Half metallicity in Cr substituted Fe2TiSn

Abstract

Abstract Band structure tailoring has been a great avenue to achieve the half-metallic electronic ground state in materials. Applying this approach to the full Heusler alloy Fe2TiSn, Cr is introduced systematically at Ti site that conforms to the chemical formula $${\text{Fe}}_{2} {\text{Ti}}_{{1 - x}} {\text{Cr}}_{x}$$ Fe 2 Ti 1 - x Cr x Sn. Compositions so obtained have been investigated for its electronic, magnetic, and electrical transport properties with an aim to observe the half-metallic ferromagnetic ground state, anticipated theoretically for Fe2CrSn. Our experimental study using synchrotron X-ray diffraction reveals that only compositions with $$x \le$$ x ≤ 0.25 yield phase pure L2 $$_1$$ 1 cubic structures. The non-magnetic ground state of Fe2TiSn gets dramatically affected upon inclusion of Cr giving rise to a localized magnetic moment in the background of Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida (RKKY) correlations. The ferromagnetic interactions begin to dominate for x = 0.25 composition. Results of its resistivity and magnetoresistance (MR) measurement point towards a half-metallic ground state. The calculation of exchange coupling parameter, $$\hbox {J}_{{ij}}$$ J ij , and orbital projected density of states that indicate a change in hybridization between 3d and 5p orbital, support the observations made from the study of local crystal structure made using the extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. Our findings here highlight an interesting prospect of finding half-metallicity via band structure tailoring for wide application in spintronics devices.