Patent ID: 7898776

Claim:
A tunneling magnetic sensing element, comprising: a first magnetic layer, a barrier layer, and a second magnetic layer, wherein the first magnetic layer, the barrier layer, and the second magnetic layer are laminated in that order from the bottom, any one of the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer comprises a pinned magnetic layer with a pinned magnetization direction, and the other comprises a free magnetic layer with a magnetization direction being varied by an external magnetic field, wherein the free magnetic layer comprises a soft magnetic layer and an enhancing layer having a film thickness smaller than that of the soft magnetic layer and interposed between the soft magnetic layer and the barrier layer, and wherein the enhancing layer is formed from a cobalt iron (CoFe) alloy, and an Fe content of the enhancing layer is larger on a first side that interfaces with the barrier layer than on a second side that interfaces with the soft magnetic layer.