Magnetic configurations in nanostructured Co2MnGa thin film elements

Abstract

The magnetic configuration of nanostructured elements fabricated from thin films of the Heusler compound Co _2 MnGa was determined by high-resolution x-ray magnetic microscopy, and the magnetic properties of continuous Co _2 MnGa thin films were determined by magnetometry measurements. A four-fold magnetic anisotropy with an anisotropy constant of ${K}_{1}\approx 1.5$ kJ m ^−3 was deduced, and x-ray microscopy measurements have shown that the nanostructured Co _2 MnGa elements exhibit reproducible magnetic states dominated by shape anisotropy, with a minor contribution from the magneto-crystalline anisotropy, showing that the spin structure can be tailored by judiciously choosing the geometry.

Keywords

• Heusler compound
• nanostructuring
• x-ray microscopy
• 68.37.Yz
• 75.75.-c