Patent ID: 7764471

Claim:
A magnetoresistance effect element comprising: a pinned layer having a fixed magnetization direction; a free layer having a magnetization direction variable depending on an external magnetic field; a nonmagnetic spacer layer disposed between said pinned layer and said free layer; and an anti-ferromagnetic layer including IrMn for exchange coupling with said pinned layer, said pinned layer being stacked on said anti-ferromagnetic layer, said nonmagnetic spacer layer comprising a first nonmagnetic metal layer made of Cu, a second nonmagnetic metal layer made of Cu, and a semiconductor layer made of ZnO disposed between said first nonmagnetic metal layer and said second nonmagnetic metal layer; said pinned layer including a diffusion blocking layer made of ZnO which is an oxide of an element whose electronegativity is equal to or smaller than Zn so that ZnO of said diffusion blocking layer blocks the diffusion of Mn of said anti-ferromagnetic layer in order to improve the RA value.