Element-specific x-ray circular magnetic dichroism of Co2MnGe Heusler thin films -: art. no. 024437

We report measurements of x-ray absorption spectra and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) on thin films of the ferromagnetic Heusler compound Co2MnGe at the L-2,L-3 edges of Mn and Co. While the Co spectra are similar to those of metallic Co, the Mn spectra indicate partly localized 3d electrons, which we attribute to Mn atoms at the interface with the Au protection layer. We have analyzed the XMCD spectra using sum rules in order to estimate the element-specific magnetic moments. We find that the decrease of the thin film magnetization as compared to the bulk is mainly caused by a reduction of the Mn moments.