Recent Developments in Co-Based Heusler Alloys Research

Co-based Heusler alloy is a kind of intermetallic compound with highly ordered crystal structure. Its chemical composition is usually expressed by Co2XY, where X is a transition metal element and Y is a main group element. Compared with other materials, it has higher spin polarizability, higher Curie temperature and lower damping factor. Based on these excellent characteristics, Co-based Heusler alloy has great application prospects in spin valves, tunnel junctions and semiconductor spin field effect transistors. In this paper we reviewed recent international studies on Co-based Heusler alloys on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and spin-orbit torque. We also summarized the influencing factors of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and spin-orbit torque from the aspects of alloy composition, microstructure, magnetic layer thickness, buffer layer material, oxide layer material, element diffusion, etc., which will help us better understand its deep-seated physical mechanism, as well as the challenges and prospects in future research.