Patent ID: 8895162

Claim:
A magnetoresistive element comprising: a base layer including a first layer made of a perovskite conductive oxide that is made of ABO 3 and is oriented to a (002) plane, a site A being formed with at least one element selected from the group consisting of Sr, Ce, Dy, La, K, Ca, Na, Pb, and Ba, a site B being formed with at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Ga, Nb, Mo, Ru, Ir, Ta, Ce, and Pb; a first magnetic layer formed on the base layer and having a changeable magnetization direction with an easy axis of magnetization in a direction perpendicular to a film plane; a first nonmagnetic layer formed on the first magnetic layer; and a second magnetic layer formed on the first nonmagnetic layer and having a fixed magnetization layer with an easy axis of magnetization in a direction perpendicular to the film plane, the first magnetic layer including a ferrimagnetic layer having a DO 22 structure, the ferrimagnetic layer having a c-axis oriented in a direction perpendicular to the film plane and being an alloy layer containing Mn and Ga, the magnetization direction of the first magnetic layer being changeable by a current flowing through the first magnetic layer, the first nonmagnetic layer, and the second magnetic layer.