Patent ID: 6872467

Claim:
A ferromagnetic thin-film based magnetic field sensor, said sensor comprising: a substrate; and a sensing structure supported on said substrate comprising: a nonmagnetic intermediate layer, said nonmagnetic intermediate layer having two major surfaces on opposite sides thereof; a magnetization reference layer on one of said nonmagnetic intermediate layer major surfaces having a relatively fixed magnetization direction; a sensing film of an anisotropic ferromagnetic material on that remaining one of said nonmagnetic intermediate layer major surfaces and characterized by an induced anisotropy field, said sensing film being magnetically coupled to said magnetization reference layer characterized by an interlayer coupling field; a spacer layer on said sensing film and across said sensing film from one of said nonmagnetic intermediate layer major surfaces, said spacer layer having a major surface on a side thereof opposite said sensing film; and an augmenting film of an anisotropic ferromagnetic material on said spacer layer major surface characterized by an induced anisotropy field with said augmenting film induced anisotropy field and said sensing film induced anisotropy field summing to less than said interlayer coupling field.