Phase Diagrams of Ni2MnX (X = In, Sn, Sb) Heusler Alloys with Inversion of Exchange Interaction

Abstract

In this work with the help of the phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau theory of structural and magnetic phase transitions the phase diagrams of Heusler Ni-Mn-X (X = In, Sn, Sb) alloys with the inversion of exchange interaction are investigated. The investigation shows that the type of the phase diagrams in Heusler Ni-Mn-X (X = In, Sn, Sb) alloys depends on the value and sign of the free energy parameters. As it is seen from the analysis of the phase diagrams with the determined values and signs of the parameters of Landau functional there are thermodynamic paths which allow to explain experimental phase transitions in Heusler alloys Ni-Mn-X (X = In, Sn, Sb) and Ni-Co- Mn-X (X = In, Sn, Sb) qualitatively.