Evolution of magnetic domain structure of martensite in Ni-Mn-Ga films under the interplay of the temperature and magnetic field

Ferromagnetic shape memory Ni-Mn-Ga films with 7M modulated structure were prepared on MgO (001) substrates by magnetron sputtering. Magnetization process with a typical two-hysteresis loop indicates the occurrence of the reversible magnetic field-induced reorientation. Magnetic domain structure and twin structure of the film were controlled by the interplay of the magnetic and temperature field. With cooling under an out-of-plane magnetic field, the evolution of magnetic domain structure reveals that martensitic transformation could be divided into two periods: nucleation and growth. With an in-plane magnetic field applied to a thermomagnetic-treated film, the evolution of magnetic domain structure gives evidence of a reorientation of twin variants of martensite. A microstructural model is described to define the twin structure and to produce the magnetic domain structure at the beginning of martensitic transformation; based on this model, the relationship between the twin structure and the magnetic domain structure for the treated film under an in-plane field is also described.