We report on a new functional property in an AF martensitic Heusler Ni50Mn45In5, which when annealed at high temperatures under a magnetic field, segregates and forms Ni50Mn25In25 Heusler precipitates embedded in a Ni50Mn50 matrix. The precipitates are paramagnetic whereas the matrix is antiferromagnetic. However, the spins at the interface with the Ni50Mn50 matrix align with the field during their nucleation and growth and become strongly pinned in the direction of the applied field during annealing, whereas the core spins become paramagnetic. This shell-ferromagnetism persists up to 600 K and is so strongly pinned that the remanent magnetization remains unchanged, even when the field is reversed or when the temperature is cycled between low temperatures and close to the annealing temperature.
Structural modification and twinning stress reduction in a high-temperature Ni-Mn-Ga magnetic shape memory alloy Appl.Large field induced strain in single crystalline Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloy Martensitic transitions in shape memory Ni-Mn-Ga Heusler alloys take place between a high temperature austenite and a low temperature martensite phase. However, intermartensitic transformations have also been encountered that occur from one martensite phase to another. To examine intermartensitic transitions in magnetic shape memory alloys in detail, we carried out temperature dependent magnetization, resistivity, and x-ray diffraction measurements to investigate the intermartensitic transition in Ni 50 Mn 50-x Ga x in the composition range 12 x 25 at. %. Rietveld refined x-ray diffraction results are found to be consistent with magnetization and resistivity data. Depending on composition, we observe that intermartensitic transitions occur in the sequences 7M ! L1 0 ; 5M ! 7M, and 5M ! 7M ! L1 0 with decreasing temperature. The L1 0 non-modulated structure is most stable at low temperature. V C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.
Despite the importance of martensitic transformations of Ni-Mn-Ga Heusler alloys for their magnetocaloric and shape-memory properties, the martensitic part of their phase diagrams is not well determined. Using an ab initio approach that includes the interplay of lattice and vibrational degrees of freedom we identify an intermartensitic transformation between a modulated and a nonmodulated phase as a function of excess Ni and Mn content. Based on an evaluation of the theoretical findings and experimental x-ray diffraction data for Mn-rich alloys, we are able to predict the phase diagram for Ni-rich alloys. In contrast to other mechanisms discussed for various material systems in the literature, we herewith show that the intermartensitic transformation can be understood solely using thermodynamic concepts.
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