Electric field tuning of magnetocaloric effect in FeRh0.96Pd0.04/PMN-PT composite near room temperature

The first-order magnetic phase transition alloy, FeRh, exhibits a large magnetocaloric effect well above room temperature and works in a limited refrigeration temperature region, which hinders its application to some extent. In the present work, we report a remarkable electric-control magnetocaloric effect in the FeRh0.96Pd0.04/PMN-PT composite near room temperature through strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling. By applying an electric field of 8 kV/cm, the metamagnetic phase transition temperature of the FeRh0.96Pd0.04 film shifts from 300 to 325 K. As a result, the refrigeration temperature region is broadened from 35 to 47 K. These results indicate that applying multiple driving fields is an effective method for tuning the magnetocaloric effect. Published by AIP Publishing.