National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

The spectrum and the eigenstates of a finite two-dimensional tight-binding electronic system, with Dirichlet boundary conditions, in a magnetic field and with an external linear potential are studied. The eigenstates show an equipotential character, and may cross the plaquette in the direction perpendicular to the electric field. When leads are added to the plaquette, the channels carrying the current may be shortcut by equipotentials, resulting in additional plateaus situated between the usual integer-quantum-Hall-effect plateaus. This ideals confirmed by a numerical calculation within the four-terminal Landauer-Buttiker approach.

The effects of severe plastic deformation (SPD) process via high-speed high-pressure torsion technique on martensitic transformation of Ni-Fe-Ga Heusler shape memory alloy are the subject of this work. The results show that moderate degrees of deformation lead to a decrease in the martensitic transformation temperatures, while the heat of reaction is enhanced only for the sample processed with the lowest degree of deformation. The results are explained by the interplay between the constituent tetragonal L10 and the cubic gamma crystal structures and the evolution of the samples morphology with the severity of deformation. The reduction in the samples granulation due to the progressive increase in the SPD is reflected by the magnetic properties of the samples with decreasing coercivity and Curie temperatures. At the highest applied degree of deformation, sample nanostructuring and a possible amorphization might explain the vanishing of MT.