Secondary-field boosted caloric effect associated with first-order phase transition, a quasi-direct measurement

Abstract

Caloric cooling originating from solid-state phase transition triggered by external fields is identified to be a green and efficient alternative to the traditional refrigeration technology based on vapor expression. If multi degrees of freedoms are coupled at the phase transition, the caloric effect can be stimulated by multi stimuli. However, characterizing the caloric effect under multi fields is still challenging. Here, we proposed a quasi-direct method for caloric effect measurements under the combination of magnetic field and hydrostatic pressure. By combining two external fields in a proper sequence, the reversible caloric effect of Mn0.6Fe0.4NiSi0.5Ge0.5 alloy was markedly enhanced. Our method can be expanded to study the multicaloric effect in other multiferroic materials and promote the development of solid-state refrigeration in practical applications.