Ni-Mn-In-Co single-crystalline particles for magnetic shape memory composites Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 152503 (2009); 10.1063/1.3249585Entropy change and effect of magnetic field on martensitic transformation in a metamagnetic Ni-Co-Mn-In shape memory alloy

No abstract

Shape memory and ferromagnetic shape memory effects in single-crystal Ni 2 MnGa thin films Heusler alloy Mn 2 NiGa has been developed by synthesizing a series of ferromagnetic shape memory alloys Mn 25+x Ni 50−x Ga 25 ͑x = 0-25͒. Mn 2 NiGa exhibits a martensitic transformation around room temperature with a large thermal hysteresis up to 50 K and a lattice distortion as large as 21.3% and has a quite high Curie temperature of 588 K. The martensite shows a high-saturated field up to 2 T. The excellent two-way shape memory behavior with a strain of 1.7% was observed in the single crystal Mn 2 NiGa. The magnetic-field-controlled effect created a total strain up to 4.0% and changed the sign of the shape deformation effectively.

We study the electronic structures and magnetic properties of Mn 2 CoZ ͑Z =Al,Ga,In,Si,Ge,Sn,Sb͒ compounds with Hg 2 CuTi-type structure using first-principles full-potential linearized-augmented plane-wave calculations. It is found that the compounds with Z = Al, Si, Ge, Sn, and Sb are half-metallic ferrimagnet. Experimentally, we successfully synthesized the Mn 2 CoZ ͑Z =Al,Ga,In,Ge,Sn,Sb͒ compounds. Using the x-ray diffraction method and Rietveld refinement, we confirm that these compounds form Hg 2 CuTi-type structure instead of the conventional L2 1 structure. Based on the analysis on the electronic structures, we find that there are two mechanisms to induce the minority-spin band gap near the Fermi level, but only the d-d band gap determines the final width of the band gap. The magnetic interaction is quite complex in these alloys. It is the hybridization between the Mn͑C͒ and Co atom that dominates the magnitude of magnetic moment of the Co atom and the sign of the Mn͑B͒-Co exchange interaction. The Mn 2 CoZ alloys follow the Slater-Pauling rule M H = N V − 24 with varying Z atom. It was further elucidated that the molecular magnetic moment M H increases with increasing valence concentration only by decreasing the antiparallel magnetic moment of Mn͑C͒, while the magnetic moments of Mn͑B͒ and Co are unaffected.

Magnetic field-induced martensitic transformation was realized in Ni50−xCoxMn39Sb11 alloys. The partial substitution of Co for Ni has turned the antiferromagnetically aligned Mn moments in the starting material Ni50Mn39Sb11 into a ferromagnetic ordering, raising the magnetization at room temperature from 8emu∕g for NiMnSb to ∼110emu∕g for Ni41Co9Mn39Sb11. In the same quaternary sample, a magnetization difference up to 80emu∕g was measured across the martensitic transformation, and the transformation temperature (T0=259K) could be lowered by 35K under a field of 10T. Also a magnetoresistance over 70% was observed through this field-induced transformation.

Effect of a magnetic field on martensitic transformation in the NiCoMnGa alloys was investigated. A field-induced reversible martensitic transformation from the martensitic phase of low magnetization to the parent phase of high magnetization has been realized. The substitution of Co for Ni atoms has turned the magnetic ordering of the parent phase from partially antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic, resulting in a large magnetization change across the transformation, which dramatically enhances the magnetic field driving force. The transformation temperature can be downshifted by magnetic field at a rate up to 14K∕T in Ni37Co13Mn32Ga18. Other mechanism details were also discussed.

Both experimental and theoretical studies have been carried out to study the structure and magnetic properties of Mn 2 NiGa alloys. We have found, instead of forming L2 1 structure where both A and C sites are occupied by Mn atoms, the alloy favor a structure where the C site is occupied by Ni atoms and Mn atoms at A and B sites. The electronic structures of both cubic austenite and tetragonal martensite Mn 2 NiGa were calculated by self-consistent full-potential linearized-augmented plane-wave ͑FP-LAPW͒ method. Austenite Mn 2 NiGa materials show ferrimagnetism due to antiparallel but unbalanced magnetic moments of Mn atoms at A and B sublattices. The magnetic moment of Mn atoms decrease greatly upon martensitic transformation to a tetragonal structure with a 50% reduction in Mn moments at the A site and almost completely suppressed Mn moments at B sites. Consequently, martensite Mn 2 NiGa alloys show ferromagnetic coupling. Different magnetic orderings in martensite and austenite also lead to very different temperature dependence, with which the abnormal behavior of magnetization upon martensitic transformation can be understood. In the offstoichiometric samples with composition between Ni 2 MnGa and Mn 2 NiGa, we show that additional Mn atoms that substitute for Ni atoms in Ni 2 MnGa have the same magnetic behaviors as Mn in Mn 2 NiGa phase, which successfully explains the dependence of the magnetization on Mn composition.

Large magnetostrictions of −1300 and +1100 ppm related in the different directions have been obtained in our stacked Fe85Ga15 ribbon samples. In the case of non-180° domain magnetization in the high anisotropic samples, the magnetostrictions are mainly attributed to the existence of Ga clusters which preferentially orient with the ribbon normal due to the ribbon grain texturing. Forming the modified DO3 structure, the Ga–Ga atom pairs distribute in the matrix and cause the x-ray diffraction peak split in melt-spun ribbons. As a special micromorphology, Ga clusters highly condensed in some nanoscale dots have also been experimentally observed.