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IOP Publishing, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 41(15), p. 7019-7027

DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/15/41/010

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Investigation of a novel material for magnetoelectronics : Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al

This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

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Abstract

Heusler compounds are promising candidates for future spintronics device applications. The electronic and magnetic properties of Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al, an electron-doped derivative of Co2CrAl, are investigated using circularly polarized synchrotron radiation and photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). Element specific imaging reveals needle shaped Cr rich phases in a homogeneous bulk of the Heusler compound. The ferromagnetic domain structure is investigated on an element-resolved basis using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) contrast in PEEM. The structure is characterized by micrometre-size domains with a superimposed fine ripple structure; the lateral resolution in these images is about 100 nm. The domains look identical for Co and Fe giving evidence of a ferromagnetic coupling of these elements. No ferromagnetic contrast is observed at the Cr line. Magnetic spectroscopy exploiting XMCD reveals that the lack of magnetic moment, detected in a SQUID magnetometer, is mainly due to the moment of the Cr atom.