Submitted by Daniella Sodre (daniella.sodre@ufpe.br) on 2015-04-08T12:40:55Z No. of bitstreams: 2 DISSERTAÇÃO Gabriel Fonseca.pdf: 3837074 bytes, checksum: e2c9b20882785e374170658d648ee389 (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-08T12:40:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 DISSERTAÇÃO Gabriel Fonseca.pdf: 3837074 bytes, checksum: e2c9b20882785e374170658d648ee389 (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-10 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científi co e Tecnol ógico; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Ní vel Superior; Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos; Fundação de Amparo a Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco. / In this master thesis we study experimentally the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) in bilayers made of a ferromagnetic insulator (FMI) and a metallic layer (M). We also present a theoretical model based on the spin current density ⃗ Js carried by a non-equilibrium magnon distribution, generated by a thermal gradient ∇T across the thickness of the FMI. When ⃗ Js reach the FMI/M interface it is pumped towards the M layer due to conservation of the angular momentum, so, the M layer is essential for the LSSE existence. Here the FMI consists of a Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) lm, grown over a Gadolinium Gallium Garnet (GGG) substrate. Different metallic materials were used as the M layer i.e. Pt and Ta that have normal behavior and Py that is a ferromagnetic metal (FMM). The experimental procedure consists of systematic measurements of the electric voltage VISHE, produced by ⃗ Js through the Inverse Spin Hall Effect (ISHE) in the normal metal or (FMM) layer. In YIG/Pt measurements were done in the temperature range from 20 to 300 K. The experimental data are tted to the proposed model for the LSSE and good agreement is obtained. The results shows that the Py and Ta can be used to detect the LSSE with the ISHE. The results of this master thesis have strong interest in the area of spin caloritronics helping to the development of the eld and to raise possibilities of new spintronic devices. ----- Nesta diserta ção e estudado experimentalmente o Efeito Seebeck de Spin Longi- tudinal (LSSE), em bicamadas formadas por um isolante ferromagn etico (FMI) e um lme metalico (M). Tamb em foi desenvolvido um modelo te orico baseado na den- sidade de corrente de spin ⃗ Js que existe quando uma distribui c~ao de m agnons fora do equil brio e gerada por um gradiente t ermico ∇T aplicado na sec ção transversal do FMI. Quando ⃗ Js chega na interface FMI/M e bombeada para a camada M satis- fazendo a conserva ção do momentum angular, assim que a camada NM e essencial para ter um LSSE. Como camada FMI foi utilizada a granada de trio e ferro (YIG) crescida num substrato de (GGG). Diferentes materiais metalicos foram utilizados como camada M, sendo Pt e Ta paramagn eticos e o Py ferromagnetico. O proced- imento experimental consiste na medi c~ao sistem atica da voltagem el etrica VISHE, que e produzida por ⃗ Js por meio do efeito Hall de spin inverso (ISHE) que ocorre na camada M. As medidas em YIG/Pt foram feitas numa faixa ampla de temperatura de 20 a 300 K. Os dados experimentais são fi tados com a teoria proposta para o LSSE encontrando-se boa concordância. Nossos resultados mostram que o Py e o Ta s~ao bons candidatos para detec ção do LSSE. Esta disserta ção e de grande interesse na area da caloritrônica de spin, ajudando no desenvolvimento deste campo e na concep ção de novos dispositivos tecnol ogicos baseados na spintrônica.

