Unusual Kinetic Properties of Usual Heusler Alloys

Abstract

The review considers various groups of Heusler compounds, which can have the properties of a semiconductor, a half-metallic ferromagnet, a spin gapless semiconductor, a topological semimetal, and a noncollinear antiferromagnet. In these Heusler compounds, "conventional" from the point of view of the crystal structure, unusual kinetic and magnetic properties can be observed, which are caused by the features of their electronic structure (e.g., presence of an energy gap for one spin projection) and magnetic state (e.g., strong ferromagnetism, compensated ferrimagnetism, etc.). Their magnetic and kinetic characteristics are very sensitive to external influences. Depending on the alloy composition and external parameters, transitions between the considered states can be realized. All this opens up further prospects for controlling the electronic and magnetic characteristics of such compounds and their practical application.

Magnetic order and electronic transport properties in the Mn3Al compound: The role of the structural state

“…2). The presence of the minimum on the ρ(T) curve and the negative temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) below 50 K, can be explained by the competition between various current carrier scattering mechanisms (see, for example, reviews [5,7] and references therein).…”

“…Many of the Heusler alloys [1] exhibit inconvenient magnetic and electronic properties [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. In particular, states of an antiferromagnet and a compensated ferrimagnet, a topological semimetal and a frustrated magnet [7,[9][10][11] can be realized in them. These compounds have unusual characteristics, which are very sensitive to external influences and can be used in practice.…”

Magnetic States and Electronic Properties of Manganese-Based Intermetallic Compounds Mn2YAl and Mn3Z (Y = V, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni; Z = Al, Ge, Sn, Si, Pt)

“…7 HM-AFM is a half-metallic antiferromagnet. 8 RMQ is rapid melt quenched. 9 HM-FIM is a half-metallic ferrimagnet.…”

“…Heusler compounds, discovered over 100 years ago by German chemist F. Heusler [1], continue to be a subject of great interest in current research. These compounds exhibit a wide range of unique multifunctional properties [2], such as half-metallic ferromagnetism [3][4][5], spin gapless semiconductor state [6][7][8], topological insulator and semimetal behavior [8][9][10][11], shape memory effect [12,13], magnetocaloric effect [14,15], and many others (see, for example, refs. [2,16,17] and references therein).…”

Martensitic Transformation Temperatures and Hall Effect in Ni47−xMn41+xIn12 (x = 0, 1, 2) Alloys

“…Despite the fact that Heusler alloys were discovered by F. Heusler in 1903, the synthesis and study of their physical properties are still of great interest [ 1 ]. This is largely due to the fact that many unusual phenomena, states, and useful functional properties can be observed in Heusler alloys: half-metallic ferromagnetism [ 2 ], the state of a spin gapless semiconductor [ 3 ], topological semimetals [ 4 , 5 , 6 ], large thermoelectric effect, and unusual thermal properties [ 7 , 8 , 9 ], shape memory effect [ 10 , 11 , 12 ], magnetocaloric effect (MCE) [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ], etc. Most of these phenomena arise due to the peculiarities of their crystal and electronic structure and the magnetic state.…”