hide
Free keywords:
-
Abstract:
This work reports on the electronic and crystalline structure and the
mechanical, magnetic, and transport properties of the polycrystalline
Heusler compound Co2MnGe. The crystalline structure was examined in
detail by extended x-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy and
anomalous x-ray diffraction. The compound exhibits a well-ordered L2(1)
structure as is typical for Heusler compounds with 2:1:1 stoichiometry.
The low-temperature magnetic moment agrees well with the Slater-Pauling
rule and indicates a half-metallic ferromagnetic state of the compound,
as is predicted by ab initio calculations. Transport measurements and
hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were performed to explain the
electronic structure of the compound. The obtained valence band spectra
exhibit small energy shifts that are the result of the photoexcitation
process, whereas electron-electron correlation in the ground state is
negligible. The vibration and mechanical properties of the compound were
calculated. The observed hardness values are consistent to a
covalent-like bonding of Co2MnGe.
