Investigation of magnetic domains in Ni-Mn-Ga alloys with a scanning electron microscope

The magnetic domains of martensite have been investigated with a scanning electron microscope in three Ni-Mn-Ga alloys with five-layered, seven-layered and non-layered (T) martensite structure. Type I magnetic contrast provides an overview of the domain pattern. This contrast arises from the stray field of the specimen and it is observed in a secondary-electron image. The type II magnetic contrast of a backscattered electron image gives the detailed magnetic microstructure together with the crystal morphology. A stripe domain pattern is formed in all the alloys when there is one dominant martensite variant in the sample. The second minor variant might be distorted due to interaction with the magnetic domain structure of the major variant. The mechanism of the deformation is not entirely clear and a tentative explanation for this deformation is suggested.