Patent ID: 8853806

Claim:
A memory element, comprising: a magnetic layer that includes at least one kind of element selected from the group consisting of Fe, Co, and Ni, and carbon, has a content of carbon that is equal to or greater than 3 atomic % and less than 70 atomic % with respect to a total content of Fe, Co, and Ni, and has magnetic anisotropy in a direction perpendicular to a film face; an oxide layer that is formed of an oxide having a sodium chloride structure or a spinel structure and that comes into contact with the magnetic layer; and a layer including an element that adsorbs carbon, wherein the layer including an element that adsorbs carbon is formed on a face of the magnetic layer that is opposite to a face on which the oxide layer is formed, and wherein carbon in the magnetic layer is chemically coupled to the element that adsorbs carbon.