First-Principle Investigation of Structural, Electronic and Magnetic Properties in Mn2RhZ (Z = Si, Ge, and Sn) Heusler Alloys

Mn (2)-based Heusler compounds exhibit different types of anti-site disorder. The electronic structure and magnetism of Heusler alloys Mn(2)RhZ (Z = Si, Ge, and Sn) have been studied by first-principle calculations. Mn2RhSi and Mn2RhGe are ordinary half-metallic ferrimagnetic metals at equilibrium lattice constants, with a magnetic spin moments obeys to the Slater-Pauling rule and spin polarization of 100 % at the Fermi energy. The tetragonal phase transformation is studied for Mn2RhSn. The total magnetic moment of Mn2RhSn in the tetragonal structure is higher compared to the other materials, which results in a large Delta M between the saturation moments of tetragonal and a cubic. The tetragonal Mn2RhSn predicted to a high spin polarization ratio of 93 %. These properties of these materials are particularly interesting due to their perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), which was realized in thin films opening the door for application in STT magnetic random access memories (STT-MRAMs).