said magnetoresistive layer;
- said active region having an elongated easy axis that extends between said first and second ends of said magnetoresistive layer;
- a conductor in electrical contact with one of said ends of said active region;
- said conductor having a first medial edge that extends generally normal to said easy axis and physically overlaps a corresponding end of said magnetoresistive layer;
- said conductor having a second medial edge that is non-colinear with said first medial edge and is physically displaced from said first medial edge in a direction parallel to said easy axis and away from said one end of said active region;
- said first medial edge being substantially equal in length to a stripe height of said active region as said stripe height is measured generally normal to said easy axis;
- and
- said second medial edge being physically displaced from said first medial edge by a distance that is in the range of from two to four times greater than said stripe height.
7 more elements
A magnetic sensor comprising:
- a planar magnetoresistive layer having a centrally located active region with a height dimension;
- said magnetoresistive layer having first and second ends;
- at least one planar electrical conductor occupying a plane that directly overlies said plane of said magnetoresistive layer;
- said at least one conductor having a proximal edge that physically overlies one end of said active region, extends parallel to said height dimension, and is electrically coupled to said one end of said active region;
- said at least one conductor having a distal edge;
- said distal edge being displaced from said proximal edge in a direction away from said one end of said active region;
- said proximal and distal edges being non-colinear;
- said proximal edge being equal in length to said height of said active region;
- and
- said distal edge being displaced from said proximal edge by a distance that is at least twice said height of said active region.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.