An embodiment includes an apparatus comprising: a substrate; a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), on the substrate, comprising a fixed layer, a free layer, and a dielectric layer between the fixed and free layers; and a first synthetic anti-ferromagnetic (SAF) layer, a second SAF layer, and an intermediate layer, which includes a non-magnetic metal, between the first and second SAF layers; wherein the first SAF layer includes a Heusler alloy. Other embodiments are described herein.