We have realized highly oriented nitride-based alpha-Fe/AlN/Fe3N ferromagnetic hybrid structures on Si(111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using AlN/SiC intermediate layers. A two-step hysteresis loop, typically observed in magnetic tunneling junctions, was clearly observed in magnetization versus magnetic field measurements. This result indicates the formation of ferromagnetic alpha-Fe and Fe3N layers separated by 8-nm-thick AlN layers over approximately 1 cm(2) area, and also shows the difference in coercive field between the two ferromagnetic layers. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.