Patent ID: 8530887

Claim:
A magnetoresistive element comprising: a first ferromagnetic layer; a tunnel barrier layer over the first ferromagnetic layer; a second ferromagnetic layer placed over the tunnel barrier layer, the second ferromagnetic layer comprising cobalt-iron (CoFe); and a first nonmagnetic layer placed over the second ferromagnetic layer, the second ferromagnetic layer comprising nitrogen and at least one of boron (B), tantalum (Ta), zirconium (Zr), aluminum (Al), or cerium (Ce), wherein the first and second ferromagnetic layers have magnetic anisotropy in a direction parallel to a film plane, further comprising: a second nonmagnetic layer placed over the first nonmagnetic layer; and a third ferromagnetic layer placed over the second nonmagnetic layer, comprising magnetic anisotropy in a direction parallel to the film plane, the third ferromagnetic layer further comprising synthetic antiferromagnetic coupling to the second ferromagnetic layer, and further comprising an antiferromagnetic layer over the third ferromagnetic layer.