Patent ID: 7068478

Claim:
A process to manufacture a CPP GMR read head, comprising: depositing, in succession on a lower lead layer, a seed layer and a pinning layer; on said pinning layer, depositing a first layer of CoFe to a thickness between 50 and 90 Angstroms; depositing a layer of rhodium, to a thickness between about 5 and 7 Angstroms, on said first layer of CoFe; on said rhodium layer, depositing a second layer of CoFe to a thickness between 50 and 90 Angstroms; on said second layer of CoFe, depositing a copper spacer layer; on said copper spacer layer, depositing a free layer to a thickness between 20 and 60 Angstroms; through annealing in a magnetic field between 10 and 15 kOe, for between 300 and 600 minutes at a temperature between 200 and 250° C., causing said first CoFe layer and said pinning layer to become magnetically coupled to one another; and on said free layer, depositing an upper lead layer, thereby forming GMR read head.