Half-metallic Electronic Structure Research Articles

Electronic properties of SiC nanoribbon

The electronic properties of zigzag and armchair SiC nanoribbons are studied using a theoretical method. The spin-unrestricted electronic behavior of an armchair and zigzag SiC nanoribbon containing Si and C vacancy in the supercell was investigated. Spin-polarized electronic structure calculations show that armchair SiC nanoribbon was classified as a nonmagnetic semiconductor while zigzag SiC nanoribbon presents a half-metallic electronic structure. Our results suggest that SiC nanoribbon containing point vacancy may be a good candidate for spintronics due to its half-metal properties.

Ab-initio study of quaternary Heusler alloys LiAEFeSb (AE = Be, Mg, Ca, Sr or Ba) and prediction of half-metallicity in LiSrFeSb and LiBaFeSb

The quaternary Heusler alloys with composition LiAEFeSb have been studied in this manuscript (AE = Alkaline Earth elements Be, Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba) for their potential applications in spintronics. All the investigations have been performed by employing density functional theory. A systematic comparison of results obtained within local density approximation (LDA) and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) done. Our calculations reveal that all the studied alloys have lowest energy in type-I arrangement of basis and exhibit interesting electronic and magnetic properties. All the alloys exhibit a stable ferromagnetic ground state. Fixed spin moment calculations rule out existence of any other local magnetic minima. The phonon dispersions show that all the alloys except LiBeFeSb are dynamically stable. Notably, LiSrFeSb and LiBaFeSb exhibit half-metallic electronic band structure and 100 % spin polarization making them suitable choice for promising spintronic applications such as spin filter and detectors.

Electronic, magnetic, and structural properties of NiFeMnAl

Half-metallic Heusler compounds have been extensively studied in the recent years, both experimentally and theoretically, for potential applications in spin-based electronics. Here, we present the results of a combined theoretical and experimental study of the quaternary Heusler compound NiFeMnAl. Our calculations indicate that this material is half-metallic in the ground state and maintains its half-metallic electronic structure under a considerable range of external hydrostatic pressure and biaxial strain. NiFeMnAl crystallizes in the regular cubic Heusler structure, and exhibits ferromagnetic alignment. The practical feasibility of the proposed system is confirmed in the experimental section of this work. More specifically, a bulk ingot of NiFeMnAl was synthesized in A2 type disordered cubic structure using arc melting. It shows a high Curie temperature of about 468 K and a saturation magnetization of 2.3 . The measured magnetization value is smaller than the one calculated for the ordered structure. This discrepancy is likely due to the A2 type atomic disorder, as demonstrated by our calculations. We hope that the presented results may be useful for researchers working on practical applications of spin-based electronics.

Ab-initio and Monte Carlo studies of the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of V-doped ZnO compound

Realizing room-temperature ferromagnetic interactions in diluted magnetic semiconductors is a precondition for the future application of next-generation spin-based information technologies. However, finding effective strategies to alter the inherent magnetic coupling remains difficult. This paper aims to propose an approach for manipulating the ferromagnetism of (0.12%, 0.18%, 0.25%) V-doped ZnO (V-ZnO). The influence of V doping on the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of ZnO is studied using first principles pseudo-potential plane wave method within the density functional theory (DFT). According to the first-principles calculations, the ferromagnetic ground state is maintained by a half-metallic electronic structure resulting from substantial hybridization between V-3d and O-2p electrons, and the calculations suggest that the ferromagnetism could be governed by the interactions between cluster spines in the VO4 tetrahedra. With the magnetic coupling strengths obtained by the green’s function method with the Wannier functions as a localized basis, the Monte Carlo simulation based on the Classical Ising model predicts the ferromagnetism of Zn1−xVxO (x = 0.12%, 0.18%, 0.25%) with Tc = 55 K, 165 K and 345 K. The observed results show that, as a diluted magnetic semiconductor, V-doped ZnO is an excellent candidate.

