MAGNETORESISTIVE EFFECT ELEMENT, THIN FILM MAGNETIC HEAD, MAGNETIC HEAD UNIT, AND MAGNETIC RECORDING AND REPRODUCING UNIT

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an MR element capable of restraining the fluctuation of an effective track width, which is caused by misalignment when forming an electrode. SOLUTION: An MR film 300 has one end surface 100 that becomes a magnetic field detecting surface. First and second electrode layers (371, 372) are respectively adjacent to the bottom surface and the top surface of the MR film 300, and the both edges in a width direction seen from the one end surface 100 are inside the both edges in a width direction of the MR film 300. The first and second electrode layers (371, 372) and the second electrode layer 372 have a portion that overlaps with each other via the MR film 300, and the both edges in one width direction are inside the both edges in the other width direction. COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO