Integrated magnetoresistive sensor fabrication method and apparatus.

摘要

A magnetoresistor is monolithically integrated with active devices (38, 40) by growing a thin film magnetoresistor (28) on a semiconductor substrate (14) after the substrate (14) has been doped and annealed for the active devices (38, 40). The magnetoresistor is made from a material (28) being grown through a window in a mask. The mask material and the magnetoresistor material (28) are selected such that the magnetoresistor is substantially non-adherent to the mask. InSb is preferred for the magnetoresistor material (28), Si3N4 for the mask material (24) and GaAs for the substrate (14). The non-adherence allows the mask to be substantially thinner than the magnetoresistor without impairing the removal of the mask after the magnetoresistor has been established. <IMAGE>