Phase stability and half-metallic character of off-stoichiometric Co2FeGa0.5Ge0.5 Heusler alloys

We investigate the effects of off-stoichiometric compositional variations from the Co2Fe(Ga0.5Ge0.5) (CFGG) full-Heusler alloy on its half-metallic electronic structure. First-principles calculations predict that the Co antisite defects that occupy Fe-sites (CoFe) lead to a finite DOS in the half-metallic gap of CFGG. Fe antisites defects in Co-sites (FeCo) introduced by excessing Fe composition, which could suppress the formation of CoFe, preserves the half-metallic gap but reduces spin polarization because the Fermi level shifts to the lower energy. We found that, in Fe-excess CFGG, Ge-excess has an important role to enhance the spin polarization by lifting up the Fermi level position and suppressing the formation of CoFe. To confirm the effect of the Fe and Ge-excess off-stoichiometric composition on spin polarization and phase-purity experimentally, we fabricated CFGG epitaxial thin films with various composition ratios (Co2−αFe1+α) (Ga1−βGeβ)1+γ with small positive γ (=0.09–0.29). It turns out that Co1.75Ge or Fe1.7Ge secondary phase often forms in the films for β≥0.69 in Fe-deficient (α≤0.21) and excess (α≥0.49) compositions. This secondary phase can be suppressed by tuning the Ge and Fe compositions, and the L21-phase pure film was found in Co39.4Fe29.3Ga13.4Ge17.9 (α=0.28,β=0.57,γ=0.25). The measurements of conventional magnetoresistance effects qualitatively indicate higher spin polarization in the Co39.4Fe29.3Ga13.4Ge17.9 film compared to other Co-excess and Ge-deficient films, which evidences the benefit to make Fe- and Ge-excess off-stoichiometric CFGG for obtaining the half-metallic nature of CFGG.

Oxygen-vacancy-induced structural transition and enhanced magnetism in Sc, Fe-codoped SrTiO3: A theoretical study*

The spin-polarized electronic structure and magnetism of (Fe + Sc)-doped SrTiO3 (STO) with and without oxygen vacancy are investigated through first principles calculations. The computations show that codoping with Fe and Sc leads to the formation of spin-splitting half-metallic electronic band structure and induces a total magnetic moment of about 3.58 μB/supercell. The magnetism is formed by the strong hybridization between Fe 3d and O 2p states. A transition from half-metallic to semiconductor is observed with further introducing an oxygen vacancy. The magnetic moment of (Fe + Sc)-STO with oxygen vacancy is enhanced to 5 μB/supercell due to vacancy-induced structure distortion and increased magnetization.

Prediction of half-metallic gap formation and Fermi level position in Co-based Heusler alloy epitaxial thin films through anisotropic magnetoresistance effect

We have investigated the temperature $(T)$ dependence of the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) effect of ${\mathrm{Co}}_{2}{\mathrm{FeGa}}_{0.5}{\mathrm{Ge}}_{0.5}$ (CFGG) epitaxial thin films having different compositions and atomic orders to examine the relation between AMR and the half-metallic electronic structure based on a developed theoretical model. The $T$ dependence of the resistance change (\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\rho}) of the AMR normalized at 10 K is minimal in the CFGG films having a standard composition and high atomic order. In contrast, the films having a large atomic disorder due to the Co-rich composition exhibit a large reduction of \ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\rho} with $T$. Our theoretical model of AMR well explains this behavior; namely, the half-metallic ferromagnets having the Fermi level $({E}_{\mathrm{F}})$ around the center of the half-metallic gap are predicted to show a small $T$ dependence of \ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\rho} because of no/few localized $d\ensuremath{\downarrow}$ states at ${E}_{\mathrm{F}}$. On the contrary, a large change of \ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\rho} with $T$ is expected for the half-metallic materials having ${E}_{\mathrm{F}}$ close to gap edges or large in-gap states because of the contribution of thermally excited s-d scattering involving the $d\ensuremath{\downarrow}$ states. Moreover, we have also investigated the variation of \ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\rho} with $T$ for the thin films of various half-metallic Co-based Heusler alloys and found the behavior that agrees with our theoretical prediction. The present study proves that the formation of a half-metallic gap and the position of ${E}_{\mathrm{F}}$ in a half-metallic material are readily predictable from the $T$ dependence of \ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\rho} of the AMR effect, which can be a facile way for efficient screening of half-metallic materials.

