Fe₃Se₄: a possible ferrimagnetic half-metal?

Half-metallic ferromagnets show 100% spin-polarization at the Fermi level and are ideal candidates for spintronic applications. Despite the extensive research in the field, very few materials have been discovered so far. Here, we present results of electronic band structure calculations based on density functional theory and extensive physical-property measurements for Fe₃Se₄ revealing signatures of half-metallicity. The spin-polarized electronic band structure calculations predict half-metallic ferrimagnetism for Fe₃Se₄. The electrical resistivity follows exponentially suppressed electron–magnon scattering mechanism in the low-temperature regime and show a magnetoresistance effect that changes the sign from negative to positive with decreasing temperature around 100 K. Other intriguing observations include the anomalous behavior of Hall resistance below 100 K and an anomalous Hall coefficient that roughly follows the ρ ² behavior. (paper)