Near-room-temperature refrigeration through voltage-controlled entropy change in multiferroics

Authors

Christian Binek, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
V. Burobina, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Date of this Version

1-25-2013

Citation

APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 102, 031915 (2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4788690

Comments

Copyright (c) 2013 American Institute of Physics. Used by permission.

Abstract

Composite materials with large magnetoelectric effect are proposed for application in advanced near-room-temperature refrigeration. The key innovation rests on utilizing the magnetocaloric effect in zero applied magnetic fields. This approach promises sizable isothermal entropy change and virtually temperature-independent refrigerant capacity through pure voltage-control. It is in sharp contrast with the conventional method of exploiting the magnetocaloric effect through applied magnetic fields. We outline the thermodynamics and estimate an isothermal entropy change specifically for the La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃/Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-PbTiO₃(001) two-phase composite material. Finally, we propose structural variations of two-phase composites, which help in overcoming the challenging task of producing nanostructured material in macroscopic quantities.