Spin valve sensor with insulating and conductive seed layers

• US 6,788,499 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2003
• Issued: 09/07/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands BV (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mauri, Daniele, Lin, Tsann
• Primary Examiner(s): Watko, Julie Anne
• Application Number:
  US10/441,692
• Publication Number:
  US 20030205459A1
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: 360/324.1, 360/324.12, 360/324.11, 360/324, 360/313, 360/110
• US Class Current: 360/324.1
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 25/00 Nanomagnetism, e.g. magnetoimpedance, anisotropic magnetoresistance, giant magnetoresistance or tunneling magnetoresistance
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 40/00 Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/0036 Reactive sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/085 of iron group metals
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/568 Transferring the substrates through a series of coating stations C23C14/562 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/093 using multilayer structures, e.g. giant magnetoresistance sensors thin magnetic films H01F10/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2005/3996 large or giant magnetoresistive effects [GMR], e.g. as generated in spin-valve [SV] devices
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/3163 Fabrication methods or processes specially adapted for a particular head structure, e.g. using base layers for electroplating, using functional layers for masking, using energy or particle beams for shaping the structure or modifying the properties of the basic layers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/3903 using magnetic thin film layers or their effects, the films being part of integrated structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 10/3295 Spin-exchange coupled multilayers wherein the magnetic pinned or free layers are laminated without anti-parallel coupling within the pinned and free layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 41/302 for applying spin-exchange-coupled multilayers, e.g. nanostructured superlattices spin-exchange-coupled multilayers H01F10/32
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49032 Fabricating head structure or component thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49044 Plural magnetic deposition layers

Abstract

A spin valve sensor with insulating and conductive seed layers is provided. The sensor comprising Al₂O₃/Ni—Cr—Fe/Ni—Fe/Co—Fe/Cu/Co—Fe/Ru/Co—Fe/Pt—Mn films is formed by depositing an insulating Al₂O₃ seed layer in a first chamber by reactively pulsed DC magnetron sputtering, depositing a conducting Ni—Cr—Fe seed layer and a ferromagnetic Ni—Fe free layer in a second chamber by ion beam sputtering, and then forming the remainder of the spin valve sensor in a third chamber by DC magnetron sputtering.

Claims

1. A spin valve sensor, comprising:

a) an Al₂O₃ seed layer;

b) a Ni—

Cr—

Fe/Ni—

Fe/CO—

Fe multilayer structure over said Al₂O₃ layer;

c) a Cu spacer layer over said multilayer structure;

d) a Co—

Fe/Ru/Co—

Fe pinned layer over said Cu spacer layer; and

e) a Pt—

Mn antiferromagnetic layer over said pinned layer.

2. A spin valve sensor, comprising:

an Al₂O₃ substrate;

an Al₂O₃ seed layer over said substrate;

a Ni—

Cr—

Fe/Ni—

Fe/Co—

Fe multilayer structure over said Al₂O₃ layer;

a Cu spacer layer over said multilayer structure;

a Co—

Fe/Ru/Co—

Fe pinned layer over said Cu spacer layer; and

a Pt—

Mn antiferromagnetic layer over said pinned layer.

3. The spin valve sensor of claim 2, wherein said Al₂O₃ substrate is a bottom read gap.