MAGNETIC AND MAGNETOOPTICAL PROPERTIES OF NIMNSB1-XSNX COMPOUNDS IN RELATION TO THEIR ELECTRONIC BAND-STRUCTURE

We have determined the magnetic and magneto-optical properties of pseudoternaries of the type NiMnSb1-xSnx. These materials were found to have the cubic MgAgAs structure (Clb) for concentrations where x ≤ 0.7. Lattice constants, saturation moments, Curie temperatures and magneto-optical Kerr rotations (0.5-4.5 eV) were found to vary smoothly with x, which makes it possible to derive by extrapolation values of all these physical constants for the fictitious compound NiMnSn. Calculations of the electronic band structure were made for NiMnSn and NiMnSb0.75Sn0.25. These calculations and those presented earlier for NiMnSb were used to analyse the magnetic and magneto-optical properties of the compounds NiMnSb1-xSnx. © 1990.