Reduction of surface magnetism of Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al Heusler alloy films -: art. no. 072506

Element specific magnetization has been determined at the surface and in the bulk of Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al Heusler alloy films grown on alpha-Al2O3 and capped by Al, using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism both in transmission and total electron yield. The magnetic moments for Co and Fe are considerably reduced at the upper surface in comparison to their values in the bulk of the film. The large reduction at room temperature of 17% for thick films averaged along the electron escape depth implies an even larger reduction at the topmost layer which is crucial for spin-dependent transport. The surface magnetization decreases additionally with respect to the bulk value with decreasing film thickness below 20 nm.