Showing papers on "Curie temperature published in 2016"

Giant Piezoelectricity and High Curie Temperature in Nanostructured Alkali Niobate Lead-Free Piezoceramics through Phase Coexistence.

Abstract: Because of growing environmental concerns, the development of lead-free piezoelectric materials with enhanced properties has become of great interest. Here, we report a giant piezoelectric coefficient (d33) of 550 pC/N and a high Curie temperature (TC) of 237 °C in (1–x–y)K1–wNawNb1–zSbzO3–xBiFeO3–yBi0.5Na0.5ZrO3 (KNwNSz-xBF-yBNZ) ceramics by optimizing x, y, z, and w. Atomic-resolution polarization mapping by Z-contrast imaging reveals the intimate coexistence of rhombohedral (R) and tetragonal (T) phases inside nanodomains, that is, a structural origin for the R–T phase boundary in the present KNN system. Hence, the physical origin of high piezoelectric performance can be attributed to a nearly vanishing polarization anisotropy and thus low domain wall energy, facilitating easy polarization rotation between different states under an external field.

Ultrathin nanosheets of CrSiTe3: a semiconducting two-dimensional ferromagnetic material

Abstract: Finite range ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism in two-dimensional (2D) systems within an isotropic Heisenberg model at non-zero temperature were originally proposed to be impossible. However, recent theoretical studies using an Ising model have shown that 2D magnetic crystals can exhibit magnetism. Experimental verification of existing 2D magnetic crystals in this system has remained exploratory. In this work we exfoliated CrSiTe3, a bulk ferromagnetic semiconductor, to mono- and few-layer 2D crystals onto a Si/SiO2 substrate. Raman spectra indicate good stability and high quality of the exfoliated flakes, consistent with the computed phonon spectra of 2D CrSiTe3, giving strong evidence for the existence of 2D CrSiTe3 crystals. When the thickness of the CrSiTe3 crystals is reduced to a few layers, we observed a clear change in resistivity at 80–120 K, consistent with theoretical calculations of the Curie temperature (Tc) of ∼80 K for the magnetic ordering of 2D CrSiTe3 crystals. The ferromagnetic mono- and few-layer 2D CrSiTe3 indicated here should enable numerous applications in nano-spintronics.

Equiatomic quaternary Heusler alloys: A material perspective for spintronic applications

Abstract: Half-metallic ferromagnetic (HMF) materials show high spin polarization and are therefore interesting to researchers due to their possible applications in spintronic devices. In these materials, while one spin sub band has a finite density of states at the Fermi level, the other sub band has a gap. Because of their high Curie temperature (TC) and tunable electronic structure, HMF Heusler alloys have a special importance among the HMF materials. Full Heusler alloys with the stoichiometric composition X2YZ (where X and Y are the transition metals and Z is a sp element) have the cubic L21 structure with four interpenetrating fcc sublattices. When each of these four fcc sublattices is occupied by different atoms (XX′YZ), a quaternary Heusler structure with different structural symmetries (space group F-43m, #216) is obtained. Recently, these equiatomic quaternary Heusler alloys (EQHAs) with 1:1:1:1 stoichiometry have attracted a lot of attention due to their superior magnetic and transport properties. A speci...

Unusual Dirac half-metallicity with intrinsic ferromagnetism in vanadium trihalide monolayers

Abstract: The Dirac half-metallicity (H. Ishizuka et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 2012, 109, 237207, Li et al. Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter Mater. Phys., 2015, 92, 201403(R)) with a gap in one spin channel but a Dirac cone in the other has been proposed and attracted considerable attention. We report these exciting properties for VCl3 and VI3 layered materials based on density functional theory combined with the self-consistently determined Hubbard U approach (DFT+Uscf). Using DFT+Uscf, the stability and electronic and magnetic structures of VCl3 and VI3 monolayers are systematically investigated. The DFT+Uscf shows that VCl3 and VI3 monolayers have intrinsic ferromagnetism and half-metallicity. Remarkably, the VCl3 and VI3 monolayers possess a rather rare half-metallic Dirac point around the Fermi level with just one spin channel. In contrast to the Dirac point in graphene, the Dirac points in VCl3 and VI3 monolayers are mainly due to the V-d electrons and consequently they show a large spin–orbital coupling induced gaps of about 29 meV and 12 meV for VCl3 and VI3 monolayers, respectively. The Monte Carlo simulations based on the Ising model demonstrate that the Curie temperatures of VCl3 and VI3 sheets are only 80 K and 98 K, respectively. However, the Curie temperature can be increased up to room temperature by carrier doping. The feasibility of an exfoliation from VCl3 and VI3 layered bulk phases is confirmed due to the small cleavage energies. Our results greatly broaden the family of potential 2D Dirac materials. The calculated properties of VCl3 and VI3 monolayers show that these materials have great application potential, opening the way towards the development of high-performance electronic devices.

