Tailoring the Magnetocaloric Effect in La2NiMnO6 Thin Films

We present the impact of growth conditions on the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of La2NiMnO6 thin films. The magnetocaloric effect can be controlled to obtain, for example, flat temperature-independent magnetic entropy variations -ΔSM(T) over an unusually large temperature range extending from 100 to 300 K. This tabletop shape makes it of great interest from a practical point of view and should inspire alternative ways of tailoring magnetocaloric materials in terms of their implementation in magnetocaloric devices. We show also that the magnetocaloric effect is a great tool to better characterize magnetic materials with multiple magnetic phase transitions. © 2018 American Physical Society.