Magnetoelastic anisotropy in Heusler-type Mn2−δCoGa1+δ films

Perpendicular magnetization is essential for high-density memory application using magnetic materials. High-spin polarization of conduction electrons is also required for realizing large electric signals from spin-dependent transport phenomena. Heusler alloy is a well-known material class showing the half-metallic electronic structure. However, its cubic lattice nature favors in-plane magnetization and thus minimizes the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), in general. This study focuses on an inverse-type Heusler alloy, Mn$_{2-\delta}$CoGa$_{1+\delta}$ (MCG) with a small off-stoichiometry ($\delta$) , which is expected to be a half-metallic material. We observed relatively large uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant ($K_\mathrm{u}$) of the order of 10$^5$ J/m$^3$ at room temperature in MCG films with a small tetragonal distortion of a few percent. A positive correlation was confirmed between the $c/a$ ratio of lattice constants and $K_\mathrm{u}$. Imaging of magnetic domains using Kerr microscopy clearly demonstrated a change in the domain patterns along with $K_\mathrm{u}$. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) was employed using synchrotron radiation soft x-ray beam to get insight into the origin for PMA. Negligible angular variation of orbital magnetic moment ($\Delta m_\mathrm{orb}$) evaluated using the XMCD spectra suggested a minor role of the so-called Bruno's term to $K_\mathrm{u}$. Our first principles calculation reasonably explained the small $\Delta m_\mathrm{orb}$ and the positive correlation between the $c/a$ ratio and $K_\mathrm{u}$. The origin of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy was discussed based on the second-order perturbation theory in terms of the spin--orbit coupling, claiming that the mixing of the occupied $\uparrow$- and the unoccupied $\downarrow$-spin states is responsible for the PMA of the MCG films.

Electronic, magnetic, and structural properties of CrMnSb0.5Si0.5

Half-metallic Heusler compounds are among the most actively studied materials for applications in spin-based devices. Largely, this is due to their higher Curie temperature compared with the other half-metallic compounds, and relative ease of fabrication. Here we theoretically study one such Heusler alloy CrMnSb0.5Si0.5. In particular, we demonstrate a potential stability of this compound by estimating its formation energy, its half-metallic electronic structure (stable under a considered range of biaxial strain), and ferrimagnetic alignment. The calculated Curie temperature of this material is 787 K, much higher than room temperature. At the same time, we have shown that in thin-film geometry the spin-polarization of this material is strongly reduced due to the emergence of surface states in the minority-spin energy gap. In addition, one of the considered termination surfaces is thermodynamically unstable, while the other is stable. The presented results may be useful for researchers working on practical applications in the field of spintronics.

First principles study of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in thin-film Co2MnSi

Among different physical parameters taken into account for practical implementations in the field of spin-based electronics (spintronics), magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) and spin polarization play a particularly important role. The former determines the orientation of magnetization direction, while a high degree of the latter is required for producing a spin-polarized current, a cornerstone of spintronics. Due to the miniaturization of the modern electronic devices, one often needs to consider physical effects associated with reduced geometry. In particular, in magnetic thin-film materials, MCA may take a form of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), which could be beneficial, e.g. in magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM). Yet, combining PMA with half-metallicity may be a challenging task, since the latter is usually destroyed in thin-film geometry (e.g., due to the emergence of surface states), while the former is most pronounced in reduced geometry, because of the contribution to MCA from surface anisotropy. Here, we theoretically explore the nature of PMA in the thin-film full Heusler alloy Co2MnSi. This material was extensively studied in the past, and it is one of the first compounds for which a half-metallic electronic structure was experimentally confirmed. In addition, it has been reported that this alloy may exhibit perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in thin-film geometry. Here, by analyzing the site-projected magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy (MAE), we confirm that both PMA and surface half-metallicity are very sensitive to the termination surface and mechanical strain. In particular, while MnSi-termination under compressive strain may retain both 100% spin-polarization and out-of-plane magnetization orientation, Co-termination has a detrimental impact on both. These results may serve as a guide for practical applications in the field of spin-based electronics.