The demonstration of significant ferroelectricity in epitaxial Y-doped HfO2 film

Abstract: Ferroelectricity and Curie temperature are demonstrated for epitaxial Y-doped HfO2 film grown on (110) yttrium oxide-stabilized zirconium oxide (YSZ) single crystal using Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) as bottom electrodes. The XRD measurements for epitaxial film enabled us to investigate its detailed crystal structure including orientations of the film. The ferroelectricity was confirmed by electric displacement filed – electric filed hysteresis measurement, which revealed saturated polarization of 16 μC/cm2. Estimated spontaneous polarization based on the obtained saturation polarization and the crystal structure analysis was 45 μC/cm2. This value is the first experimental estimations of the spontaneous polarization and is in good agreement with the theoretical value from first principle calculation. Curie temperature was also estimated to be about 450 °C. This study strongly suggests that the HfO2-based materials are promising for various ferroelectric applications because of their comparable ferroelectric properties including polarization and Curie temperature to conventional ferroelectric materials together with the reported excellent scalability in thickness and compatibility with practical manufacturing processes.

Equiatomic quaternary Heusler alloys: a material perspective for spintronic applications

Abstract: Half-metallic ferromagnetic (HMF) materials show high spin polarization and are therefore interesting to researchers due to their possible applications in spintronic devices. In these materials, while one spin sub band has a finite density of states at the Fermi level, the other sub band has a gap. Because of their high Curie temperature and tunable electronic structure, HMF Heusler alloys have a special importance among the HMF materials. Full Heusler alloys with the stoichiometric composition X2YZ (where X and Y are the transition metals and Z is a sp element) have the cubic structure with four interpenetrating fcc sublattices. When each of these four fcc sublattices is occupied by different atoms, a quaternary Heusler structure with different structural symmetry is obtained. Recently, these equiatomic quaternary Heusler alloys (EQHAs) with 1:1:1:1 stoichiometry have attracted a lot of attention due to their superior magnetic and transport properties.

Review Article: FePt heat assisted magnetic recording media

Abstract: Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) media status, requirements, and challenges to extend the areal density (AD) of magnetic hard disk drives beyond current records of around 14 Tb/in2 are updated The structural properties of granular high anisotropy chemically ordered L10 FePtX-Y HAMR media by now are similar to perpendicular CoCrPt-based magnetic recording media Reasonable average grain diameter ⟨D⟩ = 8–10 nm and distributions σD/D ∼ 18% are possible despite elevated growth temperatures TG = 650–670 °C A 2× reduction of ⟨D⟩ down to 4–5 nm and lowering σD/D < 10%–15% are ongoing efforts to increase AD to ∼4 Tb/in2 X = Cu ∼ 10 at % reduces the Curie temperature TC by ∼100 K below TC,bulk = 750 K, thereby lowering the write head heat energy requirement Multiple FePtX-Y granular layers with Y = 30–35 vol % grain-to-grain segregants like carbides, oxides, and/or nitrides are used to fully exchange decouple the grains and achieve cylindrical shape FePt is typically grown on fcc MgO (100) seedlay

New two-dimensional Mn-based MXenes with room-temperature ferromagnetism and half-metallicity

