Structural and magnetic properties in the Heusler compounds Co3−x Fe x Al thin films

Abstract

The structural and magnetic properties are important parameters for spintronic applications of Heusler compounds. The Co2FeAl and CoFe2Al alloys are considered as the representatives of the regular and inverse Heusler structure, respectively. Here, we present a systematic study of the structural and magnetic properties of Co3−x Fe x Al (x = 1 ∼ 2) Heusler thin films grown on MgO (001) substrates. The lattice parameters and magnetic properties, such as magnetic coercivity, saturated moment and four-fold magnetic anisotropy constant, display different change trends in the Co-rich and Fe-rich regions, which suggest that magnetic properties have relevance to the Heusler structures. Our findings give a better understanding of the Heusler structures and magnetic properties, which is helpful for developing spintronic applications.