Applications of half metallic ferromagnetic compounds of Heusler family.

In the early 1980s computational study of magnetic compounds discovered a new magnetic material known as half metal. These metals are unusual Ferro-magnets that have two spins. Half metal magnets have recently received a great deal of attention due to its use in spintronic and Magneto electronic Technologies. half metallicity occurs as the result of a metallic material's good electrical structure half metals behave like metals for electrons with one spin and as an insulator or semiconductors for electrons with opposite spin. In HMFs one of the two spin channels is metallic while the other has an energy gap around the Fermi energy level, the presence of gap in the minority spin band results in hundred percent spin polarization at the Fermilevel. Some known examples of HMs are oxides and Heusler alloys, Heusler alloys crystallize with the L21 structure and the X2YZ stoichiometric formula, they exhibit unusual magneto-optical characteristics, our research might be useful in spintronic and these half-Heusler compound may be useful in the thermoelectric solar cell and dilute magnetic semiconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]