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

• 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 M-S, Gilbert damping alpha, and exchange stiffness A. M-S 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 M-S and alpha. 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.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

molecular-beam epitaxy

ferromagnetic metals

oscillator driven

spin

polarization

alloy nimnsb

excitation

torque

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)