Spin-resolved unoccupied density of states in epitaxial Heusler-alloy films

Abstract

We investigate the electronic properties of epitaxial ${\text{Co}}_{2}({\text{Fe}}_{x}{\text{Mn}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x})\text{Si}$, ${\text{Co}}_{2}\text{Fe}({\text{Al}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\text{Si}}_{x})$, and ${\text{Co}}_{2}({\text{Cr}}_{0.6}{\text{Fe}}_{0.4})\text{Al}$ films on MgO(100) substrates using circular dichroism in x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XMCD). Considering final-state electron correlations, the spin-resolved partial density of states at the Co atom can be extracted from XMCD data. The experimental results corroborate the predicted half-metallic ferromagnetic properties of these alloys and reveal a compositional dependence of the Fermi energy position within the minority band gap.