Unusual kinetic properties of usual Heusler alloys

TL;DR

This review discusses the unusual kinetic and magnetic properties of various Heusler alloys, highlighting their electronic structure features and potential for tunable electronic and magnetic applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the diverse properties of Heusler compounds and their sensitivity to external influences, emphasizing their potential for controlled applications.

Findings

Heusler alloys exhibit a range of electronic states including semiconducting and topological semimetallic.

Their magnetic and kinetic properties are highly sensitive to composition and external parameters.

Transitions between different magnetic and electronic states can be induced in these alloys.

Abstract

The review considers various groups of Heusler compounds, which can have the properties of a semiconductor, a half-metallic ferromagnet, a spin gapless semiconductor, a topological semimetal, and a noncollinear antiferromagnet. In these Heusler compounds, "conventional" from the point of view of the crystal structure, unusual kinetic and magnetic properties can be observed, which are caused by the features of their electronic structure (e.g., presence of an energy gap for one spin projection) and magnetic state (e.g., strong ferromagnetism, compensated ferrimagnetism, etc.). Their magnetic and kinetic characteristics are very sensitive to external influences. Depending on the alloy composition and external parameters, transitions between the considered states can be realized. All this opens up further prospects for controlling the electronic and magnetic characteristics of such compounds and their practical application.