Antiferromagnetic materials play a key role in the field of spintronics. The exchange bias, which pins the magnetic orientation of a ferromagnet which is in contact with an antiferromagnet, is utilized to create a magnetic reference for spintronic devices such as magnetic tunneling junctions. This work deals with the theoretical search for novel antiferromagnetic compounds among the Heusler family, a versatile, ternary material class. Experimental work on selected compounds verifies theoretical predictions and demonstrate working devices based on antiferromagnetic Heusler compounds.