0000000000015049

AUTHOR

T. Eichhorn

Recent Progress in FSMA Microactuator Developments

The giant magneto-strain effect is particularly attractive for actuator applications in micro- and nanometer dimensions as it enables contact-less control of large deformations, which can hardly be achieved by other actuation principles in small space. Two different approaches are being pursued to develop ferromagnetic shape memory (FSMA) microactuators based on the magnetically induced reorientation of martensite variants: (1) the fabrication of free-standing epitaxial Ni-Mn-Ga thin film actuators in a bottom-up manner by magnetron sputtering, substrate release and integration technologies and (2) the top-down approach of thickness reduction of bulk Ni-Mn-Ga single crystals to foil specime…

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Compositional dependence of element-specific magnetic moments in Ni2MnGa films

Element-specific magnetic moments were investigated for epitaxial Ni2Mn1+xGa1−x and (Ni2MnGa)1−x(Co2FeSi)x Heusler films using x-ray absorption spectroscopy and x-ray circular magnetic dichroism in transmission. The epitaxial films of the Ni2MnGa-derived compositions were prepared by dc-sputtering on Al2O3 substrates at 773 K. X-ray diffraction confirms a (1 1 0) oriented growth. An increase in the Mn concentration reduces the magnetic spin moment of both Mn and Ni. An increase in the content of Co2FeSi in the Ni2MnGa compound leads to an increase in the Mn and Ni spin moments and to a decrease in Tm for 5% Co2FeSi and finally to a suppression of the phase transition for 20% Co2FeSi. The or…

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Structural and Magnetic Dynamics in the Magnetic Shape Memory Alloy Ni$_2$MnGa

Magnetic shape memory Heusler alloys are multiferroics stabilized by the correlations between electronic, magnetic and structural order. To study these correlations we use time resolved x-ray diffraction and magneto-optical Kerr effect experiments to measure the laser induced dynamics in a Heusler alloy Ni$_2$MnGa film and reveal a set of timescales intrinsic to the system. We observe a coherent phonon which we identify as the amplitudon of the modulated structure and an ultrafast phase transition leading to a quenching of the incommensurate modulation within 300~fs with a recovery time of a few ps. The thermally driven martensitic transition to the high temperature cubic phase proceeds via…

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Berufliche Rehabilitation nach Laryngektomie

Ziel dieser Studie war es herauszufinden, wie viele Patienten nach einer Laryn­gektomie (LE) erfolgreich ins Berufsleben zuruckkehren und welche Faktoren eine berufliche Wiedereingliederung unterstutzen. Laryngektomierte (n=231) im Alter von bis zu 60 Jahren wurden vor der LE (t1), vor der Anschlussheilbehandlung (AHB) (t2), am Ende der AHB (t3), 1 Jahr nach LE (t4), 2 Jahre nach LE (t5) und 3 Jahre nach LE (t6) mithilfe von strukturierten Interviews und Fragebogen befragt. Vor der LE waren n=76 (38%) der Befragten erwerbstatig, 34% erwerbslos, 23% erhielten eine Erwerbsminderungsrente und 3% waren in Vorruhestand. 1 Jahr nach der LE waren 13% erwerbstatig, 2 Jahre nach LE 15% und 3 Jahre n…

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Martensite transition and microscopic magnetism of epitaxial Ni2MnGa films

AbstractA magnetically induced shape memory effect in Ni2MnGa results in huge magnetostrictive effects of several percent. Using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) we investigated element specific magnetic moments and electronic structure of single crystalline, (110) oriented Ni2MnGa films on a-plane Al2O3 substrates in the austenite and martensite state. The structural phase transition of the samples is evident from temperature dependent x-ray diffraction and magnetization measurements. The Ni XAS differ significantly for temperatures above and below the martensite transition in agreement with published ab-initio calculations. Using XAS in transmissi…

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Magnetic and Electronic Properties of Heusler Alloy Films Investigated by X-Ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism

We have investigated the magnetic properties of epitaxial Heusler alloy films using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism∈dex{x-ray!magnetic circular dichroism} (XMCD) in the transmission (TM) and in the surface sensitive total electron yield (TEY) mode. We have investigated Ni_2MnGa based shape memory alloys and half-metallic Co2Cro.6Feo.4 films. Single crystalline Ni2MnGa(110)/Al2O3(1120) and Ni2MnGa(100)/MgO(100) films show a martensitic transition from a cubic high temperature phase to a martensitic low-temperature phase at 250–275 K as concluded from magnetometry and x-ray diffraction. The martensitic transition of this Heusler compound is shifted in…

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Structural and Magnetic Properties of Epitaxial Ni<sub>2</sub>MnGa Thin Films

We report on the preparation and investigation of epitaxial thin films of the magnetic shape memory alloy Ni2MnGa. For samples close to the stoichiometric composition we find that the phase transformation temperature is affected by the crystallographic orientation. Changes in the crystal structure due to the transformation are observed using temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction. Films with higher manganese content are in the martensitic state at room temperature. Those samples on Al2O3(11-20) reveal the 7-layered orthorhombic structure that allows strains up to 10 %. To avoid blocking of magnetostrictive effects by the substrate, free-standing films are prepared using water-soluble NaCl(…

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Microscopic origin of magnetic anisotropy in martensitic Ni2MnGa

The microscopic origin of magnetic anisotropy in the shape memory alloy Ni${}_{2}$MnGa is investigated by means of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism in transmission mode. Field- and angle-dependent dichroism spectra of epitaxial Ni${}_{2}$MnGa(101)/MgO(001) films reveal pronounced differences for magnetization aligned parallel and perpendicular to the film plane. These differences are related to an anisotropy of the orbital magnetic moment in agreement with the observed out-of-plane magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The spectral variation of the x-ray absorption originates from changes in the spin-projected density of states when the magnetization vector is rotated from the easy to the hard ma…

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Structure and Microscopic Magnetism of Epitaxial Ni-Mn-Ga Films

We report on the structural and magnetic properties of epitaxial thin films of the ferromagnetic shape memory material Ni–Mn–Ga prepared by DC magnetron sputter deposition. Different substrate materials, i.e., MgO(100) and Al2O3(11−20) allow for a tailored epitaxial growth. Using a sacrificial chromium buffer layer freestanding epitaxial films are obtained. In combination with photolithography partially freestanding structures such as microbridges are fabricated. The complex martensite crystal structure in substrate-constrained and freestanding films is studied by means of X-ray diffraction. The identified asymmetric twin variant configuration is associated with a macroscopic surface patter…

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Microstructure of freestanding single-crystalline Ni2MnGa thin films

Abstract The complex crystal structure and variant distribution of single-crystalline freestanding Ni–Mn–Ga films was studied in detail using X-ray diffraction in two- and four-circle geometry. Selective chemical etching of a chromium buffer layer facilitates the release of the rigid MgO substrate that would inhibit magnetically induced reorientation (MIR) of variants. The substrate-constrained as well as the freestanding films possess identical crystal structure featuring a seven-layered (pseudo-)orthorhombic modulation (7 M/14 M). Of the 12 different variants observed before and after releasing the film from the substrate, four are predominantly represented. These have the short c -axis a…

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