Dans cette thèse nous étudions théoriquement et numériquement les solitons magnétiques et leurs transitions topologiques. Dans une première partie, nous trouvons une solution en 3 dimensions appelée Point de Bloch qui vient de la minimisation de l'énergie d'échange, de l'énergie de Landau et de l'énergie dipolaire. Les oscillations autour du point de Bloch sont trouvées et quantifiées pour étudier le rôle des fluctuations quantiques dans sa stabilité.Dans une deuxième partie, nous regardons l'évolution d'un système ferromagnétique avec des textures de topologie non-triviale, couplé à des électrons itinérants qui interagissent avec la texture au moyen de leurs spins. Ce système physique est modelé avec l'équation de Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert couplée à l'équation de Schrödinger des électrons quantiques. Des transitions topologiques sont observées et mises dans un cadre général. De la grande quantité des transitions topologiques observées, nous distinguons les différents rôles que jouent les électrons selon le régime et l'ensemble de paramètres. Les ordres de grandeur temporels et spatiales des transitions topologiques montrent l'importance des effets quantiques ainsi que des effets de discrétisation du problème. / In this thesis we study the magnetic solitons and its topological transitions, both theoretically and numerically. In the first part, we find a particular configuration of what is denominated the Bloch Point, a three-dimensional solution of the Free Energy minimization with exchange, Landau and dipolar terms. Oscillations around the Bloch point are found and quantized in order to understand the role of quantum fluctuations over its stability.In the second part, we look at the evolution of a system coupling ferromagnetic textures with nontrivial topology, with itinerant electrons. The interaction between the magnetic texture and the electrons is understood by means of spin-torque phenomena. This physical system is modeled with the equation Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation coupled with Schrödinger equation for quantum electrons. Topological transitions are observed and understood in a general framework that unifies older works done in a more classical context. Among the large amount of topological transitions observed, we can distinguish the different roles played by electrons depending on parameters. The orders of magnitude of time and space in the topological transition events show the importance of quantum effects as well as the fundamental role of discretization.

In this thesis, we have proposed a new computing platform called probabilistic spin logic (PSL) based on probabilistic bits (p-bit) using low barrier nanomagnets (LBM) whose thermal barrier is of the order of a kT unlike conventional memory and spin logic devices that rely on high thermal barrier magnets (40-60 kT) to retain stability. p-bits are tunable random number generators (TRNG) analogous to the concept of binary stochastic neurons (BSN) in artificial neural network (ANN) whose output fluctuates between a +1 and -1 states with 50-50 probability at zero input bias and the stochastic output can be tuned by an applied input producing a sigmoidal characteristic response. p-bits can be interconnected by a synapse or weight matrix [J] to build p-circuits for solving a wide variety of complex unconventional problems such as inference, invertible Boolean logic, sampling and optimization. It is important to update the p-bits sequentially for proper operation where each p-bit update is informed of the states of other p-bits that it is connected to and this requires the use of sequencers in digital clocked hardware. But the unique feature of our probabilistic hardware is that they are autonomous that runs without any clocks or sequencers.<br>To ensure the necessary sequential informed update in our autonomous hardware it is important that the synapse delay is much smaller than the neuron fluctuation time.<br>We have demonstrated the notion of this autonomous hardware by SPICE simulation of different designs of low barrier nanomagnet based p-circuits for both symmetrically connected Boltzmann networks and directed acyclic Bayesian networks. It is interesting to note that for Bayesian networks a specific parent to child update order is important and requires specific design rule in the autonomous probabilistic hardware to naturally ensure the specific update order without any clocks. To address the issue of scalability of these autonomous hardware we have also proposed and benchmarked compact models for two different hardware designs against SPICE simulation and have shown that the compact models faithfully mimic the dynamics of the real hardware.<br>

