Patents by Inventor Fuminori Higami

Fuminori Higami has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Spin-valve magnetic resistance sensor and thin-film magnetic head
    Patent number: 6322911
    Abstract: The present invention provides a spin-valve magnetic resistance sensor in which an underlayer, which has a second underlayer film with an fcc structure consisting of an alloy formed by combining one or more elements selected from a set consisting of elements of group VIIIa and group Ib of the periodic table, and one or more elements selected from a set consisting of elements of groups IIa, IVa, Va, VIa, IIb, Ib and IVb of the periodic table, such as NiFeCrTi or NiCrTi, etc., is formed on the substrate, and a magnetic resistance (MR) film which has an antiferromagnetic layer consisting of a Pt1−xMnx alloy or an Ir1−xMnx alloy is laminated on top of this underlayer. The composition ratio of the element with the smallest free energy of oxide formation among the elements contained in the alloy of the second underlayer film is in the range of 0.1 atomic % to 15 atomic %.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2001
    Assignee: Read-Rite Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoki Fukagawa, Hiroshi Nishida, Masanori Ueno, Masateru Nose, Hideyasu Nagai, Fuminori Higami