Abstract: Magnetic properties of Mn2CT2 (T = F, Cl, OH, O, and H) MXenes are reported based on a computational investigation While other two dimensional Mn2CT2 MXenes become non-magnetic upon symmetrical functionalization of their surfaces, the Mn2C MXene functionalized with a functional group bearing formal charge −1 (F, Cl, and OH) retains the ferromagnetic ground state upon functionalization Based on density functional theory calculations and Monte Carlo simulations the Mn2CF2 MXene is predicted to be an intrinsic half-metal with high Curie temperature (520 K), wide half-metallic gap (09 eV) and a sizable magnetic anisotropy (24 μeV) These magnetic properties make the Mn2CF2 MXene an optimal material for applications in spintronics Different surface functional groups lead to either quantitative (Cl and OH) or qualitative (O and H) changes in Mn2CT2 magnetic properties It is proposed that Mn2CT2 MXenes can be prepared experimentally from the already existing parent Mn2GaC MAX phase by exfoliation techniques

A review of high magnetic moment thin films for microscale and nanotechnology applications

Abstract: The creation of large magnetic fields is a necessary component in many technologies, ranging from magnetic resonance imaging, electric motors and generators, and magnetic hard disk drives in information storage. This is typically done by inserting a ferromagnetic pole piece with a large magnetisation density MS in a solenoid. In addition to large MS, it is usually required or desired that the ferromagnet is magnetically soft and has a Curie temperature well above the operating temperature of the device. A variety of ferromagnetic materials are currently in use, ranging from FeCo alloys in, for example, hard disk drives, to rare earth metals operating at cryogenic temperatures in superconducting solenoids. These latter can exceed the limit on MS for transition metal alloys given by the Slater-Pauling curve. This article reviews different materials and concepts in use or proposed for technological applications that require a large MS, with an emphasis on nanoscale material systems, such as thin and ultra-thin films. Attention is also paid to other requirements or properties, such as the Curie temperature and magnetic softness. In a final summary, we evaluate the actual applicability of the discussed materials for use as pole tips in electromagnets, in particular, in nanoscale magnetic hard disk drive read-write heads; the technological advancement of the latter has been a very strong driving force in the development of the field of nanomagnetism.

Piezoelectric properties of CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite thin films and their applications in piezoelectric generators

Abstract: CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) perovskite thin films were applied to fluorine-doped SnO2 (FTO)/glass and Au/Ti/polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates via a two-step process, which involved depositing a CH3NH3I (MAI) solution onto PbI2 films via spin-coating followed by crystallization at temperatures of 100 °C. The 500 nm-thick crystallized MAPbI3 perovskite thin films showed a Curie temperature of ∼328 K, a dielectric permittivity of ∼52, a dielectric loss of ∼0.02 at 1 MHz, and a low leakage current density of ∼10−7 A cm−2 at ±3 V. The polarization–electric field (P–E) hysteresis loop and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) results showed that the films had well-developed ferroelectric properties and switchable polarization. Poling at an electrical field of 80 kV cm−1 enhanced the power density of the generator. The values for output voltage and current density of the poled films reached 2.7 V and 140 nA cm−2, respectively, which were 2.7-fold higher than those of the non-poled samples.

Defect-Rich Dopant-Free ZrO2 Nanostructures with Superior Dilute Ferromagnetic Semiconductor Properties

Abstract: Control of the spin degree of freedom of an electron has brought about a new era in spin-based applications, particularly spin-based electronics, with the potential to outperform the traditional charge-based semiconductor technology for data storage and information processing. However, the realization of functional spin-based devices for information processing remains elusive due to several fundamental challenges such as the low Curie temperature of group III-V and II-VI semiconductors (<200 K), and the low spin-injection efficiencies of existing III-V, II-VI, and transparent conductive oxide semiconductors in a multilayer device structure, which are caused by precipitation and migration of dopants from the host layer to the adjacent layers. Here, we use catalyst-assisted pulsed laser deposition to grow, for the first time, oxygen vacancy defect-rich, dopant-free ZrO2 nanostructures with high TC (700 K) and high magnetization (5.9 emu/g). The observed magnetization is significantly greater than both doped and defect-rich transparent conductive oxide nanomaterials reported to date. We also provide the first experimental evidence that it is the amounts and types of oxygen vacancy defects in, and not the phase of ZrO2 that control the ferromagnetic order in undoped ZrO2 nanostructures. To explain the origin of ferromagnetism in these ZrO2 nanostructures, we hypothesize a new defect-induced bound polaron model, which is generally applicable to other defect-rich, dopant-free transparent conductive oxide nanostructures. These results provide new insights into magnetic ordering in undoped dilute ferromagnetic semiconductor oxides and contribute to the design of exotic magnetic and novel multifunctional materials.

