Anomalous transport properties of the half-metallic ferromagnets Co 2 TiSi, Co 2 TiGe and Co 2 TiSn

In this work the theoretical and experimental investigations of Co2TiZ (Z = Si, Ge, or Sn) compounds are reported. Half-metallic ferromagnetism is predicted for all three compounds with only two bands crossing the Fermi energy in the majority channel. The magnetic moments fulfill the Slater-Pauling rule and the Curie temperatures are well above room temperature. All compounds show a metallic like resistivity for low temperatures up to their Curie temperature, above the resistivity changes to semiconducting like behavior. A large negative magnetoresistance of 55% is observed for Co2TiSn at room temperature in an applied magnetic field of 4T which is comparable to the large negative magnetore…

Itinerant half-metallic ferromagnetsCo2TiZ(Z=Si, Ge, Sn):Ab initiocalculations and measurement of the electronic structure and transport properties

This work reports on ab initio calculations and experiments on the half-metallic ferromagnetic Heusler compounds ${\text{Co}}_{2}\text{Ti}Z$ $(Z=\text{Si},\text{ }\text{Ge},\text{ }\text{Sn})$. Aim is a comprehensive study of the electronic-structure and thermoelectric properties. The impact of the variation in the main group element $Z$ on those properties is discussed. X-ray diffraction was performed on the compounds and the lattice parameters are compared to other ${\text{Co}}_{2}$-based compounds. Hard x-ray photoemission measurements were carried out and the results are compared to the calculated electronic structure. The experimentally determined electronic structure, magnetic propert…

Magnetic Heusler Compounds

Abstract Heusler compounds are a remarkable class of intermetallic materials with 1:1:1 (often called Half-Heusler) or 2:1:1 composition comprising more than 1500 members. New properties and potential fields of applications emerge constantly; the prediction of topological insulators is the most recent example. Surprisingly, the properties of many Heusler compounds can easily be predicted by the valence electron count or within a rigid band approach. The wide range of the multifunctional properties of Heusler compounds is reflected in extraordinary magnetooptical, magnetoelectronic, and magnetocaloric properties. Co 2 -Heusler compounds are predicted and proven half-metallic ferromagnets sho…

Crystal Structure of New Heusler Compounds

Heusler compounds are promising materials in many fields of contemporary research. The spectrum of their possible applications ranges from magnetic and magneto-mechanical materials over semiconductors and thermoelectrics to superconductors. An important feature of the Heusler compounds is the possibility of controlling the valence electron concentration by partial substitution of elements. On the other hand, the properties also depend on the degree of ordering of the the crystal structure. In general, Heusler compounds crystallize in the Cu2MnAl-type structure but in many cases certain types of disorder are observed. In this paper a detailed description of the different types of disordered …

Half-Heusler compounds: novel materials for energy and spintronic applications

Half-Heusler compounds are an impressive class of materials with a huge potential for different applications such as future energy applications and for spintronics. The semiconducting Heusler compounds can be identified by the number of valence electrons. The band gap can be tuned between 0 and 4 eV by the electronegativity difference of the constituents. Magnetism can be introduced in these compounds by using rare-earth elements, manganese or ‘electron’ doping. Thus, there is a great interest in the fields of thermoelectrics, solar cells and diluted magnetic semiconductors. The combination of different properties such as superconductivity and topological edge states leads to new multifunct…

Charge transfer and tunable minority band gap at the Fermi energy of a quaternaryCo2(MnxTi1−x)GeHeusler alloy

We investigate the distribution of element-specific magnetic moments and changes in the spin-resolved unoccupied density of states in a series of half-metallic ${\text{Co}}_{2}({\text{Mn}}_{x}{\text{Ti}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x})\text{Ge}$ Heusler alloys using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. The Co and Mn magnetic moments are oriented parallel while a small Ti moment shows antiparallel to the mean magnetization. The element-specific magnetic moments remain almost independent on the composition. Therefore, a replacement of Ti by Mn results in an increase in magnetization. The increase in magnetization with increasing $x$ follows the Slater-Pauling rule. The Fermi level decreases with respect to…

Heusler Compounds: Applications in Spintronics

Synthesis and Characterization of Monodisperse Manganese Oxide Nanoparticles−Evaluation of the Nucleation and Growth Mechanism

