Evidence of local moment formation in Co-based Heusler alloys

N. D. Telling, P. S. Keatley, G. van der Laan, R. J. Hicken, E. Arenholz, Y. Sakuraba, M. Oogane, Y. Ando, K. Takanashi, A. Sakuma, and T. Miyazaki
Phys. Rev. B 78, 184438 – Published 25 November 2008

Abstract

We examine the formation of local moments in Heusler alloys of the composition Co2MnZ (where Z=Si or Al) using the combined techniques of x-ray magnetic circular and linear dichroism. The existence of local moments in half-metallic Heusler alloys is reliant upon the band gap in the minority-spin states. By utilizing the element-specific nature of x-ray absorption techniques we are able to explore the degree of localization of moments on Co and Mn atoms. We observe a crucial difference in the localization of the Co moment when comparing Co2MnSi (CMS) and Co2MnAl films that is consistent with the predicted larger minority-spin gap in the Co partial density of states for CMS. These results provide important evidence for the dominant role of the Co minority-spin states in realizing half-metallic ferromagnetism in this system.

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  • Received 18 August 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.78.184438

©2008 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

N. D. Telling1,2, P. S. Keatley3, G. van der Laan2,4, R. J. Hicken3, E. Arenholz5, Y. Sakuraba6, M. Oogane7, Y. Ando7, K. Takanashi6, A. Sakuma7, and T. Miyazaki7

  • 1School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9P, United Kingdom
  • 2Magnetic Spectroscopy Group, STFC Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington WA4 4AD, United Kingdom
  • 3School of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QL, United Kingdom
  • 4Diamond Light Source, Chilton, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
  • 5Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
  • 6Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Katahira 2-1-1, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
  • 7Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba-yama 6-6-05, Sendai 980-8579, Japan

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Issue

Vol. 78, Iss. 18 — 1 November 2008

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