Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy Study of Ni-Mn-Ga Ferromagnetic Shape Memory Alloys

We have studied the role that vacancy type defects play in the martensitic transformation of Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloys by means of positron lifetime spectroscopy. The measurements presented in this work have been performed in five ternary alloys. Three of them transform to modulated and two to non-modulated martensitic phases. With these five samples we cover a large range in composition. Positron experiments have been performed at room temperature after subsequent isochronal annealing at different temperatures and up to a maximum temperature of 600°C. Results show a large variation of the average positron lifetime value with the isochronal annealing temperature in non-modulated samples. However, the response in the modulated samples is quite different. The results are discussed in term of different type of positron trapping defects and their evolution with the annealing temperature. The present work shows a correlation between vacancy concentration and martensitic transformation temperature of ferromagnetic shape memory alloys.