Spin-resolved photoemission of a ferromagnetic Mn5Ge3(0001) epilayer on Ge(111)

In English Here we present a study of the electronic structure of epitaxial ferromagnetic Mn5Ge3(0001) films on Ge(111) by means of x-ray absorption spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. Spin-polarization (P) value of +(15 +/- 5)% at the Fermi energy (E-F) is measured with a photon energy of h nu = 21.2 eV. Our findings are in contrast to recent band structure calculations, predicting P=-41% at E-F for the ferromagnetic bulk Mn5Ge3. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.3103336