Magnetic sensing element permitting decrease in effective element size while maintaining large optical element size

摘要

A current limiting layer including a mixture of a conductive portion and an insulating portion is provided on the side (upper side) of a free magnetic layer which a sensing current reaches. This can decrease the effective element area while maintaining the large optical element area. Therefore, a magnetic sensing element can easily be formed by using a photolithography technique having the same degree of accuracy as a conventional technique, and a CPP type magnetic sensing element having high reproduced output can be manufactured.