Magnetic properties and phase stability of half-metal-type Co2Cr1−xFexGa alloys

The magnetic properties and phase stability of half-metal-type Co2Cr1−xFexGa alloys were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), in a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer and in a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that the L21-type single-phase is obtainable for the entire concentration of x and that the value of the saturation magnetic moment Ms at 4.2 K in the lower composition range of x is in agreement with the generalized Slater-Pauling line, while it is rather larger than the generalized Slater-Pauling line above x = 0.6. The Curie temperature Tc monotonically increases, whereas the transition temperature from the L21- to B2-type phase TtB2/L21 is almost constant at 1082 ± 13 K with increasing x.