ABSTRACTThe influence of the structural properties of the leads of planar tunnel junctions on the tunneling current is investigated by means of ab initio electronic structure calculations. In particular, a NM/Fe/MgO/Fe/NM tunnel junction with non-magnetic (NM) leads and finite Fe spacer layers between the leads and the MgO barrier is discussed. The conductance is calculated as a function of the number of Fe layers. The results show that even one iron layer next to the barrier is sufficient to obtain a high spin polarization and a high TMR ratio. This finding implies that similar results can be expected for tunnel junctions with nonmagnetic and even amorphous leads, if states of Δ1 symmetry are provided.