Robust Half-Metallic Character In KMnGe Half-Heusler Compound

Abstract

The search for spin injectors and spin sources in spintronic devices is a significant facet of materials research today. Consequently, half-Heusler (HAH) KMnGe alloy has been recommended as one such admissible materials. Herein, a rigorous examination of the structural, magnetic and electronic properties of HAH KMnGe alloy is done using ab initio method within the bolstered up rendition of the functional by Perdew and his group. Our result shows that HAH KmnGe alloy expresses type-1 and type-2 HAH structural ground state at high and low pressures respectively, which may pose a challenge in application. Impressively, HAH KMnGe alloy exhibits half metallic characteristic with an indirect energy gap in the Γ-X symmetry k-point and direct band gap at X-point in the minority electronic spin states for type-1 and type-2 phase respectively. Our findings agree fundamentally with some previous findings in the literature and suggests that the HAH KMnGe alloy is a credible excellent spin source in future spintronic devices.