2017 Research in the Capitol
Presentation Type
Open Access Poster Presentation
Keywords
Spintronics; Manganese alloys--Magnetic properties;
Abstract
Operation of virtually any modern electronic device relies on magnetic materials. In particular, these materials are the cornerstone of data storage and processing in computer hardware elements, such as hard drives and random access memories. Here, we theoretically study an interplay between structural and magnetic properties of MnCrVAl, a material which recently attracted significant attention due to its rather exotic electronic structure. In particular, this material behaves either as an insulator or as a metal, depending on which “spin” (an intrinsic property of any fundamental particle) of the electron is considered. Using advanced computer simulation techniques (density functional calculations on a supercomputer), we show that structural disorder (i.e. displacement of atoms from their regular positions) in this material has a decisive impact on its magnetic properties. Our theoretical findings are in excellent agreement with recently published experimental results, and may open new avenues in an emerging field of spin-based electronics.
Start Date
28-3-2017 11:30 AM
End Date
28-3-2017 1:30 PM
Event Host
University Honors Programs, Iowa Regent Universities
Faculty Advisor
Pavel Lukashev
Department
Department of Physics
Copyright
©2017 Juliana Herran
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Herran, Juliana; Dalal, Rishabh; Gray, Paul; and Lukashev, Pavel, "Effect of Structural Disorder on Magnetic Properties of MnCrVAl" (2017). Research in the Capitol. 8.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/rcapitol/2017/all/8
Effect of Structural Disorder on Magnetic Properties of MnCrVAl
Operation of virtually any modern electronic device relies on magnetic materials. In particular, these materials are the cornerstone of data storage and processing in computer hardware elements, such as hard drives and random access memories. Here, we theoretically study an interplay between structural and magnetic properties of MnCrVAl, a material which recently attracted significant attention due to its rather exotic electronic structure. In particular, this material behaves either as an insulator or as a metal, depending on which “spin” (an intrinsic property of any fundamental particle) of the electron is considered. Using advanced computer simulation techniques (density functional calculations on a supercomputer), we show that structural disorder (i.e. displacement of atoms from their regular positions) in this material has a decisive impact on its magnetic properties. Our theoretical findings are in excellent agreement with recently published experimental results, and may open new avenues in an emerging field of spin-based electronics.