(Sm,Zr)(Fe,Co)11.0-11.5Ti1.0-0.5 compounds as new permanent magnet materials

Abstract: We investigated (Sm,Zr)(Fe,Co)11.0-11.5Ti1.0-0.5 compounds as permanent magnet materials. Good magnetic properties were observed in (Sm0.8Zr0.2)(Fe0.75Co0.25)11.5Ti0.5 powder containing a limited amount of the α-(Fe, Co) phase, including saturation polarization (Js) of 1.63 T, an anisotropic field (Ha) of 5.90 MA/m at room temperature, and a Curie temperature (Tc) of about 880 K. Notably, Js and Ha remained above 1.5 T and 3.70 MA/m, respectively, even at 473 K. The high-temperature magnetic properties of (Sm0.8Zr0.2)(Fe0.75Co0.25)11.5Ti0.5 were superior to those of Nd2Fe14B.

Magnetic anisotropy of the single-crystalline ferromagnetic insulator Cr2Ge2Te6

Abstract: Cr2Ge2Te6 (CGT), a layered ferromagnetic insulator, has attracted a great deal of interest recently owing to its potential for integration with Dirac materials to realize the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) and to develop novel spintronics devices. Here, we study the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy energy of single-crystalline CGT and determine that the magnetic easy axis is directed along the c-axis in its ferromagnetic phase. In addition, CGT is an insulator below the Curie temperature. These properties make CGT a potentially promising candidate substrate for integration with topological insulators for the realization of the high-temperature QAHE.

High-temperature ferromagnetism in heavily Fe-doped ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Fe)Sb

Abstract: We show high-temperature ferromagnetism in heavily Fe-doped ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga1−x,Fex)Sb (x = 23% and 25%) thin films grown by low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy. Magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy and anomalous Hall effect measurements indicate intrinsic ferromagnetism of these samples. The Curie temperature reaches 300 K and 340 K for x = 23% and 25%, respectively, which are the highest values reported so far in intrinsic III-V ferromagnetic semiconductors.

Evolution of structure and physical properties in Al-substituted Ba-hexaferrites*

Abstract: The investigations of the crystal and magnetic structures of the BaFe12−xAlxO19 (x = 0.1–1.2) solid solutions have been performed with powder neutron diffractometry. Magnetic properties of the BaFe12−xAlxO19 (x = 0.1–1.2) solid solutions have been measured by vibration sample magnetometry at different temperatures under different magnetic fields. The atomic coordinates and lattice parameters have been Rietveld refined. The invar effect is observed in low temperature range (from 4.2 K to 150 K). It is explained by the thermal oscillation anharmonicity of atoms. The increase of microstress with decreasing temperature is found from Rietveld refinement. The Curie temperature and the change of total magnetic moment per formula unit are found for all compositions of the BaFe12−xAlxO19 (x = 0.1–1.2) solid solutions. The magnetic structure model is proposed. The most likely reasons and the mechanism of magnetic structure formation are discussed.

Magnetic and absorbing properties of M-type substituted hexaferrites BaFe 12- x Ga x O 19 (0.1 < x < 1.2)

Abstract: X-ray powder diffraction is used to determine the unit cell parameters and to refine the crystal structure of the solid solutions of M-type hexagonal barium ferrite BaFe12–x Ga x O19 (x = 0.1–1.2) with isostructural diamagnetic cation Ga3+ substitution at T = 300 K. As the level of substitution increases, the unit cell parameters are shown to decrease monotonically. The temperature (300 K ≤ T ≤ 750 K, H = 8.6 kOe) and field (T = 300 K,–20 kOe ≤ H ≤ 20 kOe) dependences of the saturation magnetization of these solid solutions are studied with a vibrating-sample magnetometer. The concentration dependences of the Curie temperature T C, the specific spontaneous magnetization, and the coercive force are plotted. The magnetic parameters are found to decrease with increasing substitution. The microwave properties of the solid solutions are analyzed in an external magnetic field (0 ≤ H ≤ 4 kOe). As the cation Ga3+ concentration increases from x = 0.1 to 0.6, the natural ferromagnetic resonance (NFMR) frequency decreases; as the concentration increases further to x = 1.2, this frequency again increases. As the cation Ga3+ concentration increases, the NFMR line width increases, which indicates a widening of the frequency range where electromagnetic radiation is intensely absorbed. Here, the resonance curve peak amplitude changes insignificantly. The shift of the NFMR frequency in an applied magnetic field is more pronounced for samples with low cation Ga3+ concentrations. The role of diamagnetic substitution is revealed, and the prospects and advantages of Ga-substituted beryllium hexaferrite as the material absorbing high-frequency electromagnetic radiation are demonstrated.

