Appeal No. 2002-1212
Application No. 09/349,745
Appellant’s invention is directed to a magnetoresistive (MR) spin valve sensor for
reading magnetically stored data. The magnetized bits on the recording media change the
magnetization between the pinned layer and the free layer. The spin valve sensor detects
changes in current electrical resistance which occurs as a result of the orientation of the
magnetization of ferromagnetic layers within the sensor. (Specification, p. 1). Claim 1,
which is representative of the claimed invention, appears below:
1. A top spin valve comprising
(i) a seed layer comprising Ni and Cr;
(ii) a free layer on the seed layer;
(iii) a pinned layer overlying the free layer; and
(iv) a spacer layer between the pinned and free layers.
Since we reverse the Examiner’s rejections, we need to address only the
independent claims, i.e., claims 1, 13 and 20.
The Examiner rejected claims 1 to 10, 12 to 17 and 19 to 23 as unpatentable under
35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as obvious over the combination of Coffey and Kanai.
The top spin valve of Appellant’s independent claims requires at least (i) a seed
layer comprising Ni and Cr, (ii) a free layer on the seed layer, (iii) a pinned layer
overlying the free layer, and (iv) a spacer layer between the pinned and free layers or a
method of forming the same.
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