Patent ID: 8363462

Claim:
A magnetoresistive element which records information by supplying spin-polarized electrons to a magnetic material, comprising: a first pinned layer which is made of a magnetic material and has a first magnetization directed in a direction perpendicular to a film surface; a free layer which is made of a magnetic material and has a second magnetization directed in the direction perpendicular to the film surface, the direction of the second magnetization reversing by the spin-polarized electrons; a first nonmagnetic layer which is provided between the first pinned layer and the free layer; a first magnetic metal layer which is provided between the first pinned layer and the first nonmagnetic layer and contains at least one element selected from the group consisting of Fe, Co, and Ni; and a second magnetic metal layer which is provided between the free layer and the first nonmagnetic layer and contains at least one element selected from the group consisting of Fe, Co, and Ni, wherein the second magnetic metal layer is thinner than the first magnetic metal layer, at least one of the first magnetic metal layer and the second magnetic metal layer is made of a ferromagnetic alloy containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of Fe, Co, and Ni and at least one element selected from the group consisting of B, Nb, Zr, Ta, V, and W, and a crystal structure of the ferromagnetic alloy is a bcc structure.