MAGNETORESISTANCE EFFECT ELEMENT, LAMINATE, WAFER, HEAD-GIMBAL ASSEMBLY, HARD DISK DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR MAGNETORESISTANCE EFFECT ELEMENT

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a high magnetoresistance rate-of-change in a low RA region in a CPP-GMR type magnetoresistance effect element.;SOLUTION: The magnetoresistance effect element has a lower layer, an upper layer and a spacer layer held between the lower layer and the upper layer. The direction of a magnetization of one of the lower layer and the upper layer is fixed to an external magnetic field, and the direction of the magnetization of the other of the lower layer and the upper layer is changed in response to the external magnetic field. A sense current is made to flow through each layer of the lower layer, spacer layer and upper layer in the film-surface vertical direction. The spacer layer 8 has a first region 84 consisting of a first material having a relatively small electric resistance per a unit sectional area and a second region 85 consisting of a second material having a relatively large electric resistance per the unit sectional area in at least one cross section parallel with the film surface of the spacer layer 8. The second material mainly comprises a composition consisting of either of aluminum, silicon, chromium, titanium and hafnium and manganese and oxygen.;COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT