MAGNETORESISTANCE EFFECT ELEMENT AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD, MAGNETORESISTANCE EFFECT DEVICE, THIN-FILM MAGNETIC HEAD, HEAD GIMBAL ASSEMBLY, HEAD ARM ASSEMBLY, AND MAGNETIC DISK DRIVE

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase a magnetoresistance change amount in a magnetoresistance effect element of which the current is made to flow into the direction intersected with faces of respective layers constituting the magnetoresistance effect element, and also to improve a soft magnetic property of a free layer.;SOLUTION: The free layer 25 of an MR element 5 includes the layers such as a first layer 51, a second layer 52, third layer 53, fourth layer 54, fifth layer 55 and sixth layer 56, which are laminated in order on a nonmagnetic conductive layer 24. An absolute value of a magnetostriction constant of the free layer 25 is 110^-6 or smaller. A coercive force of the free layer 25 is 2079.6 A/m or smaller. The first layer 51 consists of alloy including (a)-atomic% of cobalt and (100-a)-atomic% of iron while (a) is 20, 50. The second layer 52 is formed with alloy including b-atomic% of cobalt and (100-b)-atomic% of iron while (b) is 70, 90, and also an oxidation process is applied on the face of the second layer 52 at the side opposite to the first layer 51.;COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT