BCMaterials talk at Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines – CNRS

Manu Barandiaran , former director of BCMaterials, was on past week at the Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines – CNRS, talking about Magnetic Materials research at BCMaterials.
Magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMAs), such as the Heusler compound Ni2MnGa and off-stoichiometric alloys, couple the martensitic transformation (MT) with ferromagnetism, enabling outstanding effects like magnetically induced strains, up to 12%, high frequency response and large power density, of great interest for magnetic actuators. Some other MSMA, as Ni-Mn-X (X=In, Sn, Sb), also display large magnetocaloric and magnetoresistance effects, with possible applications in magnetic refrigeration, sensors, etc. A review of recent work on these alloys is presented, for bulk and single crystal as well as thin films and nanopillars. The later provide promising evidence for thermal and magnetic actuation at the nanoscale.
Search for alternatives to current available materials, which do not contain critical elements as Rare Earths (RE), is a priority in the European Union and worldwide. Some recent results on lean or no RE containing compounds for high energy Permanent Magnets will be also presented. This work is part of the ongoing EU H2020 project: Novel, critical materials free, high anisotropy phases for permanent magnets, by design