L'objectif principal de ma thèse porte sur les composés à base d'europium, une des terres rares qui est magnétique et qui forme des semiconducteurs magnétiques. Le but premier était de mesurer les corrélations magnétiques dans l'EuB6 à l'aide de la technique diffraction de neutrons à petits angles SANS (small angle neutron scattering en anglais), plus précisément de mesurer la longueur de corrélation des polarons magnétiques. La raison de sonder les polarons magnétiques dans l'EuB6 est que leur présence pourrait expliquer la grande magnétorésistance proche de la transition Curie associée avec l'ordre ferromagnétique. Ceci est une tâche particulièrement difficile puisque l'europium est un très grand absorbeur de neutrons, affectant donc la durée d'acquisition. De longs temps d'exposition étaient nécessaires pour obtenir un bruit de fond adéquat. Suite à l'analyse des données, nous avons pu conclure que les polarons magnétiques sont définitivement présents. De plus, leur présence augmente de façon non négligeable les fluctuations magnétiques. Par contre, la présence de ces fluctuations magnétiques rend la tâche de mesurer la longueur de corrélation plus difficile. La plus grande découverte de mon doctorat a été la phase nématique dans le EuB6 grâce à des mesures de magnétorésistance en fonction de l'angle. Ceci se manifestait avec une brisure de symétrie du cristal seulement dans les propriétés électroniques. Ces données m'ont permis de mieux comprendre le rôle que jouent les polarons magnétiques dans ce système. En dopant le système au calcium, nous avons confirmé la présence d'une transition vers un ordre de verre de spins à partir d'une concentration de 30% de calcium. Ce composé semble posséder la même phase nématique que le EuB6. Toutefois, cette phase est bien plus concentrée autour de la transition à cause du manque de fluctuations magnétiques au-dessus de celle-ci. / The main objective of my thesis is about Europium, a magnetic rare earth, based compounds which produces magnetic semiconductors. The primary goal was to measure magnetic correlations in the EuB6 using SANS (small angle neutron scattering) technique, more precisely, to measure the correlation length of magnetic polarons. The raison for studying magnetic polarons in EuB6 is that their presence can explain the large magnetoresistance near the Curie transition associated to a ferromagnetic order. This is a particularly difficult task since Europium (Eu2+) is a very strong neutron absorber, thus affecting the acquisition time. Long exposure times were necessary to obtain adequate background. After the analysis of the data, we have finally been able to conclude that magnetic polarons are definitely present. In addition, their presence increases significantly magnetic fluctuations. On the other hand, the presence of these magnetic fluctuations makes the task of measuring the correlation length more difficult. The biggest discovery of my Ph.D. was the nematic phase in the EuB6 using angle-based magneto-resistance measurements. The nematic phase is caracterized by a breaking of symmetry only in the electronic properties. These data have allowed me to better understand the role played by magnetic polarons in this system. By doping the system with calcium, we confirmed the presence of a transition to a spin glass order from a concentration of 30% calcium. This compound seems to have the same nematic phase as its parent compound. However, this phase is much more concentrated around the spin glass transition because of lack of magnetic fluctuations above it.

Depuis la première observation de désaimantation ultra-rapide dans des films de Ni soumis à une excitation laser pulsée, on a assisté à un grand intérêt de comprendre l'interaction entre les impulsions laser ultra-courtes et l'aimantation. Ces études ont conduit à la découverte de la commutation toute optique de l'aimantation dans un alliage de film ferrimagnétique en utilisant des impulsions laser femtosecondes. La commutation toute optique permet un renversement de l’aimantation d’un matériau magnétique sans champ magnétique externe. La direction de l'aimantation résultante est donnée par la polarisation circulaire droite ou gauche de la lumière. La manipulation de l'aimantation par un faisceau laser a longtemps été limité à un seul type de matériau, mais ce mécanisme s'est avéré être un phénomène plus général qui s’applique à une grande variété de matériaux ferromagnétiques, y compris des alliages, des empilements et des hétérostructures, ainsi que des hétérostructures ferrimagnétiques synthétiques de terres-rares. Récemment, nous avons observé le même phénomène dans des films ferromagnétiques simples, ouvrant ainsi la voie à une intégration de l'écriture toute optique dans les dispositifs spintroniques. De plus, dans des matériaux de type [Co/Pt] ou [Co/Ni] avec une polarisation de spin élevée et une anisotropie magnétique perpendiculaire contrôlable, un mouvement de parois de domaines induit par un courant polarisé peut être observé dans des pistes magnétiques (couple spin-orbite ou couple de transfert de spin), ce qui présente un grand intérêt pour des applications spintroniques basse consommation et de densité élevée, telles que le concept de mémoire racetrack et la logique magnétique. Cependant, la densité de courant requise pour le mouvement des parois de domaines est encore trop élevée pour permettre la réalisation de dispositifs à faible puissance. Dans ce contexte innovant, la recherche effectuée dans le cadre de ma thèse s’est concentrée sur la manipulation de parois de domaines dans les pistes fabriquées à partir de films minces à forte anisotropie magnétique perpendiculaire en combinant à la fois les effets du courant polarisé et ceux de la commutation toute optique. Différents films minces ont été explorés afin d'étudier