Patent ID: 6787004
Filing Date: 2004-09-07
Classification: B82Y,G01R,G11B,H01F,H01L

Abstract:
A method of manufacturing a spin valve film on a substrate comprising the steps of:forming an anti-ferromagnetic layer in a film-forming sputtering chamber; forming, in the film-forming sputtering chamber, a magnetization-fixed layer magnetized in a prescribed direction by an exchange coupling magnetic field acting between it and the anti-ferromagnetic layer; forming, in the film-forming sputtering chamber, a magnetization-free layer having a magnetization direction in accordance with an external magnetic field; and forming a nonmagnetic layer by depositing a nonmagnetic layer made of a Cu film which in use magnetically isolates the magnetization-fixed layer and the magnetization-free layer, said nonmagnetic film being deposited by means of sputtering performed at a reduced pressure in said film-forming sputtering chamber, and then exposing the nonmagnetic layer in a gas atmosphere in a gas-exposure chamber filled with gas that activates a surface of the Cu film; and providing said layers on the substrate.