Patent ID: 7770282

Claim:
A method of forming a magnetic sensing device, comprising: forming a sensor stack structure of the magnetic sensing device, the sensor stack structure including a sensing layer structure; forming a capping layer structure of the magnetic sensing device by: depositing a first metallic layer comprising a metal; performing, on the first deposited metallic layer, a process comprising one of oxidation, nitridation, and oxynitridation, to convert the first deposited metallic layer into a first insulator layer; after converting the first deposited metallic layer into the first insulator layer, depositing, on the first insulator layer, a second metallic layer comprising the same metal as the first metallic layer; and performing, on the second deposited metallic layer, the process utilized on the first deposited metallic layer, to convert the second deposited metallic layer into a second insulator layer, for thereby forming the capping layer structure which includes the first and the second insulator layers.