Kinetic arrest of martensitic transformation in the NiCoMnIn metamagnetic shape memory alloy

Magnetic and electrical resistivity changes due to a martensitic transformation in large magnetic fields were investigated in a NiCoMnIn alloy. The transformation is interrupted at about 150 K during field cooling and does not proceed with further cooling. The obtained two-phase condition is frozen at low temperatures and zero field heating releases this condition, inducing a forward transformation. These unusual phenomena can be explained by an abnormal behavior in the transformation entropy change and an extremely low mobility of the phase interfaces detected at low temperatures. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.