The thermodynamic changes associated with the varying magnetization of materials exposed to a magnetic field, a phenomenon known as the magnetocaloric effect, have been proposed as an alternative for environmentally friendly refrigeration that might replace the processes based on mechanical work. In this paper is created giant and reversible extrinsic magnetocaloric effects in La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO_3 epitaxial films using strain-mediated feedback from BaTiO_3 substrates near a first-order structural phase transition. The finding may expand the range of available magnetocaloric materials, and the parallel development of nanostructured bulk samples for practical applications.
X. Moya et al., Nature Materials 12, 52 (2013).
