Patent ID: 7466525

Claim:
A magnetic sensing element comprising a multilayer film including a pinned magnetic layer, a free magnetic layer, and a non-magnetic material layer disposed therebetween, wherein the free magnetic layer comprises a Co 2 MnZ alloy layer (where Z represents at least one element selected from the group consisting of Al, Sn, In, Sb, Ga, Si, Ge, Pb, and Zn) and a (Ni a Fe 100-a ) b X 100-b alloy layer (where X represents at least one element selected from the group consisting of Cu, Au, Ag, Zn, Mn, Al, Cd, Zr, and Hf, and a represents a composition ratio satisfying 80<a≦100 in terms of atomic percent and b represents a composition ratio satisfying 60<b≦100 in terms of atomic percent).