Conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy of epitaxial Co 2 Cr 0.6 Fe 0.4 Al thin films

Heusler half-metals are promising for spintronic applications. Epitaxial thin films of the exemplar compound Co 2 Cr 0.6 Fe 0.4 Al (CCFA) were investigated using conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy to clarify the factors influencing the spin polarization. CCFA films were deposited by rf magne...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2008-06, Vol.92 (26), p.262501-262501-3
Main Authors: Ksenofontov, Vadim, Herbort, Christian, Jourdan, Martin, Felser, Claudia
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Summary:Heusler half-metals are promising for spintronic applications. Epitaxial thin films of the exemplar compound Co 2 Cr 0.6 Fe 0.4 Al (CCFA) were investigated using conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy to clarify the factors influencing the spin polarization. CCFA films were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering on MgO substrates with and without an Fe buffer layer. Annealing improves their crystallographic order, causes the diffusion of Fe atoms from the Fe buffer layer into the CCFA, and favors the Co-Fe disorder. The listed factors are possible reasons for the increase and subsequent reduction of the tunneling magnetoresistance in CCFA thin films observable across the annealing temperature range.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.2952760