Tunable damping, saturation magnetization, and exchange stiffness of half-Heusler NiMnSb thin films

P. Dürrenfeld, F. Gerhard, J. Chico, R. K. Dumas, M. Ranjbar, A. Bergman, L. Bergqvist, A. Delin, C. Gould, L. W. Molenkamp, and J. Åkerman
Phys. Rev. B 92, 214424 – Published 16 December 2015

Abstract

The half-metallic half-Heusler alloy NiMnSb is a promising candidate for applications in spintronic devices due to its low magnetic damping and its rich anisotropies. Here we use ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements and calculations from first principles to investigate how the composition of the epitaxially grown NiMnSb influences the magnetodynamic properties of saturation magnetization MS, Gilbert damping α, and exchange stiffness A. MS and A are shown to have a maximum for stoichiometric composition, while the Gilbert damping is minimum. We find excellent quantitative agreement between theory and experiment for MS and α. The calculated A shows the same trend as the experimental data but has a larger magnitude. In addition to the unique in-plane anisotropy of the material, these tunabilities of the magnetodynamic properties can be taken advantage of when employing NiMnSb films in magnonic devices.

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  • Received 28 September 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.92.214424

©2015 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

P. Dürrenfeld1,*, F. Gerhard2, J. Chico3, R. K. Dumas1,4, M. Ranjbar1, A. Bergman3, L. Bergqvist5,6, A. Delin3,5,6, C. Gould2, L. W. Molenkamp2, and J. Åkerman1,4,5

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
  • 2Physikalisches Institut (EP3), Universität Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
  • 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 520, 752 20 Uppsala, Sweden
  • 4NanOsc AB, 164 40 Kista, Sweden
  • 5Materials and Nano Physics, School of ICT, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Electrum 229, 164 40 Kista, Sweden
  • 6Swedish e-Science Research Centre (SeRC), 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden

  • *philipp.durrenfeld@physics.gu.se

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Vol. 92, Iss. 21 — 1 December 2015

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