Patent ID: 7045841

Claim:
A magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) device in an MRAM configuration comprising: a substrate; a conducting lead layer formed on said substrate, the layer including a Ta capping layer having a sputter-etched upper surface; an NiCr seed layer formed on said sputter-etched upper surface; a bottom electrode formed on said seed layer, said bottom electrode further comprising: a pinning layer of antiferromagnetic material; an SyAP pinned layer formed on said pinning layer, said SyAP layer including lower and upper ferromagnetic layers magnetized in antiparallel directions, said upper and lower layers separated by a coupling layer; an oxygen surfactant layer having been formed on said upper ferromagnetic layer; a smooth, stoichiometrically homogeneous, tunneling barrier layer of oxidized aluminum having uniformly small grain size, formed on said oxygen surfactant layer and having absorbed the oxygen thereof; a ferromagnetic free layer formed on said barrier layer; a capping layer formed on said ferromagnetic free layer.