SEARCH FOR HALF-METALLIC COMPOUNDS IN CO(2)MNZ (Z=IIIB, IVB, VB ELEMENT)

Electronic structures of Heusler alloys Co(2)MnZ (Z=sp elements) were calculated to search half-metallic compounds. In this paper, it will be shown that stoichiometric compounds Co(2)MnZ are half-metallic when Z is Si and Ge. Considering the effect of Z atom on the band structure, we can predict that there are half-metallic compounds in nonstoichiometric compounds Co(2)MnZ(1-x)Z(x)' and that the position of the Fermi level is adjustable in the energy gap of the minority-spin state by changing the composition x.