A systematic modification of the large electrocaloric effect within a broad temperature range in rare-earth doped BaTiO3 ceramics

Abstract: This paper presents a systematic exploration of modifying the electrocaloric effect (ECE) in BaTiO3 ceramics by rare-earth substitution (Ba0.94R0.04TiO3, R = La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Er). All samples exhibit a dense microstructure after sintering in the temperature range of 1350–1450 °C, and they exhibit a high resistivity of ∼1011 Ω cm except for Er doped samples due to the amphoteric incorporation of Er. The rare-earth doping changes the lattice symmetry where the tetragonal distortion enhances with the decrease in the rare-earth ionic radius. Accordingly, the ferroelectric and ECE properties are modified and the first-order phase transition is diffused. The Curie temperature and latent heat increases, and the polarization intensity is strengthened with the decrease of the doping ionic radius, while the peak of ECE ΔT widens and shifts to a higher temperature. The samples show a large ECE value of ∼0.35 K m MV−1 over a wide temperature range from room temperature to 140 °C, which provides a series of top-level ECE materials.

Evidencing the existence of exciting half-metallicity in two-dimensional TiCl3 and VCl3 sheets.

Abstract: Half-metallicity combined with wide half-metallic gap, unique ferromagnetic character and high Curie temperature has become a key driving force to develop next-generation spintronic devices. In previous studies, such half-metallicity always occurred under certain manipulation. Here, we, via examining a series of two-dimensional transition-metal trichlorides, evidenced that TiCl3 and VCl3 sheets could display exciting half-metallicity without involving any external modification. Calculated half-metallic band-gaps for TiCl3 and VCl3 sheets are about 0.60 and 1.10 eV, respectively. Magnetic coupled calculation shows that both sheets favor the ferromagnetic order with a substantial collective character. Estimated Curie temperatures can be up to 376 and 425 K for TiCl3 and VCl3 sheets, respectively. All of these results successfully disclose two new promising two-dimensional half-metallic materials toward the application of next-generation paper-like spintronic devices.

Electrostatic versus Electrochemical Doping and Control of Ferromagnetism in Ion-Gel-Gated Ultrathin La0.5Sr0.5CoO3−δ

Abstract: Recently, electrolyte gating techniques employing ionic liquids/gels in electric double layer transistors have proven remarkably effective in tuning charge carrier density in a variety of materials. The ability to control surface carrier densities at levels above 1014 cm–2 has led to widespread use in the study of superconductivity, insulator–metal transitions, etc. In many cases, controversy remains over the doping mechanism, however (i.e., electrostatic vs electrochemical (e.g., redox-based)), and the technique has been less applied to magnetic materials. Here, we discuss ion gel gating of nanoscale 8-unit-cell-thick hole-doped La0.5Sr0.5CoO3-δ (LSCO) films, probing in detail the critical bias windows and doping mechanisms. The LSCO films, which are under compressive stress on LaAlO3(001) substrates, are metallic and ferromagnetic (Curie temperature, TC ∼ 170 K), with strong anomalous Hall effect and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Transport measurements reveal that negative gate biases lead to rever...

Magnetic properties of N-doped graphene with high Curie temperature.

