Study of phase transition due to the magnetocaloric effect on gadolinium thin films through VRA-1604

The magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is a characteristic of various materials that allows the development of new technology, such as the development of environmentally safe refrigeration systems or miniaturized systems that allow energy recovery. In this work we focus on the study of the mechanical characteristics that are influenced by the second-order phase transition due to the MCE, on gadolinium thin film samples that present different characteristics between them (thickness of the gadolinium film and presence of substrate). The samples were studied in the same environment and within the same temperature range to observe their mechanical behavior due to the MCE, potential differences present, and to control the effect caused by cooling or heating on the internal stresses of the material. In particular, variations in resonance frequency, internal friction, and modulus are observed.