Electrical, magnetic and galvanomagnetic properties of Mn-based Heusler alloys

A A Semiannikova,V V Marchenkov,M Eisterer,A F Prekul,V Yu Irkhin,Yu A Perevozchikova,P B Terentev,E B Marchenkova,P S Korenistov

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1389/1/012150

Abstract

Half-metallic ferromagnets and spin gapless semiconductors are promising materials for spintronic devices since a high degree of the spin polarization of charge carriers can be realized in such materials. Spin gapless semiconductors make it possible to combine the properties of half-metallic ferromagnets with semiconductor characteristics and to perform fine tuning of the energy gap value. The Mn2MeAl (Me = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) Heusler alloys can possess such features. We studied the electrical, magnetic and galvanomagnetic properties of the Mn2MeAl (Me = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) Heusler alloys from 4.2 K to 900 K and in magnetic fields up to 100 kOe. The features in the electronic and magnetic properties of Mn2MeAl Heusler alloys were observed, which can be a manifestation of the electronic energy spectrum peculiarities with occurrence of the half-metallic ferromagnet and/or spin gapless semiconductor states.

Highlights

The main feature of half-metallic ferromagnets (HMFs) is the presence of a gap at the Fermi level EF for electron states with spin down and its absence for current carriers with spin up [1, 2]
Half-metallic ferromagnets and spin gapless semiconductors are promising materials for spintronic devices since a high degree of the spin polarization of charge carriers can be realized in such materials
Spin gapless semiconductors make it possible to combine the properties of half-metallic ferromagnets with semiconductor characteristics and to perform fine tuning of the energy gap value

Summary

Introduction

The main feature of half-metallic ferromagnets (HMFs) is the presence of a gap at the Fermi level EF for electron states with spin down and its absence for current carriers with spin up (figure 1a) [1, 2]. Spin gapless semiconductors (SGSs) are other promising materials for spintronic devices, which possess a wide (ΔE ~ 1 eV) gap near the Fermi energy for one spin projection of current carriers, for the opposite direction energy gap being zero (figure 1b) [2, 4]. Such materials make it possible to combine the properties of HMFs with semiconductor characteristics and to perform fine tuning of the energy gap value, i.e., to control electronic properties

Objectives

Results

Conclusion