THE DRASTIC ENHANCEMENT OF FERROMAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF A NEW HEUSLER-TYPE NITRIDE TICONXSN

Magnetic properties of a new class of itinerant Heusler-type nitrides TiCoNxSn with 0 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 0.33 are reported. It is found that the Curie temperature and the saturation m agnetization of the nitrides are drastically enhanced from 149 K and 0 .39 mu(B)/Co to 362 K and 0.91 mu(B)/Co, almost to those of TiCo2Sn by introducing nitrogen atoms into the vacancy sublattice sites of MgAgA s-type TiCoSn.