Investigation of the complex magnetic behavior of Ni46.86Co2.91Mn38.17Sn12.06 (at%) magnetic shape memory alloy at low temperatures

Abstract

Abstract The magnetic properties, martensitic transformation characteristics, the magnetic field-induced transformation characteristics, and super spin-glass behaviour at low temperature of Ni46.86Co2.91Mn38.17Sn12.06 (at%) magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMAs) were investigated under various magnetic field levels over temperature intervals from 400 K to 10 K. We observe a small magnetization difference during the martensitic transition evidenced with a visible thermal hysteresis. To investigate the magnetic field induced phase fraction, the minimum magnetic field required to start and complete the magnetostructural phase transition is computed. Super-spin glass features in magnetic data are observed that interacting magnetic clusters are frozen below a critical temperature. Magnetization is computed as a function of temperature at various constant fields using molecular field theory. The critical exponent, β is deduced for the temperature-induced magnetization, which indicates that the MSMA exhibited ferromagnetic ordering during field-cooling and on heating an antiferromagnetic ordering at low temperatures and in low applied magnetic fields. These observations are consistent within the framework of an Ising or Heisenberg model.