Calculated magneto-optical Kerr spectra of the half-Heusler compounds AuMnX (X = In, Sn, Sb)

• The ferromagnetic ground states of the half-Heusler compounds AuMnX (X ≤ In, Sn, Sb) have been calculated in the framework of the local spin-density approximation (LSDA) to density functional theory (DFT). AuMnSn is computed to be a half-metallic ferromagnet, whereas AuMnIn and AuMnSb are not half-metallic, due to their different band filling. The computed relativistic electronic structures served as inputs to calculate the magneto-optical Kerr rotations and ellipticities for all three materials. In the case of AuMnSn the largest, zero-temperature, polar Kerr rotation has been found to be -0.45° at about 1eV photon energy. The computed MOKE spectra of AuMnSn are in qualitative agreement with recent experiments. The largest Kerr rotations of AuMnIn and AuMnSb have been calculated to be +0.64° at 4.3eV and -0.85° at 0.9eV, respectively.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

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

Keyword

magneto-optical Kerr effect

half-Heusler

Physics

Fysik

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)