Grain oriented NiMnSn and NiMnIn Heusler alloys ribbons produced by melt spinning: Martensitic transformation and magnetic properties

We outline the microstructural, martensitic transformation and magnetic properties of Heusler alloys with starting compositions Ni₅₀Mn₃₇Sn₁₃, Ni₅₀Mn₃₆In₁₄, and Mn₅₀Ni₄₀In₁₀, produced by melt spinning. The ribbons were obtained in argon environment at a high wheel linear speed of 48 m s⁻¹ (typical dimensions: 1.2-2.0 mm in width, 4-12 mm in length, and 7-12 μm in thickness). EDS microanalysis showed that the resulting average elemental chemical composition is slightly shifted with respect to the starting one. Ribbons are fully crystalline and tend to show a highly ordered columnar-like microstructure with grains running through the entire ribbon thickness; the larger dimension of the grains is perpendicular to the ribbon plane. As-spun alloys were single-phase with ferromagnetic bcc L2₁ austenite as high-temperature parent phase. At low temperatures austenite transforms into a structurally modulated martensite with a lattice symmetry that depends on the system (7 M orthorhombic for Ni₅₀Mn₃₇Sn₁₃, 10 M monoclinic for Ni₅₀Mn₃₆In₁₄, and 14 M monoclinic for Mn₅₀Ni₄₀In₁₀). Magnetization isotherms measured in the temperature interval where martensite thermally transforms into austenite confirmed the occurrence of field-induced reverse martensitic transition in the alloys studied.