Compositional dependence of anisotropic magnetoresistance effects in Weyl semimetal Co2MnAl Heusler alloy epitaxial thin films

Anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) effect on a Weyl semimetal Co2MnAl Heusler alloy was experimentally and theoretically investigated by changing the Co content, the direction of electric current against the crystal axis, and the measurement temperature. The experimentally fabricated Co2MnAl thin films epitaxially grown on a MgO single-crystal substrate showed the positive AMR ratios independent of the Co content, the direction of electric current, and the measurement temperature. The AMR ratios for the direction of electric current along Co2MnAl[100] were larger than those along Co2MnAl[110]. The maximum AMR ratios for Co2MnAl[100] were 0.576% at 5 K and 0.349% at 300 K for a Co content of 47 at. %, which is close to the stoichiometric composition. Furthermore, the theoretical calculations of AMR ratios based on the s-d scattering process of the electrons at the Fermi energy, including the information on the density of states (DOS) obtained from first-principles calculations, exhibited trends similar to the experimental results. Compared with the AMR results of Co2MnGa[110], we found that the magnitude relation between the partial DOS of the ε and γ orbitals of the d state of Co atoms determined the sign of the AMR ratios. These results suggest that the AMR effect of Weyl semimetal Co2MnAl can be elucidated by the s-d scattering process of the electrons.