Patent ID: 6980405

Claim:
A NiMn top spin valve sensor comprising: a substrate; a copper seed layer structure disposed on the substrate; a ferromagnetic free layer having a magnetic moment that is free to rotate from a first direction in response to a signal field; a ferromagnetic pinned layer structure having a magnetic moment; a nonmagnetic electrically conductive spacer layer of copper located between the free layer and the pinned layer structure; and a NiMn antiferromagnetic pinning layer exchange coupled to the pinned layer structure for pinning the magnetic moment of the pinned layer structure in a second direction; wherein only the at least one of the copper seed layer and the nonmagnetic electrically conductive spacer layer of copper comprise an oxidized at least one of the copper seed layer and the nonmagnetic electrically conductive spacer layer of copper, wherein the oxidation is performed only after deposition of at least one of the copper seed layer and the nonmagnetic electrically conductive spacer layer of copper and before a subsequent layer is disposed thereon and wherein at least one of the copper seed layer and the nonmagnetic electrically conductive spacer layer of copper is naturally oxidized for 80 seconds under 8×10−5 Torr of oxygen pressure.