Patent ID: 6870715

Claim:
A magnetoresistive element comprising: a laminate comprising a nonmagnetic conductive layer, a first ferromagnetic layer formed on one face of the nonmagnetic conductive layer, a second ferromagnetic layer formed on the other face of the nonmagnetic conductive layer, and a first antiferromagnetic layer to pin a magnetization direction of the first ferromagnetic layer, the first antiferromagnetic layer being formed on a face of the first ferromagnetic layer opposite a face of the first ferromagnetic layer in contact with the nonmagnetic conductive layer; and bias layers to apply a bias magnetic field to the second ferromagnetic layer to orient a magnetization direction of the second ferromagnetic layer in a direction substantially orthogonal to the magnetization direction of the first ferromagnetic layer, the bias layers being respectively disposed on two ends of the laminate, wherein each of the bias layers comprises a second antiferromagnetic layer and a third antiferromagnetic layer arranged to oppose each other, and a third ferromagnetic layer to generate the bias magnetic field by magnetically coupling to the second and third antiferromagnetic layers, the third ferromagnetic layer being disposed between the second and third antiferromagnetic layers, and wherein each end of the second ferromagnetic layer comes in contact with one of the third ferromagnetic layers.