Prediction of half-metallic ferrimagnetic quadruple perovskites ACu3Fe2Re2O12 (A=Ca, Sr, Ba, Pb, Sc, Y, La) with high Curie temperatures

A- and B-site ordered quadruple perovskites with the chemical formula ${\mathrm{AA}}_{3}^{\ensuremath{'}}{\mathrm{B}}_{2}{\mathrm{B}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{'}}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$ can form with 1:3 ratio at the A site. A unique feature of this specially ordered perovskite is that three different atomic sites $({\mathrm{A}}^{\ensuremath{'}}, \mathrm{B}, \mathrm{and} {\mathrm{B}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ sites) can all accommodate magnetic transition metals. As a consequence, multiple magnetic and electronic interactions can occur at ${\mathrm{A}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$, B, and/or ${\mathrm{B}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ sites, giving rise to a series of intriguing physical phenomena. ${\mathrm{CaCu}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{Re}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$ is a good example, which shows half-metallic electronic structure, large magnetization, and a very high Curie temperature. Here we investigated a series of ferrimagnetic (FiM) compounds ${\mathrm{ACu}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{Re}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$ (A=Ca, Sr, Ba, Pb, Sc, Y, La) by using density functional theory and Monte Carlo simulations. We found that all compounds with ${\mathrm{A}}^{2+}$ ions exhibit high Curie temperatures (above 405 K), and the compounds with ${\mathrm{A}}^{3+}$ substitution yield even higher ${T}_{C}$ (above 502 K). By examining interatomic exchange parameters, we found that the antiferromagnetic exchange couplings between Re and Cu as well as Re and Fe are responsible for this very high Curie temperature. For the compounds with ${\mathrm{A}}^{3+}$ substitution, electron doping in bands around the Fermi level dominated by the Re ions strengthens the Re-Cu, Re-Fe, and Re-Re exchange interactions, which cause an increase in the critical temperature. Finally, we calculated the formation energies of the quadruple perovskites with respect to the possible decomposition pathways and have found that the values are reasonable for the synthesis of these compounds under the conditions of high pressure and high temperature. In summary, this work demonstrates a design strategy of enhancing the spin ordering temperature by replacing A-site nonmagnetic ions.

Ab initio study of electronic and magnetic properties of Mn2RuZ/MgO (001) heterojunctions (Z = Al, Ge)

We studied the applicability of Heusler alloys Mn2RuZ (Z = Al, Ga, Ge, Si) to the electrode materials of MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions. All these alloys possess Hg2CuTi-type inverse Heusler alloy structure and ferrimagnetic ground state. Our study reveals the half-metallic electronic structure with highly spin-polarized Δ1 band, which is robust against atomic disorder. Next we studied the electronic structure of Mn2RuAl/MgO and Mn2RuGe/MgO heterojunctions. We found that the MnAl- or MnGe-terminated interface is energetically more favorable compared to the MnRu-terminated interface. Interfacial states appear at the Fermi level in the minority-spin gap for the Mn2RuGe/MgO junction. We discuss the origin of these interfacial states in terms of local environment around each constituent atom. On the other hand, in the Mn2RuAl/MgO junction, high spin polarization of bulk Mn2RuAl is preserved independent of its termination.

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in half-metallic thin-film Co2CrAl

Magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) is one of the key parameters investigated in spin-based electronics (spintronics), e.g. for memory applications. Here, we employ first-principles calculations to study MCA in thin film full Heusler alloy Co2CrAl. This material was studied in the past, and has been reported to exhibit half-metallic electronic structure in bulk geometry. In our recent work, we showed that it retains a 100% spin-polarization in thin-film geometry, at CrAl atomic surface termination. Here, we show that the same termination results in a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, while Co surface termination not only destroys the half-metallicity, but also results in in-plane magnetization orientation. In addition, for films thicker than around 20 nm the contribution from magnetic shape anisotropy may become decisive, resulting in in-plane magnetization orientation. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first reports of half-metallic thin-film surfaces with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. This result may be of interest for potential nano-device applications, and may stimulate a further experimental study of this and similar materials.

