Patent attributes
A compact oscillator in which the oscillation frequency can be adjusted to a desired value is provided. The oscillator includes: a magnetoresistive effect element comprising a pinned layer, a nonmagnetic spacer layer, and a free layer of which magnetization direction is changeable that are stacked in that order, a magnetization direction of the pinned layer being substantially fixed along a direction perpendicular to a stack direction; a bias magnetic field application unit for applying a bias magnetic field to the free layer in a direction that is perpendicular to the stack direction and is different from the magnetization direction of the pinned layer; and an adjusting magnetic field application unit for applying an adjusting magnetic field to the free layer in a direction that is perpendicular to the stack direction and is different from the direction of the bias magnetic field.
