Patent ID: 11921172
Assignee: NVE CORPORATION
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G  H

Claim 0:
1. A magnetoresistive sensor element with synthetic antiferromagnet biasing, the magnetoresistive sensor element comprising:
a reference structure including:
a reference ferromagnetic layer; and
a reference antiferromagnetic layer in direct contact with a reference pinned ferromagnetic layer,
wherein the reference pinned ferromagnetic layer is formed on an opposite side of a reference non-magnetic spacer from the reference ferromagnetic layer;

a GMR/TMR sensor including:
a sensing ferromagnetic layer formed on an opposite side of a spacer layer from the reference ferromagnetic layer of the reference structure;

a synthetic antiferromagnetic biasing structure including:
a biasing pinned magnetic structure formed on an opposite side of a sense non-magnetic spacer from a sense biasing ferromagnetic layer; and

an exchange-tuning spacer sandwiched between the sensing ferromagnetic layer of the GMR/TMR sensor and the sense biasing ferromagnetic layer of the synthetic antiferromagnetic biasing structure,
wherein the reference ferromagnetic layer and the sense biasing ferromagnetic layer are pinned in in-plane directions that are parallel to one another.