Microstructural and crystallographic characteristics of martensite micro-variants in NiMnGa-based ferromagnetic alloy

A systematic investigation on microstructural and crystallographic characteristics of martensite micro-variants in Ni54Mn25Ga20.9Dy0.1 ferromagnetic shape memory alloy was performed. The alloys exhibited a dual-phase microstructure consisting of self-accommodated tetragonal martensite and hexagonal Dy-rich dispersive precipitates. In each colony, four distinct micro-variants with different crystallographic-orientations existed, where the adjacent variant pairs connected by crossing-interfaces possessed a non-twinned relationship and other pairs connected by extending-interfaces were twin-related to each other. The corresponding twinning planes and directions were {112} and 〈111〉, respectively. Nevertheless, the twinning relationships of these twin-related micro-variant pairs were not perfect, which contained a small rotation. Interface analysis demonstrated that these two types of interface planes coincide with the orientation relationship planes and twinning planes of their connecting micro-variants, respectively.