Patent ID: 8008097

Claim:
A method, comprising: depositing Mg onto a surface of an underlayer to form a Mg layer thereon, wherein the surface is selected to be substantially free of oxide, and the underlayer includes at least one layer of magnetic material selected from the group consisting of ferromagnetic materials and ferrimagnetic materials; directing additional Mg, in the presence of oxygen, towards the Mg layer to form a MgO tunnel barrier in contact with the underlayer, the oxygen reacting with the additional Mg and the Mg layer; forming an overlayer on the MgO tunnel barrier to form a magnetic tunnel junction, wherein the overlayer includes a magnetic material selected from the group of materials consisting of ferromagnetic materials and ferrimagnetic materials; and annealing the tunnel junction to yield a tunnel magnetoresistance of greater than 100% at room temperature, wherein the magnetic material of the underlayer is at least partially (100) oriented.