Claims
- 1. A passivated magneto-resistive bit structure, comprising:
a magneto-resistive bit having a top surface and side walls; a conductive etch stop barrier layer encapsulating the top surface and sidewalls of said bit; and a metal contact provided upon at least part of said etch stop barrier layer.
- 2. The bit structure of claim 1, wherein said etch stop barrier layer comprises CrSi.
- 3. The bit structure of claim 2, wherein said etch stop barrier layer further comprises Ta.
- 4. The bit structure of claim 1, wherein said etch stop barrier layer includes a diffusion barrier.
- 5. The bit structure of claim 1, further comprising a diffusion barrier between said etch stop barrier layer and said bit.
- 6. The bit structure of claim 5, wherein said diffusion barrier comprises a material selected from the group consisting of Ta and TaN.
- 7. A passivated magneto-resistive bit structure, comprising:
a substrate having a top surface; a giant magnetoresistive (GMR) stack provided upon the top surface of said substrate, the GMR stack having a top surface and side walls; a spacer provided along the side walls of said GMR stack, extending from the top surface of said substrate to a point near or above the top surface of said GMR stack; and a conductive contact layer surrounding said GMR stack and said spacer.
- 8. The bit structure of claim 7, further comprising a barrier layer provided along the top surface of said GMR stack.
- 9. The bit structure of claim 8, wherein said barrier layer extends to the side walls of the GMR stack, and said spacer extends from the top surface of the substrate up past the top surface of the GMR stack and at least part way up the side walls of the barrier layer.
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/638,419, filed Aug. 14, 2000, entitled “PASSIVATED-MAGNETO-RESISTIVE BIT STRUCTURE AND PASSIVATION METHOD THEREFOR,” which is incorporated herein by reference.
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09638419 |
Aug 2000 |
US |
Child |
10078234 |
Feb 2002 |
US |