FeTa nano-oxide layer as a capping layer for enhancement of giant magnetoresistance in bottom spin valve structures
AssigneeHeadway Technologies, Inc.
InventorsMin Li, Simon H. Liao, Masashi Sano, Kiyoshi Noguchi, Kochan Ju, Cheng T. Horng
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Abstract
A method for forming an NiCr seed layer based bottom spin valve sensor element having a synthetic antiferromagnet pinned (SyAP) layer and a capping layer comprising either a single specularly reflecting nano-oxide layer (NOL) or a bi-layer comprising a non-metallic layer and a specularly reflecting nano-oxide layer and the sensor element so formed. The method of producing these sensor elements provides elements having higher GMR ratios and lower resistances than elements of the prior art.
Claims11
A method for forming a bottom spin valve magnetorestive sensor element comprising:
- providing a substrate;
- forming on the substrate a magnetoresistive-property-enhancing seed layer;
- forming on said seed layer a pinning layer of antiferromagnetic material;
- forming on said pinning layer a synthetic antiferromagnetic pinned (SyAP) layer, said formation further comprising:
- forming on said pinning layer a second antiparallel (AP2) pinned layer of ferromagnetic material;
- forming on said second antiparallel (AP2) pinned layer a non-magnetic coupling layer;
- and
- forming on said non-magnetic coupling layer a first antiparallel (AP1) pinned layer to complete said SyAP layer;
- forming on said first antiparallel (AP1) layer of said SyAP layer a non-magnetic spacer layer;
- forming on said non-magnetic spacer layer a ferromagnetic free layer;
- forming on said ferromagnetic free layer a double-layer capping layer, said capping layer comprising a first layer of non-magnetic material on which is formed a second layer of the specularly reflecting material oxidized FeTa, oxidized Fe or oxidized (Fe65Co35)97V3;
- thermally annealing said sensor element at a prescribed succession of temperatures in the presence of a corresponding sequence of external magnetic fields, establishing, thereby, the magnetizations of said free and said pinned magnetic layers.
A method for forming a bottom spin valve magnetorestive sensor element comprising:
- providing a substrate;
- forming on the substrate a magnetoresistive-property-enhancing seed layer;
- forming on said seed layer a pinning layer of antiferromagnetic material;
- forming on said pinning layer a synthetic antiferromagnetic pinned (SyAP) layer, said formation further comprising:
- forming on said pinning layer a second antiparallel (AP2) pinned layer of ferromagnetic material;
- forming on said second antiparallel (AP2) pinned layer a non-magnetic coupling layer;
- and
- forming on said non-magnetic coupling layer a first antiparallel (AP1) pinned layer to complete said SyAP layer;
- forming on said first antiparallel (AP1) layer of said SyAP layer a non-magnetic spacer layer;
- forming on said non-magnetic spacer layer a ferromagnetic free layer;
- forming on said ferromagnetic free layer a capping layer of the specularly reflecting material oxidized FeTa;
- thermally annealing said sensor element at a prescribed succession of temperatures in the presence of a corresponding sequence of external magnetic fields, establishing, thereby, the magnetizations of said free and said pinned magnetic layers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.