This book gives an overview of the physics of Heusler compounds ranging from fundamental properties of these alloys to their applications. Especially Heusler compounds as half-metallic ferromagnetic and topological insulators are important in condensed matter science due to their potential in magnetism and as materials for energy conversion. The book is written by world-leaders in this field. It offers an ideal reference to researchers at any level.

During the last decades the knowledge of the magnetic properties of the d transition elements and of their metallic alloys and compounds has increased widely. The improvement of preparation techniques for well-defined substances, the development of sophisticated measuring methods and above all the drive to obtain more insight in the origin of magnetic interactions in solids have resulted in the publication of many specific magnetic properties for an abundance of all kinds of metallic materials. The data assembled in this booklet are selected from the comprehensive compilation of magnetic and related properties of metals in the Landolt-Bornstein New Series Group III sub volumes 19a, band c. It has been attempted to include preferentially those properties which are of a basic character and which therefore are most often needed by scientists active in the field of solid state magnetism. In the field of magnetism, there is a gradual transition from the use of cgs/emu units to SI units. It was, however, not intended to represent all data in the units of one system, regardless of how nice this would have been from a systematic point of view. Instead, mostly preference was given to the system of units that was originally used by the authors whose work is quoted. Thus cgs/ emu units occur most frequently. Of colirse the user of the tables and figures is helped in several ways to convert the data to the units which he is most familiar with, see, e. g.

Ternary Mn-based Heusler alloys often exhibit a ferromagnetic shape memory effect,which is best studied in Ni2MnGa, a prototype of Heusler alloys. Heusler Alloys: Structure, Properties and Applications opens by analyzing how by substituting nickel for iron, another Heusler alloy emerges, Fe2MnGa, with much richer structural and magnetic properties than Ni2MnGa and a large ferromagnetic shape memory performance in slightly off-stoichiometric compositions.Next, the effects of atomic site disorder on the transport, magnetic, optical, and magneto-optical properties and electronic structures of metallic Cu2MnAl, Ni2MnGa and Ni2MnIn and half-metallic Co2CrAl, Co2MnGa and Co2CrGa Heusler alloy films are been investigated and the findings are discussed.The concluding study presents first-order reversal curve diagrams of the full-Heusler alloy nanoparticles synthesized by co-precipitation method, followed by thermal annealing at 700 °C under Ar/H2 atmosphere. Interacting single domain particles were dominantly detected from analysis.

This book presents current research on advanced magnetic materials and multifunctional composites. Recent advances in technology and engineering have resulted from the development of advanced magnetic materials with improved functional magnetic and magneto-transport properties. Certain industrial sectors, such as magnetic sensors, microelectronics, and security, demand cost-effective materials with reduced dimensionality and desirable magnetic properties such as enhanced magnetic softness, giant magnetic field sensitivity, and large magnetocaloric effect. Expert chapters present the most up-to-date information on the fabrication process, processing, tailoring of properties, and applications of different families of modern functional materials for advanced smart applications. Topics covered include novel magnetic materials and applications; amorphous and nanocrystalline magnetic materials and applications; hard magnetic materials; magnetic shape memory alloys; and magnetic oxides. The book's highly interdisciplinary and forward-looking approach will benefit the scientific community, particularly researchers and advanced graduate students working in the field of advanced magnetic materials, composites, and high-performance sensor and microwave devices.

Spintronics is an emerging technology exploiting the spin degree of freedom and has proved to be very promising for new types of fast electronic devices. Amongst the anticipated advantages of spintronics technologies, researchers have identified the non-volatile storage of data with high density and low energy consumption as particularly relevant. This monograph examines the concept of half-metallic compounds perspectives to obtain novel solutions and discusses several oxides such as perovskites, double perovskites and CrO2 as well as Heusler compounds. Such materials can be designed and made with high spin polarization and, especially in the case of Heusler compounds, many material-related problems present in current-day 3d metal systems, can be overcome. Spintronics: From Materials to Devices provides an insight into the current research on Heusler compounds and offers a general understanding of structure–property relationships, including the influence of disorder and correlations on the electronic structure and interfaces. Spintronics devices such as magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) and giant magnetoresistance (GMR) devices, with current perpendicular to the plane, in which Co2 based Heusler compounds are used as new electrode materials, are also introduced. From materials design by theoretical methods and the preparation and properties of the materials to the production of thin films and devices, this monograph represents a valuable guide to both novices and experts in the fields of Chemistry, Physics, and Materials Science.