Kevin Fugate

US Patent:

20150179325, Jun 25, 2015

Filed:

Dec 20, 2013

Appl. No.:

14/135956

Inventors:

CARLOS M. ACUNA - TEMPE AZ, US
MOHAMMAD A. FARUQUE - CHANDLER AZ, US
KEVIN R. FUGATE - MADISON MS, US
TODD D. HOFFMANN - MESA AZ, US
PAIGE M. HOLM - PHOENIX AZ, US
PETER T. JONES - SCOTTSDALE AZ, US
RIGOBERTO LOPEZ, JR. - CHANDLER AZ, US
WILLIAM D. MCWHORTER - GOODYEAR AZ, US

International Classification:

H01F 7/02
G01R 1/04
G01R 31/315

Abstract:

Methods, systems and apparatus are provided to apply a magnetic pre-conditioning to magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) sensors and other micro-magnetic devices after fabrication but before testing, trimming or other subsequent processing. The fabricated sensor device is passed through a magnetic field that has a known direction and orientation relative to the device so that the device is placed into a known state prior to final testing and trimming. Various embodiments allow the field to be applied in situ by a permanent magnet or electromagnet as the devices are being processed by a conventional device handler or similar processing system.