Study of electronic, structural and magnetic properties of electrodeposited Co2MnSn Heusler alloy thin films

Spintronics is the new emerging field that recasts the modern information technology using electron spin along with its charge. Various spintronic devices have been under research for the last few years such as GMR based devices, MRAMs, etc. These devices are based on the conventional ferromagnetic materials that exhibit spin asymmetry. Half metallic ferromagnetic materials, especially Heusler alloys, are considered as most promising candidates because of high spin polarization. Previously, Heusler alloys have been investigated theoretically. Few experimental reports are available that belong to high -cost vacuum-based methods. Furthermore, detailed magnetic study at room temperature is rare to be found. In this research work, structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Co2MnSn Full Heusler alloy are investigated experimentally and through density functional theory by ADF. Theoretical results of this study predict the half metallic and asymmetric behavior of the Co2MnSn Full Heusler alloy with L21 structure. The cobalt manganese tin thin films are prepared by the electrodeposition method by varying applied reducing po-tential from 1 to 2 V. Mixed phases are observed at an applied potential ranging from 1 V to 1.5 V. Co2MnSn phase of full Heusler alloy is observed at an applied voltage of 1.75 V. Further increase in applied voltage to 2 V results in strengthening and stability of Co2MnSn phase. Magnetic moment mB of 4.10 is in close agreement to the one calculated by Slater-Pauling Rule for full Heusler alloys. The M -H loops of cobalt manganese tin Heusler alloy electrodeposited thin films exhibit soft ferromagnetic behavior. Arrott plots show the ferromagnetic nature of cobalt manganese tin electrodeposited thin films by exhibiting convex shape. MH curves show variation in exchange bias with varying the applied potential.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Spintronics is a new field that utilizes electron spin and charge to redefine modern information technology. Various spintronic devices, such as GMR-based devices and MRAMs, have been researched in recent years. Conventional ferromagnetic materials with spin asymmetry have been the basis of these devices. Half metallic ferromagnetic materials, particularly Heusler alloys, are considered the most promising candidates due to their high spin polarization. Previous investigations of Heusler alloys were mainly theoretical, with few experimental reports using high-cost vacuum-based methods. This study experimentally investigates the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of the Co2MnSn Full Heusler alloy using density functional theory by ADF. The results predict the half metallic and asymmetric behavior of the Co2MnSn Full Heusler alloy with an L21 structure. The thin films of cobalt manganese tin are prepared by the electrodeposition method, and the magnetic properties are observed to vary with the applied voltage.