les effets combinés optiques dépendant de l'hélicité et des couples spin-orbite ou de transfert de spin sur le mouvement des parois de domaines. Nous avons montré que les parois de domaine peuvent rester piégées sous une hélicité circulaire du laser et dépiégées par une hélicité circulaire opposée, et la densité de courant polarisé seuil peut être considérablement réduite en utilisant un laser femtoseconde. Nos résultats sont prometteurs pour le développement de nouveaux dispositifs photoniques-spintroniques de faible puissance. / Since the first observation of ultrafast demagnetization in Ni films arising from a pulsed laser excitation, there has been a strong interest in understanding the interaction between ultrashort laser pulses and magnetization. These studies have led to the discovery of all-optical switching (AOS) of magnetization in a ferrimagnetic film alloy of GdFeCo using femtosecond laser pulses. All-optical switching enables an energy-efficient magnetization reversal of the magnetic material with no external magnetic field, where the direction of the resulting magnetization is given by the right or left circular polarization of the light. The manipulation of magnetization through laser beam has long been restricted to one material, though it turned out to be a more general phenomenon for a variety of ferromagnetic materials, including alloys, multilayers and heterostructures, as well as rare earth free synthetic ferrimagnetic heterostructures. Recently, we have observed the same phenomenon in single ferromagnetic films, thus paving the way for an integration of all-optical writing in spintronic devices. Moreover, in similar materials, like [Co/Pt] or [Co/Ni] with high spin polarization and tunable perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), efficient current-induced domain wall (DW) motion can be observed in magnetic wires, where spin-orbit torque (SOT) or spin transfer torque (STT) provides a powerful means of manipulating domain walls, which is of great interest for several spintronic applications, such as high-density racetrack memory and magnetic domain wall logic. However, the current density required for domain wall motion is still too high to realize low power devices. This is within this very innovative context that my Ph.D. research has focused on domain wall manipulation in magnetic wires made out of thin film with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy combining both spin-polarized current and all-optical switching. Different material structures have been explored, in order to investigate the combined effects of helicity-dependent optical effect and spin-orbit torque or spin transfer torque on domain wall motion in magnetic wires based on these structures. We show that domain wall can remain pinned under one laser circular helicity while depinned by the opposite circular helicity, and the threshold current density can be greatly reduced by using femtosecond laser pulses. Our findings provide novel insights towards the development of low power spintronic-photonic devices.

Les skyrmions magnétiques sont des enroulements bidimensionnels et nanométriques de la configuration de spin, pouvant être stabilisés dans certains matériaux magnétiques soumis à l’interaction d’échange antisymétrique Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya. Ils présentent une topologie non-triviale et s’annoncent peut-être comme étant les plus petites configurations magnétiques pouvant être réalisées. Très récemment, des skyrmions magnétiques ont pu être stabilisés à température ambiante grâce à la conception de multicouches magnétiques brisant la symétrie d’inversion selon la direction verticale. Suite à cette avancée, l’objectif central de cette thèse est la compréhension et la maîtrise des multiples propriétés physiques des skyrmions hébergés dans ces systèmes multicouches. Pour aborder cet objectif, un modèle original est décrit puis employé, permettant la prédiction des profils adoptés par les skyrmions multicouches. Ce modèle numérique est très générique, n’utilisant que la symétrie cylindrique des skyrmions afin de simplifier la détermination des interactions magnétostatiques. Ce modèle est ensuite étendu afin de pouvoir approximer la stabilité thermique des skyrmions, ce qui constitue un élément clé dans leur obtention expérimentale. Une seconde dimension de ce travail consiste en l’étude expérimentale de la manipulation électrique des skyrmions multicouches, démontrant la possibilité de trois fonctionnalités centrales que sont leur nucléation par courants locaux, leur déplacement sous courant de spin et leur détection électrique individuelle par tension transverse. Le troisième aspect de ma thèse est l’étude des propriétés physiques influençant le déplacement des skyrmions dans les multicouches magnétiques. Un comportement d’ancrage sur des défauts est mis en évidence expérimentalement et est analysé à l’aide d’une modélisation micromagnétique. Un des résultats importants de ce travail est aussi la prédiction d’une chiralité hybride dans les configurations magnétiques de certaines multicouches, qui est ensuite démontrée expérimentalement par des mesures au synchrotron. Les conséquences attendues de cette chiralité hybride sur le déplacement des skyrmions sont étudiées