Patent ID: 8679653

Claim:
An improved spin-valve element, which has an intermediate layer containing an insulating layer or a nonmagnetic layer, and a pair of ferromagnetic layers sandwiching the intermediate layer, and in which coercive forces of the pair of ferromagnetic layers are mutually different, wherein the improvement comprises: the ferromagnetic layer with the smaller coercive force is a unitary member which has a top side, a bottom side, and an in-plane shape that is substantially circular but is provided, in a peripheral portion thereof, with a plurality of cutouts that extend from the top side to the bottom side, wherein the shape of at least one of the plurality of cutouts is not congruent with other cutouts, the not-congruent shape being such that said at least one of the cutouts is longer than at least one other cutout so as to obtain a stable vortex magnetization distribution.