Combinatorial Synthesis of New Magnetic Shape Memory Alloy

A new class of materials called magnetic shape memory alloy, producing strain when a magnetic field induces a martensitic transformation, has reached a record high free strain of 4.5% in its short lifetime of the development. This value has surpassed the result of decades of development on magnetostrictive Tefenol-D and piezoelectric PZT materials, two major commercial actuator materials. It is also higher than the 1% of free strain obtained in the difficult grown single crystal lead manganate niobate (PMN), which recently attracted a lot of attention in DoD and actuator community. In this Phase I program Spinix Corporation proposes to search new composition of magnetic shape memory alloys for even higher free strain and higher operation temperature by a combinatorial synthesis method. This approach will produce hundreds of samples in millimeter sizes with different combinations of compositions on a single wafer. Spinix will accomplish this important material development by collaborating with pioneers of Dr. Robert O'Handley in magnetic shape memory alloy at MIT and Dr. Xiao-Dong Xiang in combinatorial synthesis of new materials at Lawrence Berkley Laboratory