Half-metallic surfaces in thin-film Ti2MnAl0.5Sn0.5

Materials exhibiting a high degree of spin polarization in electron transport are in demand for applications in spintronics—an emerging technology utilizing a spin degree of freedom in electronic devices. Room-temperature half-metals are considered ideal candidates, as they behave as an insulator for one spin channel and as a conductor for the other spin channel. In addition, for nano-size devices, one has to take into account possible modification of electronic structure in thin-film geometry, due to the potential presence of surface/interface states. It has been shown that typically these states have a detrimental impact on half-metallicity, i.e. their presence results in reduced spin-polarization. Here, we employ density functional calculations to explore an inverse Heusler compound, Ti2MnAl0.5Sn0.5, which exhibits half-metallic electronic structure in bulk geometry. In particular, this material behaves as a regular metal for majority-spin, and as a semiconductor for minority-spin states. We show that in thin-film geometry, the type of termination surface has a decisive effect on half-metallicity of this material. In particular, we analyze six possible termination configurations, and show that for four of them, energy states emerge in the minority-spin band gap, significantly reducing the spin polarization of Ti2MnAl0.5Sn0.5. At the same time, our calculations indicate that two termination surfaces preserve half-metallic properties of this material. This result is somewhat unexpected, as most of the available literature reports reduction of the spin-polarization due to the presence of surface states. Thus, our results show that a judicious choice of the termination surface may be a crucial factor in nano-device applications, where highly spin-polarized current is needed.

A first-principles study of the effect of vacancy defects on the electronic structures of greigite (Fe3S4)

Greigite (Fe3S4) is a ferrimagnetic mineral with an inverse spinel structure. Besides its importance in the bio-geochemical cycle, it also has great potential applications for its unique properties such as its half metallic electronic structure at ambient condition. However, it has been challenging to get high purity and crystallinity samples of greigite in experiment, and the defect effect on the electronic structure of greigite was not clear. In the present study, first-principles calculations have been performed to investigate the ground state electronic structure of greigite with monovacancy. It is found that, with an vacancy concentration lower than 3.6%, the greigite with an Fe vacancy is an insulator with charge orderings, while the greigite with a S vacancy becomes a half-metal and has a magnetic moment of <4.0 μB per formula unit. The present result helps to understand the absence of the Verwey transition and the magnetic property of greigite measured in experiment. The understanding of the electronic structure of defective greigite could also be utilized to manipulate the properties of greigite for spintronic applications.

XMCD and PES study of a compensated-ferrimagnetic half-metal Mn3Ga

By employing soft X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and photoemission spectroscopy (PES), we have investigated the electronic structure of the candidate zero-moment half-metallic Mn3Ga. We have studied the ball-milled and annealed Mn3Ga powder samples that exhibit nearly zero magnetization. Mn 2p XAS revealed that Mn ions in Mn3Ga are nearly divalent for both of the Mn ions having the locally octahedral symmetry and those having the locally tetrahedral symmetry. The measured Mn 2p XMCD spectrum of Mn3Ga is very similar to that of ferrimagnetic MnFe2O4 having divalent Mn ions. The sum-rule analysis of the Mn 2p XMCD spectrum shows that both the spin and orbital magnetic moments of Mn ions in Mn3Ga are negligibly small, in agreement with the nearly compensated-ferrimagnetic ground state of Mn3Ga. The valence-band PES spectrum of Mn3Ga agrees well with the calculated density of states, supporting the half-metallic electronic structure of Mn3Ga.

Electronic Structure, Optical and Transport Properties of Double Perovskite La2NbMnO6: A Theoretical Understanding from DFT Calculations

Double perovskite La2NbMnO6 was systematically studied using the first-principles calculations. The structural, electronic, optical and transport properties of this compound were calculated. Spin resolved band structure predicted this material as a half-metal with an energy gap of 3.75 eV in spin down state. The optical coefficients including optical conductivity, reflectivity and electron energy loss are calculated for photon energy up to 30.00 eV to understand the optical response of this perovskite. The strong absorption of all the ultraviolet and infrared frequencies of the spectrum by this material may suggest the potential application of this material for the optoelectronic devices in ultraviolet and infra-red region. Also, the thermoelectric properties with a speculation from the half-metallic electronic structure are reported. Subsequently, the Seebeck coefficient, electrical and thermal conductivity coefficients are calculated to predict the thermoelectric figure of merit (zT), the maximum of which is found out to be 0.14 at 800 K.

