Patent ID: 6847508

Claim:
A spin valve thin film magnetic element comprising a laminate comprising an antiferromagnetic layer, a pinned magnetic layer provided in contact with the antiferromagnetic layer so that the magnetization direction is pinned by an exchange coupling magnetic field with the antiferromagnetic layer, a nonmagnetic conductive layer provided in contact with the pinned magnetic layer, a second free magnetic layer provided in contact with the nonmagnetic conductive layer, a nonmagnetic intermediate layer provided in contact with the second free magnetic layer, a first free magnetic layer provided in contact with the nonmagnetic intermediate layer and antiferromagnetically coupled with the second free magnetic layer to form a ferrimagnetic state together with the second free magnetic layer, and a backed layer provided in contact with the first free magnetic layer and having higher conductivity than the first free magnetic layer, and further comprising a pair of bias layers provided adjacent to the second free magnetic layer on two sides of the laminate, for orienting the magnetization direction of the second free magnetic layer; wherein a pair of surfaces on one of the sides of the pair of bias layers in the thickness direction are adjacent to the sides of the laminate at any hierarchy position between the two surfaces which define the second free magnetic layer in the thickness direction, and a pair of second surfaces on the other side of the pair of bias layers in the thickness direction are adjacent to the sides of the laminate at a hierarchy position at least on the nonmagnetic conductive layer side of the second free magnetic layer.