No Arabic abstract
Antiferromagnetic spintronics is an on-going growing field of research. Employing both standard density functional theory and the $GW$ approximation within the framework of the FLAPW method, we study the electronic and magnetic properties of seven potential antiferromagnetic semiconducting Heusler compounds with 18 (or 28 when Zn is present) valence electrons per unit cell. We show that in these compounds G-type antiferromagnetism is the ground state and that they are all either emiconductors (Cr$_2$ScP, Cr$_2$TiZn, V$_2$ScP, V$_2$TiSi, and V$_3$Al) or semimetals (Mn$_2$MgZn and Mn$_2$NaAl). The many-body corrections have a minimal effect on the electronic band structure with respect to the standard electronic structure calculations.
The Ohmic spin diode (OSD) is a recent concept in spintronics, which is based on half-metallic magnets (HMMs) and spin-gapless semiconductors (SGSs). Quaternary Heusler compounds offer a unique platform to realize the OSD for room temperature applications as these materials possess very high Curie temperatures as well as half-metallic and spin-gapless semiconducting behavior within the same family. Using state-of-the-art first-principles calculations combined with the non-equilibrium Greens function method we design four different OSDs based on half-metallic and spin-gapless semiconducting quaternary Heusler compounds. All four OSDs exhibit linear current-voltage ($I-V$) characteristics with zero threshold voltage $V_T$. We show that these OSDs possess a small leakage current, which stems from the overlap of the conduction and valence band edges of opposite spin channels around the Fermi level in the SGS electrodes. The obtained on/off current ratios vary between $30$ and $10^5$. Our results can pave the way for the experimental fabrication of the OSDs within the family of ordered quaternary Heusler compounds.
We propose, on the basis of our first principles density functional based calculations, a new isomer of graphane, in which the C-H bonds of a hexagon alternate in 3-up, 3-down fashion on either side of the sheet. This 2D puckered structure called stirrup has got a comparable stability with the previously discovered chair and boat conformers of graphane. The physico-chemical properties of this third conformer are found to be similar to the other two conformers of graphane with an insulating direct band gap of 3.1 eV at the {Gamma} point. Any other alternative hydrogenation of the graphene sheet disrupts its symmetric puckered geometry and turns out to be energetically less favorable.
We have performed systematic density functional calculations and evaluated thermoelectric properties, See- beck coefficient and anomalous Nernst coefficient of half-Heusler comounds CoMSb(M=Sc, Ti, V, Cr, and Mn). The carrier concentration dependence of Seebeck coefficients in nonmagnetic compounds are in good agreement with experimental values. We found that the half-metallic ferromagnetic CoMnSb show large anomalous Nernst effect originating from Berry curvature at the Brillouin zone boundary. These results help to understanding for the mechanism of large anomalous Nernst coefficient and give us a clue to design high performance magnetic thermoelectric materials.
The physical properties of Fe2CoAl (FCA) Heusler alloy are systematically investigated using the first-principles calculations within generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and GGA+U. The influence of atomic ordering with respect to the Wyckoff sites on the phase stability, magnetism and half metallicity in both the conventional L21 and XA phases of FCA is focused in this study. Various possible hypothetical structures viz., L21, XA-I, and XA-II are prepared by altering atomic occupancies at their Wyckoff sites. At first, we have determined the stable phase of FCA considering various non-magnetic (or paramagnetic), ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) configurations. Out of these, the ferromagnetic (FM) XA-I structure is found to be energetically most stable. The total magnetic moments per cell are not in agreement with the Slater-Pauling (SP) rule in any phases; therefore, the half-metallicity is not observed in any configurations. However, FM ordered XA-I type FCA shows 78% spin polarization at EF. Interestingly, the results of XA-I type FCA are closely matched with the experimental results.
The strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN) semi-local functional for exchange-correlation is deployed to study the ground-state properties of ternary Heusler alloys transforming martensitically. The calculations are performed for ferromagnetic, ferrimagnetic, and antiferromagnetic phases. Comparisons between SCAN and generalized gradient approximation (GGA) are discussed. We find that SCAN yields smaller lattice parameters and higher magnetic moments compared to the GGA corresponding values for both austenite and martensite phases. Furthermore, in the case of ferromagnetic and non-magnetic Heusler compounds, GGA and SCAN display similar trends in the total energy as a function of lattice constant and tetragonal ratio. However, for some ferrimagnetic Mn-rich Heusler compounds, different magnetic ground states are found within GGA and SCAN.