A ferromagnetic tunnel junction element to produce a high ratio of magnetoresistance
at finite voltages including the element operating voltage, and a device provided
therewith such as tunnel magnetoresistive head, magnetic head slider, and magnetic
disk drive. The ferromagnetic tunnel junction element has a laminate structure
of ferromagnetic layer/metallic layer/insulating layer/metallic layer/ferromagnetic
layer. (The metallic layer is one atom thick or two atoms thick.) The metallic
layer and insulating layer have the crystalline regularity. The element is capable
of detecting magnetism with its high magnetoresistivity, about three times that
of conventional elements, at finite voltages. This element makes it possible to
realize a highly sensitive magnetoresistive head. The magnetic head is used for
the magnetic head slider which realizes a magnetic disk drive capable of reproducing
magnetic information with high sensitivity.