The local magnetic moment and electron transfer of ZnO-based dilute magnetic semiconductors

The electronic structures and magnetic properties of ZnO semiconductors doped with Cu, Co, C, Al and S are studied by first-principles calculation. The electronic transfer among Zn, O and doped atoms, and the differences of the number of electron between spin-up and spin-down, Δs, Δp, Δd for s, p and d orbits of these atoms, are analyzed in detail. It is found that, the ferromagnetic ground state is stabilized by its half-metallic electronic structure, and the strong local magnetic moments in Zn1−xCoxO, Zn1−xCuxO and ZnO1-xCx (x = 5.55%) DMSs originate mainly from the strong hybridizations between Cu-3d and O-2p, Co-3d and O-2p, Zn-3d and C-2p electrons. It is considered that the requirements to give rise to the ferromagnetism in the DMSs are the strong local magnetic moment and the electron transfer. The magnetic coupling in Zn1-xCoxO, Zn1-xCuxO and ZnO1-xCx is also considered to be a RKKY interaction.

High-field magnetization of Heusler compound Fe2Mn1−xVxSi

${\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}\mathrm{MnSi}$ exhibits a ferromagnetic transition at ${T}_{C}\ensuremath{\sim}230$ K and another transition to a phase with antiferromagnetic components at ${T}_{A}\ensuremath{\sim}60$ K. By substituting V for Mn, so as to obtain ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{V}}_{x}\mathrm{Si}$, ${T}_{A}$ is revealed to decrease with $x$ and then vanish around $x\ensuremath{\sim}0.2$. In this study, the phase boundary of the transition at ${T}_{A}$ in the high-field range is found for $0\ensuremath{\le}x\ensuremath{\le}0.15$ with pulsed fields up to $\ensuremath{\sim}70$ T. The magnetization of ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{V}}_{x}\mathrm{Si}$ slowly increases even at the highest field of $\ensuremath{\sim}70$ T, though it occurs more gradually as $x$ increases. We compare the magnetization for $0\ensuremath{\le}x\ensuremath{\le}0.20$ at 62 T with the Slater-Pauling rule, which holds when a Heusler compound is a half-metal, and find fairly good agreement. This suggests an intimate relation between the high-field phase and the half-metallic electronic structure, and that at the high-field limit the phase approaches the half-metallic state, which has been predicted by band-structure calculations.

반쪽 금속 호이슬러 화합물 Mn3Ga의 연 X선 방사광 분광 연구

이 연구에서는 방사광을 이용한 연 X-선 흡수 분광법(soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy: XAS)과 광전자 분광법(photoemission spectroscopy: PES) 을 이용하여 반쪽금속 반강자성체 후보 물질인 <TEX>$Mn_3Ga$</TEX> 호이슬러 화합물의 전자구조를 연구하였다. 이 연구에 사용된 시료는 full-Heusler <TEX>$Mn_3Ga$</TEX>로 ball milling 후 열처리하지 않은 시료와 ball milling 후 <TEX>$400^{\circ}C$</TEX>에서 열처리한 두 시료를 사용하였다. XAS 분석에 의하면 <TEX>$Mn_3Ga$</TEX>에서 Mn 이온들의 원자가는 <TEX>$Mn^{2+}$</TEX> 상태임을 알 수 있었으며, 국소적으로 팔면체 대칭성을 가진 Mn 이온들과 사면체 대칭성을 가진 Mn 이온들이 섞여 있음을 알 수 있었다. 그리고 <TEX>$Mn_3Ga$</TEX>의 가전자띠 PES 스펙트럼은 전자구조 계산에 의한 반쪽 금속성 상태밀도와 대체로 유사함을 발견하였다. By employing photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), the electronic structure of the candidate half-metallic antiferromagnet of <TEX>$Mn_3Ga$</TEX> Heusler compound has been investigated. We have studied two ball-milled <TEX>$Mn_3Ga$</TEX> powder samples, one after annealing and the other without annealing, respectively. Based on the Mn 2p XAS study, we have found that Mn ions are nearly divalent in <TEX>$Mn_3Ga$</TEX> and that the Mn ions having the locally octahedral symmetry and those having the locally tetrahedral symmetry are both present in <TEX>$Mn_3Ga$</TEX>. We have found relatively good agreement between the measured valence-band PES spectrum of <TEX>$Mn_3Ga$</TEX> and the calculated density of states, which is in agreement with the half-metallic electronic structure of <TEX>$Mn_3Ga$</TEX>.