pour permettre l’optimisation des multicouches, aboutissant à l’observation expérimentale de la propagation de skyrmions de 50 nm de rayon à des vitesses atteignant environ 40 m/s. La dernière partie de cette thèse vise à mettre à profit ces avancées théoriques et expérimentales afin de parvenir à réduire la taille des skyrmions à température ambiante. Après avoir analysé l’impact des interactions dipolaires sur la stabilité des skyrmions, il est entrepris d’optimiser les matériaux et la périodicité des couches. Je m’intéresse aussi à la conception expérimentale de textures magnétiques dont l’aimantation est compensée au sein de structures multicouches appelées antiferromagnétiques synthétiques, dont je montre qu’elles peuvent héberger des skyrmions antiferromagnétiques à température ambiante. Ce résultat final ouvre de nouvelles perspectives vers l’obtention de skyrmions à la fois mesurant moins de 10 nm et très mobiles, qui pourraient être utilisés dans la conception de composants de calcul et de stockage d’information plus compacts et plus efficaces. / Magnetic skyrmions are nanoscale two-dimensional windings in the spin configuration of some magnetic materials subject to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya antisymmetric exchange interaction. They feature a non-trivial topology and show promise to be the smallest achievable magnetic textures. Very recently, magnetic skyrmions have been successfully stabilised up to room temperature by leveraging on the design of magnetic multilayer systems breaking the vertical inversion symmetry. Following up on this achievement, the main objective of this thesis is the understanding and the control of the various physical properties of skyrmions hosted by such multilayer systems. As a first approach to this objective, an original model allowing to predict the profiles adopted by multilayer skyrmions is described and then employed. This numerical model is very generic, as it exploits only the cylindrical symmetry of multilayer skyrmions, in order to determine the magnetostatic interactions with less effort. This model is further extended in order to approximate the thermal stability of multilayer skyrmions, which is key to their experimental realisation. The next aspect of this thesis consists in the experimental study of the electrical manipulation of multilayer skyrmions, demonstrating three main functionalities that are nucleation by local currents, displacement under spin currents and individual detection by transverse voltage. The third aspect of my thesis is the study of the physical properties influencing the current-induced motion of skyrmions in magnetic multilayers. A pinning behaviour is evidenced experimentally and analysed relying on micromagnetic modelling. One of the important results of this work is also the prediction of hybrid chirality for some multilayer magnetic configurations, which is then demonstrated experimentally using a synchrotron technique. The impact of hybrid chirality on current-induced skyrmion motion is discussed and leads to the optimisation of the multilayer design, resulting in the experimental observation of motion for skyrmions below 50 nm in radius at velocities reaching around 40 m/s. The last part of this thesis aims at leveraging on these theoretical and experimental advances in order to reduce the size of skyrmions at room temperature. After the analysis of the impact of dipolar interactions on skyrmion stability, the engineering of the materials and of the layers periodicity is attempted. I also investigate experimentally the conception of magnetic textures with compensated magnetization in multilayer structures known as synthetic antiferromagnets, and show that they can host antiferromagnetic skyrmions at room temperature. This last result opens up new prospects for achieving room-temperature skyrmions combining size in the single-digit nm range and high mobility, potentially allowing applications towards energy-efficient computation and storage devices with a very dense integration.

This work presents a new approach of fabricating arrays of electrodes, separated by sub-micrometer gaps allowing the systematic investigation of electric properties of organic semiconductors. The laterally stacked devices are fabricated by using a trench isolation technique for separating different electrical potentials, as it is known for micromachining technologies like Single Crystal Reactive Ion Etching and Metallization (SCREAM). The essential part of this process is the patterning of sub-micrometer trenches onto the silicon substrate in a single lithographic step. Afterwards, the trenches are refilled by SiO2 to allow the precise tuning of the electrode separation gap. The metal electrodes are formed via magnetron sputtering. This technological approach allows us to fabricate device structures with a transport channel length in the range of 100-250 nm by conventional photolithography. In this experiment, three different metals like Au, Co, and Ni were used as the electrode materials, while copper phthalocyanine, being deposited by thermal evaporation in high vacuum, was employed as the organic semiconductor under evaluation. The final aim has been study of spin transport through the organic channel in varied geometry.

