Origin of the Tetragonal Ground State of Heusler Compounds

Spin-transfer-torque magnetic random-access memory (STT-MRAM) is one of the leading emerging technologies for nonvolatile memory. Key to its development is identifying magnetic materials with sufficient perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). The authors describe the general mechanism of tetragonal distortion in Heusler compounds, a class of promising materials for STT-MRAM, with over 2000 members. This study offers guidance for finding tetragonal Heusler alloys with high PMA.