Abstract: N-doped graphene with Curie temperature higher than room temperature is a good candidate for nanomagnetic applications. Here we report a kind of N-doped graphene that exhibits ferromagnetic property with high Curie temperature (>600 K). Four graphene samples were prepared through self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS), and the doped nitrogen contents of in the samples were 0 at.%, 2.53 at.%, 9.21 at.% and 11.17 at.%. It has been found that the saturation magnetization and coercive field increase with the increasing of nitrogen contents in the samples. For the sample with the highest nitrogen content, the saturation magnetizations reach 0.282 emu/g at 10 K and 0.148 emu/g at 300 K; the coercive forces reach 544.2 Oe at 10 K and 168.8 Oe at 300 K. The drop of magnetic susceptibility at ~625 K for N-doped graphene is mainly caused by the decomposition of pyrrolic N and pydinic N. Our results suggest that SHS method is an effective and high-throughput method to produce N-doped graphene with high nitrogen concentration and that N-doped graphene produced by SHS method is promising to be a good candidate for nanomagnetic applications.

Tunable electronic and magnetic properties of Cr2M′C2T2 (M′ = Ti or V; T = O, OH or F)

Abstract: Here we report on the magnetic properties and electronic structures of Cr2M′C2T2 (M′ = Ti, or V; T = O, OH, or F) systems investigated by means of first-principles calculations. Results indicate that Cr2M′C2T2 can be nonmagnetic, anti-ferromagnetic, or ferromagnetic and either a semiconductor or metal depending on the choice of M′ and T and the through-bond coupling interactions that affect the arrangements of Cr2M′C2T2 systems. It was found that Cr2TiC2O2 is nonmagnetic, Cr2TiC2F2 and Cr2TiC2(OH)2 are anti-ferromagnetic. Cr2VC2(OH)2, Cr2VC2F2, and Cr2VC2O2 are ferromagnetic. The Curie temperatures of Cr2VC2(OH)2, Cr2VC2F2 are up to 618.36 and 695.65 K, respectively, calculated by the Heisenberg model with mean-field approximation. By using HSE06 methods, Cr2TiC2F2 was found to have an indirect band gap of approximately 1.35 eV while Cr2TiC(OH)2 was found to have a direct band gap of 0.84 eV. The tunable magnetic properties and electronic structures make the Cr2M′C2T2 (M′ = Ti, or V; T = O, OH, or F) doub...

Determining Curie temperature of (Ga,Mn)As samples based on electrical transport measurements: Low Curie temperature case

Abstract: In this paper, we show that the widely accepted method of the determination of Curie temperature (TC) in (Ga,Mn)As samples, based on the position of the peak in the temperature derivative of the resistivity, completely fails in the case of non-metallic and low-TC unannealed samples. In this case, we propose an alternative method, also based on electric transport measurements, which exploits temperature dependence of the second derivative of the resistivity upon magnetic field.

Magnetocaloric Properties of Fe-Ni-Cr Nanoparticles for Active Cooling.

Abstract: Low cost, earth abundant, rare earth free magnetocaloric nanoparticles have attracted an enormous amount of attention for green, energy efficient, active near room temperature thermal management. Hence, we investigated the magnetocaloric properties of transition metal based (Fe70Ni30)100−xCrx (x = 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7) nanoparticles. The influence of Cr additions on the Curie temperature (TC) was studied. Only 5% of Cr can reduce the TC from ~438 K to 258 K. These alloys exhibit broad entropy v/s temperature curves, which is useful to enhance relative cooling power (RCP). For a field change of 5 T, the RCP for (Fe70Ni30)99Cr1 nanoparticles was found to be 548 J-kg−1. Tunable TCin broad range, good RCP, low cost, high corrosion resistance and earth abundance make these nanoparticles suitable for low-grade waste heat recovery as well as near room temperature active cooling applications.

Direct evidence for minority spin gap in the Co2MnSi Heusler alloy

Abstract: Half metal magnets are of great interest in the field of spintronics because of their potential full spin polarization at the Fermi level (E F) and low magnetization damping. The high Curie temperature and the predicted 0. 7 eV minority spin gap make the Co 2 MnSi Heusler compound very promising for applications. We investigated the half-metallic magnetic character of this compound using spin-resolved photoemission , ab initio calculation , and ferromagnetic resonance. At the surface of Co 2 MnSi , a gap in the minority spin channel is observed , leading to 100% spin polarization. However , this gap is 0. 3 eV below E F , and a minority spin state is observed at E F. We show that a minority spin gap at E F can nevertheless be recovered either by changing the chemical composition of the compound or by covering the surface by Mn , MnSi , or MgO. This spin-gap recovery results in extremely small damping coefficients , reaching values as low as 7 × 10 −4 .