Features of the Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Heusler Alloys in the States of a Half-Metallic Ferromagnet and a Spin-Gapless Semiconductor

The review treats Heusler alloys that display distinctive functional properties, including shape-memory behavior and magnetocaloric effects. Particular emphasis is placed on Heusler systems in which half-metallic ferromagnetism and spin-gapless semiconductor state are realized. Although these compounds are crystallographically rather “ordinary”, peculiarities of their electronic structure and magnetic state lead to unconventional kinetic and magnetic properties. Their magnetic and transport characteristics are highly sensitive to external stimuli, and changes in alloy composition or external parameters can induce transitions between the states considered. This tunability provides further opportunities for controlling the electronic and magnetic properties of Heusler alloys and for exploiting them in applications such as spintronics and micro- and nanoelectronics.