Patent ID: 8852963

Claim:
A method for making a current-perpendicular-to-the-plane (CPP) magnetoresistive sensor comprising: within a chamber having a vacuum, depositing on a substrate, without the application of heat to the substrate, a seed layer; depositing on the seed layer, without the application of heat to the substrate, a layer of a Mn alloy capable of becoming antiferromagnetic; thereafter heating the Mn alloy layer to a temperature greater than or equal to 200° C. and less than or equal to 600° C. for a period of time greater than or equal to 1 minute and less than or equal to 120 minutes; after cooling the Mn alloy layer, depositing on the Mn alloy layer a ferromagnetic reference layer; removing the substrate with deposited layers from the vacuum chamber; and in the presence of a magnetic field, subjecting the deposited layers to a temperature between 200-400° C. for between 0.5-50 hours.