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Abstract:
Heusler compounds are promising materials in many fields of contemporary
research. The spectrum of their possible applications ranges from
magnetic and magneto-mechanical materials over semiconductors and
thermoelectrics to superconductors. An important feature of the Heusler
compounds is the possibility of controlling the valence electron
concentration by partial substitution of elements. On the other hand,
the properties also depend on the degree of ordering of the crystal
structure. In general, Heusler compounds crystallize in the Cu2MnAl-type
structure but in many cases certain types of disorder are observed. In
this paper a detailed description of the different types of disordered
structures is given. Additionally, the synthesis of new Heusler
compounds is reported. The prepared compounds contain ternary Cr-, Rh-,
Ru-, Ni-, Pd-, and Pt-based Heusler systems as well as quaternary
Co-2-based compounds and compounds of the general formula XX' YZ. The
crystal structure was determined by XRD measurements and the structural
ordering of the compounds is discussed.