Patent ID: 6714387
Filing Date: 2004-03-30
Classification: B82Y,G11B,Y10T

Abstract:
A process for manufacturing a bottom spin valve, comprising:providing a bottom magnetic shield; on said bottom magnetic shield, depositing, to a thickness between about 80 and 110 Angstroms, a first layer of aluminum oxide; on the first layer of aluminum oxide, depositing, to a thickness between about 40 and 60 Angstroms, a first layer of an insulating material having a dielectric breakdown voltage that is as least 5 times that of aluminum oxide, whereby said first aluminum oxide and high voltage breakdown layers together constitute a lower dielectric layer whose total thickness is less than about 150 Angstroms; forming on the lower dielectric layer a spin valve structure whose top layer is a free layer; on said free layer, depositing, to a thickness between about 40 and 60 Angstroms, a second layer of an insulating material having a dielectric breakdown voltage that is as least 5 times that of aluminum oxide; on the second high voltage breakdown layer, depositing a second layer of aluminum oxide to a thickness between about 80 and 120 Angstroms, thereby forming, together with said second high breakdown layer, an upper dielectric layer whose thickness is between about 140 and 160 Angstroms; and on the upper dielectric layer, depositing an upper magnetic shield layer, thereby completing the manufacture of a spin valve structure having a minimum separation between its upper and lower magnetic shields that is less than 700 Angstroms.