Production and characterization of large single crystals made of ferromagnetic shape memory alloys Ni–Mn–Ga

Ferromagnetic shape memory alloys (MSMA) are well-known smart materials for actuation applications, due to their large shape change in applied magnetic fields. Off-stoichiometric Ni–Mn–Ga single crystals of MSMA exhibit a magnetic-field induced strain of about 10%. In the past decade a lot of effort has been put into understanding and optimizing the properties of Ni-Mn-Ga alloys in terms of the magnetic shape memory effect, starting with the production of single crystals and going all the way to heat treatment and magneto-mechanical training.Here we focus on and present the production and characterization of single crystal Ni–Mn–Ga alloys with off-stoichiometric composition. The molten material was cast into preheated ceramic shells and directionally solidified in a Bridgman-type process. Cylindrical single crystal bars of diameters up to 48 mm and a length of 110 mm were obtained by using suitable grain selectors. Only small misorientations between the single crystal c-axis and the bar axis were found in these bars. The crystals were characterized in terms of composition, segregation, crystal orientation and microstructural features by means of SEM/EDS, EBSD and light microscopy.