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Since the prediction of spin-gapless semiconducting behaviour in the Heuslercompound Mn$_2$CoAl, evidence of spin-gapless behaviour in thin films hastypically been inferred from magnetotransport measurements. The spin gaplessstate is however fragile, and further, band structure calculations indicatethat even a small amount of atomic disorder may destroy it. To explore theimpact of disorder on the properties of Mn$_2$CoAl, we have undertaken anexperimental study of the structural, magnetotransport and optical propertiesfrom the far infrared to the UV, on DC magnetron sputtered Mn$_2$CoAl thinfilms. A very short mean free path, of the order of a lattice spacing, isextracted from the DC transport data. A room temperature resistivity of 200$\mu$$\Omega$cm along with a small and negative temperature coefficient ofresistance between 4 and 400 K was measured. We note that parameters of thismagnitude are often observed in disordered metals. We find this behaviour iswell described by a weak localisation model, a result that is supported by alarge Drude contribution to the optical response, where a high scattering rateis derived, which is equal to the value derived from the DC conductivity andHall effect data. We also note the strong similarities between themagnetotransport behaviour reported for Mn$_2$CoAl films in the literature,including ours. We conclude that, based on comparisons between the experimentaldata, and recent band structure calculations that explicitly include disorder,as-prepared Mn$_2$CoAl films are best described as a disordered metal, ratherthan a spin gapless semiconductor.

Exploring Disorder in the Spin Gapless Semiconductor Mn$_2$CoAl