Magnetic nanoparticles of the 3d transition metal oxides have gained enormous interest for applications in various fields such as data storage devices, catalysis, drug-delivery, and biomedical imaging. One major requirement for these applications is a narrow size distribution of the particles. We have studied the nucleation and growth mechanism for the formation of MnO nanoparticles synthesized by decomposition of a manganese oleate complex in high boiling nonpolar solvents using TEM, FT-IR, and AAS analysis. The exceptionally narrow size distribution indicates that nucleation and growth are clearly separated. This leads to a uniform growth with a very narrow size distribution on the existi…

Tailoring the electronic structure of half-metallic Heusler alloys

We investigated element-specific magnetic moments and the spin-resolved unoccupied density of states (DOS) of polycrystalline ${\text{Co}}_{2}\text{Ti}Z$ $(Z=\text{Si},\text{ }\text{Ge},\text{ }\text{Sn},\text{ }\text{Sb})$, ${\text{Co}}_{2}{\text{Mn}}_{x}{\text{Ti}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\text{Si}$ and ${\text{Co}}_{2}{\text{MnGa}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\text{Ge}}_{x}$ Heusler alloys using circular dichroism in x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XMCD). We find a small $(l0.03{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B})$ Ti moment oriented antiparallel and a large $(g3{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B})$ Mn moment oriented parallel to the Co moment of approximately $1{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}$ per atom in the investigated compounds. Orb…

Synthesis and Magnetic Properties of FePt@MnO Nano-heteroparticles

Monodisperse FePt@MnO nano-heteroparticles with different sizes and morphologies were prepared by a seed-mediated nucleation and growth technique. Both size and morphology of the individual domains could be controlled by adjustment of the synthetic parameters. As a consequence, different particle constructs, including dimers, dumbbell-like particles, and flowerlike particles, could be obtained by changing the polarity of the solvent. The FePt@MnO nano-heteroparticles were thoroughly characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. Due to a sufficient lattice m…

Heusler Compounds—A Material Class With Exceptional Properties

The class of Heusler compounds, including the XYZ and the X2YZ compounds, has not only an endless number of members, but also a vast variety of properties can be found in this class of materials, ranging from semiconductors, half-metallic ferromagnets, superconductors, and topological insulators to shape memory alloys. With this review article, we would like to provide an overview of Heusler compounds, focusing on their structure, properties, and potential applications.

Magnetic and Structural Properties of Heusler Compounds with 27.8 Valence Electrons 

Co2-based Heusler compounds with 27.8 valence electrons exhibit an exceptional electronic structure that makes them interesting materials for the application in spintronics. Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al is the most prominent example of this particular family of compounds. In this article new materials of this class are tested with respect to their structural and magnetic properties. X-ray diffraction, Mossbauer spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and SQUID magnetometry were carried out to characterize the compounds. The use of Co2Fe0.45Ti0.55Ge as a new material in spintronic devices is suggested.

Tuning the carrier concentration for thermoelectrical application in the quaternary Heusler compound Co2TiAl(1−x)Six

The family of half-metallic ferromagnets Co2TiZ exhibits exceptional transport properties. The investigated compounds Co2TiAl(1−x)Six (x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75) show Curie temperatures (TCs) that vary between 250 and 350 K, depending on the composition. Above TC the Seebeck coefficient remains constant. This makes them promising candidates for thermoelectric devices such as thermocouples with a tunable working range. The electrical resistivity data show an anomaly at TC which is attributed to changes in the electronic structure and therefore in the carrier concentration.

Phase separation in the quaternary Heusler compound CoTi(1−x)MnxSb – A reduction in the thermal conductivity for thermoelectric applications

We investigate the phase separation of the solid solution CoTi(1−x)MnxSb into the two Heusler compounds CoTiSb and CoMnSb. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements on the two-phase material reveal the presence of size- and shape-tunable CoTiSb regions in a CoMnSb matrix. We demonstrate that the formed phase and grain boundaries have a considerable influence on the phonon scattering processes, which leads to a reduction in the thermal conductivity by a factor of three compared to single-phase CoTiSb.

