Neutron diffraction studies on the full heusler alloy Co₂FeGe

Neutron diffraction studies have been carried on the polycrystalline sample Co₂FeGe to investigate its structural and magnetic property. Earlier X-ray studies revealed that the system crystallizes in cubic L2₁ structure but detail investigation of anti-site disorder in this material is presented. The Rietveld refinement on the powder neutron diffraction was carried out using Full Prof method and the lattice parameter was observed to be 5.738 Å and 5.729 Å for RT and 5 K respectively. Further, magnetic structure analysis shows that the Co and Fe moments align ferromagnetically. The sub lattice moments were observed to be Co 1.67 μB and Fe 2.50 μB at room temperature where as at 5 K sublattice moments were observed to be Co 1.96 μB and Fe 2.56 μB.