Two dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene, phosphorene and transition metal chalcogenides, have received a great attention in recent years due to their unique physical and chemical properties. A majority of 2D materials is intrinsically non-magnetic, therefore, their applications in spintronics are limited. The design and synthesis of new 2D materials with intrinsic magnetism and high spin-polarization remains a challenge. Computational discovery of new 2D materials with desired magnetic and electronic properties is the subject of this thesis. Using density functional theory with PBE, PBE+U and HSE06 functionals, we have systematically investigated the structure, electronic, magnetic and topological properties of novel 2D materials. Investigated materials include MXenes and layered transition-metal trihalides, both with great potential applications in spintronic devices. Four different classes of materials showing unique magnetic properties were investigated and reported in this thesis. (1) Asymmetrically functionalized MXenes were studied. The coexistence of the fully compensated antiferromagnetic order (zero magnetization) and completely spin-polarized semiconductivity was found for the first time. Moreover, the spin carrier orientation and induced transition from bipolar antiferromagnetic...

Nanoelectronics and spintronics are concerned with writing, transporting, and reading information stored in electronic charge and spin degrees of freedom at the nanoscale. Past few years have shown that two spintronics effects discovered in the 19th century, namely anisotropic magnetoresistance and anomalous Hall effect, can be used also for sensing antiferromagnetism which opened the field of antiferromagnetic spintronics. The more than a century of controversial studies of these effects have shown their relativistic spin-orbit coupling and spin-polarisation symmetry breaking origin. However, a complete understanding of these effects and a fully predictive theory capable of identifying novel suitable antiferromagnetic materials are still lacking. Here, by extending modern symmetry and topology concepts in condensed matter physics, we have further developed the theory of anisotropic magnetoresistance and spontaneous Hall effect. Our approach is based on magnetic symmetry and topology analysis of antiferromagnetic energy bands, Bloch spectral functions, and Berry curvatures calculated from the state-of-the- art first-principle theory. This guided us to the prediction of two novel, previously unanticipated effects: relativistic metal-insulator transition from antiferromagnetic Dirac fermions, and crystal Hall...

Half-metallic ferromagnets (HMFs), with fully spin-polarized conduction electrons, are prime candidates for optimizing spintronic devices. Many Heusler compounds (a class of ternary and quaternary intermetallics) are predicted to be HMFs, in particular Co$_{2}YZ$ (where $Y$ is usually another transition metal, and $Z$ is an s-p element). Crystal structure is controlled by thermodynamics to a large extent. Ideally, one should be able to control and optimize properties which are of interest by appropriately "tuning" the structure (e.g. annealing), but first one must understand the structure and its relation to observed physical properties. A local structural probe technique such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an essential tool for identifying and quantifying the various atomic-scale orderings. Different Heusler structure types and antisite disorders affect the material's physical properties. In this thesis, order-disorder phenomena in both bulk and thin film samples of Co$_2$Mn$_{1-x}$Si$_x$ and Co$_2$Mn$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$Si have been systematically studied using NMR. Though it is the films which are directly implemented in actual devices, studying bulk samples as model systems provides invaluable information regarding the material properties. The evolution of local atomic structure in numerous thin films has been shown to depend greatly on preparation parameters, including post-deposition annealing temperature, and specific stoichiometry. For Co$_2$MnSi films, the ideal post-annealing temperature for promoting the $L2_1$ atomic structure was found; the threshold temperature above which structure continues to become higher-ordered in the bulk, but where too much interdiffusion at the buffer interface occurs, degrading the smooth interfaces necessary for high magnetoresistance ratios. NMR also adds evidence that Co$_2$Mn$_x$Si$_{0.88}$ ($x>$1) electrodes in magnetic tunnel junctions have highest tunneling magneto-resistance because the excess Mn suppresses the formation of detrimental Co$_{Mn}$ antisites. A systematic investigation of several thermal and magnetic properties, including Sommerfeld coefficients, Debye temperatures, saturation magnetic moments, spin-wave stiffness, and magnon specific heat coefficient, were measured for selected Co$_2$-based ternary and quaternary Heusler compounds. Obtained values were compared with theoretical ones calculated using electronic band structure methods. It has been systematically shown that adding a magnon term to the specific heat has a negligible effect on the electronic contribution in all cases.