Patent ID: 7190557

Claim:
A current-in-plane (CIP) magnetoresistive sensor capable of sensing external magnetic fields, the sensor comprising: a substrate; a pinned ferromagnetic layer on the substrate and having an in-plane magnetization direction oriented in a first direction and prevented from substantial rotation in the presence of an external magnetic field; a nonmagnetic electrically-conductive spacer layer on the pinned layer; a free ferromagnetic layer on the spacer layer and having an in-plane magnetization direction oriented substantially perpendicular to said first direction in the absence of an external magnetic field, said free layer magnetization direction being substantially free to rotate in the presence of an external magnetic field; a first capping layer on the free layer, the first capping layer comprising one or more oxides of Zn; and a second capping layer on the first capping layer, the second capping layer comprising Ta 2 O 5 .