AVS 49th International Symposium
    Magnetic Interfaces and Nanostructures Monday Sessions
       Session MI+EL-MoM

Invited Paper MI+EL-MoM7
Surface and Interface Properties of a Half-Metallic Alloy

Monday, November 4, 2002, 10:20 am, Room C-205

Session: Spintronic Materials and Hybrid Devices
Presenter: S.J. Jenkins, University of Cambridge, UK
Authors: S.J. Jenkins, University of Cambridge, UK
D.A. King, University of Cambridge, UK
Correspondent: Click to Email
The ferrimagnetic semi-Heusler alloys have received considerable experimental and theoretical attention since the prediction in 1983 that they may show half-metallic behaviour (i.e. complete spin polarization at the Fermi level). Bulk properties of these alloys are now well understood. Nevertheless, application of these materials in practical situations is likely to be contingent upon the influence of their surface and interface properties, which have thus far been less thoroughly studied. This presentation will focus on recent calculations of the electronic structure of the NiMnSb(001) surface, with and without an Sb overlayer, carried out within the framework of density functional theory. Particular emphasis will be placed on the role of surface- and interface- localised electronic states in modulating the Fermi-level polarization.