Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
Magnetoresisitive sensor and manufacturing method therefor
 A magnetoresistive sensor fabricated by creating first antiferromagnetic layers on the upper surfaces of a lower-gap layer, the antiferromagnetic layer having first and second exposed portions separated by a track width formed by the upper surface of the lower-gap layer. Then, a free magnetic layer, a nonmagnetic electrically conductive layer, a pinned magnetic layer and a second antiferromagnetic layer are stacked on the first antiferromagnetic layers and a portion on the track width one after another. Since the free magnetic layer is created after the first antiferromagnetic layer, the free magnetic layer and the first antiferromagnetic layer are adhered to each other with a high degree of reliability. When the direction of magnetization in the free magnetic layer is changed by an external magnetic field, the electrical resistance of the magnetoresistive sensor also changes. The change in electrical resistance is, in turn, used for detecting the external magnetic field. Since the first antiferromagnetic layers put the free magnetic layer in a single-domain state in the X direction, the amount of Barkhausen noise can be reduced. 
Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
Y Y Y B G Y G G B G G
Y10T Y10T Y10T B82Y G11B Y10T G01R G11B B82Y G11B G11B
additional additional additional inventional additional additional inventional inventional inventional inventional additional
Toshihiro Toshinori Masamichi Kiyoshi
Kuriyama Watanabe Saito Sato