Seebeck coefficients of half-metallic ferromagnets

In this report the Co2 based Heusler compounds are discussed as potential materials for spin voltage generation. The compounds were synthesized by arcmelting and consequent annealing. Band structure calculations were performed and revealed the compounds to be half-metallic ferromagnets. Magnetometry was performed on the samples and the Curie temperatures and the magnetic moments were determined. The Seebeck coefficients were measured from low to ambient temperatures for all compounds. For selected compounds high temperature measurements up to 900 K were performed.

Magneto-optical characterization of single crystalline Co2FeAl0.4Si0.6thin films on MgO(1 0 0) substrates with Cr and MgO seed layers

We report on the experimental investigation of the influence of a seed layer on the magnetic properties of the full-Heusler alloy Co2FeAl0.4Si0.6 (CFAS). The studied magnetic films are grown epitaxially on MgO (1 0 0) substrates with Cr and/or MgO seed layers. By employing magneto-optical Kerr effect magnetometry we show that magnetic anisotropy can be tuned by choosing the proper seed layer. The results on CFAS show an overall uniaxial anisotropy plus a biaxial contribution which depends on the seed layer. In addition, if grown on MgO, a sharp increase in the coercive field HC at a series of angles symmetric with respect to the easy axis is present. Scanning Kerr-microscope imaging is perf…

Electronic structure and transport properties of the Heusler compound Co2TiAl

The properties of the Heusler compound Co2TiAl were investigated in detail by experimental techniques and theoretical methods. X-ray diffraction measurements indicate that as-cast samples of the compound exhibit the L21 structure with a small amount of B2-type disorder. This leads to a reduced saturation magnetization per formula unit of 0.747 μB. The Curie temperature is approximately 120 K. The transport properties are influenced by the change in the electronic structure at the Curie temperature, as revealed experimentally by conductivity, thermal transport and specific heat measurements. Different theoretical models based on ab initio calculations of the electronic structure are used to …

Crystal Structure of Heusler Compounds

Heusler compounds are promising materials in many fields of contemporary research. The spectrum of their possible applications ranges from magnetic and magneto-mechanical materials over semiconductors and thermoelectrics to superconductors. An important feature of the Heusler compounds is the possibility of controlling the valence electron concentration by partial substitution of elements. On the other hand, the properties also depend on the degree of ordering of the crystal structure. In general, Heusler compounds crystallize in the Cu2MnAl-type structure but in many cases certain types of disorder are observed. In this chapter, a detailed description of the crystal structure as well as di…

Heusler Compounds at a Glance

The class of Heusler compounds, including the XYZ and the X 2 YZ compounds, does not only have an endless number of members, but also a vast variety of properties can be found in this class of materials, ranging from semi-conductors, half-metallic ferromagnets, superconductors, and topological insulators to shape memory alloys. With this chapter, we would like to provide an overview of Heusler compounds, focusing on basis design principles, their properties and potential applications.

Phase-separation-induced changes in the magnetic and transport properties of the quaternary Heusler alloyCo2Mn1−xTixSn

The quaternary Heusler compound ${\text{Co}}_{2}{\text{Mn}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\text{Ti}}_{x}\text{Sn}$ with $x=0$, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, and 1 shows a phase separation into the two Heusler compounds, ${\text{Co}}_{2}\text{MnSn}$ and ${\text{Co}}_{2}\text{TiSn}$. Only at the edges of the composition range a slight admixture of Mn and Ti to the respective other phase is observed. This phase separation leads to a distinct microstructure which can be altered by the composition of the material. Pronounced changes in the magnetic and electronic properties take place with varying composition. Two magnetic transitions occur which indicate different Curie temperatures for both phases. The reduct…

Electronic, magnetic, and structural properties of the ferrimagnet Mn2CoSn

The magnetic ground state of the Heusler compound Mn${}_{2}$CoSn was predicted to be nearly half-metallic ferrimagnetic with a high spin polarization by ab initio electronic structure calculations. Mn${}_{2}$CoSn was synthesized, and the magnetic behavior of the compound was studied using a superconducting quantum interference device and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. The experimental values were found to be in fair accordance with the theoretical predictions. The electronic structure and the crystal structure of Mn${}_{2}$CoSn were characterized comprehensively using x-ray powder diffraction, $^{119}\mathrm{Sn}$ M\"ossbauer spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and hard x-ray photo…