Highly a-axis-textured CrO 2 films have been deposited on Al 2 O 3 (0001) and on isostructural TiO 2 (100) substrates by a chemical vapour deposition technique. For Al 2 O 3 substrates a columnar growth of CrO 2 (010) on an initial Cr 2 O 3 (0001) layer has been found in transmission electron microscopy as well as in x-ray diffraction investigations. The sixfold in-plane symmetry of a (0001)-oriented Cr 2 O 3 initial layer leads to three equivalent in-plane orientations of the CrO 2 unit cell as confirmed by electron diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The growth can be understood by a simple model of the in-plane symmetries of the Al 2 O 3 (0001), Cr 2 O 3 (0001), and CrO 2 (010) lattices. The growth on TiO 2 (100) substrates leads to (100)-oriented CrO 2 films of higher crystalline quality than the ones grown on Al 2 O 3 (0001). Transmission electron microscope images show growth of CrO 2 (100) directly on the TiO 2 (100) substrates and no significant Cr 2 O 3 inclusions within the CrO 2 (100) layer. All contributions to the magnetoresistance (MR) due to anisotropic MR, Lorentz MR, spin disorder, and intergrain tunnelling MR have been determined and partly correlated with the crystalline properties of the samples investigated. For films of both types the intrinsic linear contribution to the high-field MR does not depend on the crystalline quality of the films and supports the suggested intrinsic doubleexchange mechanism for CrO 2 .

Tunnel junctions of Co͑10 nm͒/AlO x ͑nominally 2 nm͒/Co͑20 nm͒ have been prepared by molecular beam epitaxy applying a shadow mask technique in conjunction with an UV light-assisted oxidation process of the AlO x barrier. The quality of the AlO x barrier has been proven by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and temperature dependent tunneling magnetoresistance ͑TMR͒ measurements. Optimum-oxidized tunnel junctions show a TMR of 20% at 285 K and up to 36% at 100 K. At 285 K the TMR values as a function of oxidation time are not symmetric about the optimum time. For underoxidized junctions the TMR is reduced more strongly than for overoxidized junctions. The temperature dependence of the junction's resistance is a clear and reliable indicator whether pinholes ͑or imperfections͒ contribute to the conduction across the barrier.Magnetic tunnel junctions ͑MTJs͒ consisting of two ferromagnetic electrodes separated by a thin insulating layer ͑typical AlO x ͒ show large tunnel magnetoresistance ͑TMR͒ at room temperature making them promising candidates for magnetic random access memory ͑MRAM͒ devices.

The growth of (010)-oriented CrO2 thin films on Al2O3(0001) substrates leads to a higher grain boundary density than the growth of (100)-oriented CrO2 thin films on isostructural TiO2(100) substrates. For both types of films an intrinsic linear contribution to the high field magnetoresistance (MR) due to spin disorder has been determined at T=300 K. This contribution does not depend on the crystalline quality of the films and supports the suggested intrinsic double exchange mechanism for CrO2. At low temperature (T=10 K) intergrain tunneling MR and Lorentz MR appear, which strongly depend on the crystalline properties of the CrO2 films.

Co(10 nm)/AlO x ( nominally 2 nm)/Co(20 nm) tunnel junctions have been prepared under ultrahigh vacuum conditions applying a shadow mask technique. An ultraviolet light-assisted oxidation process of the AlOx barrier has been optimized by in situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, in conjunction with temperature-dependent tunneling magnetoresistance measurements. Optimum-oxidized tunnel junctions show a magnetoresistance of 20% at 285 K, and up to 38% at 100 K. For under-oxidized samples, with a remaining Al layer between the Co bottom electrode and the AlOx barrier, the tunneling magnetoresistance decreases more rapidly with increasing temperature than observed for the over-oxidized samples. The resistance × area product of optimum-oxidized tunneling junctions exhibits a minimum, and increases for under- and over-oxidized samples.