Heusler alloys

Abstract

In 1903 Heusler [03 H 1] first reported that Mn-Cu bronze can be alloyed with Sn, AI, As, Sb, Bi or B to produce ferromagnetic alloys even though none of the constituent elements is itself ferromagnetic. Heusler alloys are now defined as ternary intermetallic compounds, at the stoichiometric composition X2 YZ, which have the L21 structure. In the Heusler, L2 1 , and related structures the constituent atoms which may carry a magnetic moment can occupy simple cubic, body-centred cubic and face-centred cubic sublattices. compounds have localised magnetic properties and are ideal model systems for studying the effects of both atomic disorder and changes in the electron concentration on magnetic properties.