Abstract
In this letter, it is shown that when replacing Ge by Fe in Tb5 Si2 Ge2 the structural transition still occurs and enhances the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) (up to 66%) with maximum of MCE at a critical Fe amount where the magnetic and structural transitions become fully coupled. It is observed that Fe concentration is able to mimic the effect of external pressure as it induces a complex microstructure, that tunes long range strain fields. This knowledge is crucial for the development of strategies toward materials with improved performance for efficient magnetic refrigeration applications.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 122501 |
Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
Volume | 98 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 21 2011 |
Externally published | Yes |
Funding
Work partially supported by the projects FEDER/POCTI , POCI/CTM/61284/2004 and PTDC/CTM/NAN/115125/2009 from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal. A.M.P. thanks FCT for the Grant No. SFRH/BPD/63150/2009. The financial support of the Spanish MEC (Grant No. MAT2008-06567-C02) and DGA (Grant No. E26) is acknowledged. Use of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.