US Patent 10141501 Magnetoresistive element

A magnetoresistive element includes a channel layer, a first ferromagnetic layer, a second ferromagnetic layer, and a reference electrode. The first ferromagnetic layer, the second ferromagnetic layer, and the reference electrode are apart from each other and are electrically connected to each other through the channel layer. The effective cross-sectional area of a sixth region according to a plane perpendicularly intersecting a spin-polarized carrier transport path in the sixth region is smaller than the effective cross-sectional area of a seventh region according to a plane perpendicularly intersecting a voltage detection path in the seventh region.