Abstract
Abstract
We investigated the Ge-composition (γ) dependence of the saturation magnetization of Co2Fe(Ga, Ge) (CFGG) thin films and the magnetoresistance (MR) ratio of CFGG-based current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance (CPP-GMR) devices together with first-principles calculations of the electronic states of CFGG. Theoretical calculations showed that spin polarization is highest at the stoichiometric composition γ = 0.56 in Co2Fe1.03Ga0.41Ge
γ
and that it decreases in off-stoichiometric CFGG, mainly due to the formation of CoFe antisites for Ge-deficient compositions and FeCo antisites for Ge-rich compositions, where CoFe (FeCo) indicates that Co (Fe) atoms replace the Fe (Co) sites. The saturation magnetic moment (μ
s) per formula unit decreased monotonically as γ increased from 0.24 to 1.54 in Co2Fe1.03Ga0.41Ge
γ
. The μ
s was closest to the Slater–Pauling value predicted for half-metallic CFGG at the stoichiometric composition γ = 0.56, indicating that stoichiometric CFGG has a half-metallic nature. This is consistent with the result for the theoretical spin polarization. In contrast, the MR ratio of CFGG-based CPP-GMR devices increased monotonically as γ increased from 0.24 to 1.10 and reached an MR ratio of 87.9% at the Ge-rich composition γ = 1.10. Then, the MR ratio decreased rapidly as γ increased from 1.10 to 1.48. Possible origins for the slight difference between the Ge composition at which the highest MR ratio was obtained (γ = 1.10) and that at which the highest spin polarization was obtained (γ = 0.56) are improved atomic arrangements in a Ge-rich CFGG film and the reduction of effective Ge composition due to Ge diffusion in the GMR stacks.
Funder
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Center for Spintronics Research Network
Murata Science Foundation
Subject
Surfaces, Coatings and Films,Acoustics and Ultrasonics,Condensed Matter Physics,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
Cited by
1 articles.
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